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October 15, 2005
! ^' K }0 h& _Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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$ t. K! p7 T4 Z8 w# p/ DBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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6 z0 t& O4 L' N7 qCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the4 ]3 [( e' t: C i3 x
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary' H& l4 s; l, Q% a' b7 J% O4 w
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
: L8 L r$ {) v2 Mdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese9 m/ t: h! Q3 X0 t
flag hang from the wall.9 g8 Y' W( }. [, `! M, C
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one8 m1 Q, B# ?% j3 p$ a( e1 z* |
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
! d9 _" M7 T- S, R( rpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker& t4 b( k R; @ i/ h
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
5 M1 ]. j# t( \are already choosing it over Spanish.0 F6 {( S8 ]' }
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal) M( l/ w; I9 L* V" {% e% D
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
0 q9 W1 [' u/ uoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."3 g4 v* f) ?7 d- [3 C
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
) [+ q5 b) {# `9 h& Aschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings' S' b- Y* c0 x& [8 S- g0 ~
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention7 z5 `# c0 g0 O4 _5 Q
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to) c* e, I& k0 p% d7 L
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
) c: t6 R/ p3 ^0 ]studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
" X& o: @. r" A6 j4 d) z9 \/ lLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
* [2 P+ T' Y' w& @+ {$ fTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
- c9 U* F% m2 O6 h H5 ]' y+ V/ mChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
- x& }1 g( |# L" \/ @0 L2 I8 J: ]0 Vimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement; ~" J# s+ Z8 `( j |
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
0 T u+ F. ` ?4 x" O, a4 k6 }1 cstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to$ J# N/ n2 q, x) g8 a4 K/ h/ E
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing5 u9 |+ f2 e+ U$ J% C( m# ~
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director. M1 L0 X! N( L9 j4 m7 N
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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- n6 `, Z3 g% f"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of) K8 a# U7 W0 J8 g2 r9 I
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education- W1 |: e7 F$ I/ M, s& |
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
\+ u$ I e3 n' z2 j9 xcan." # _) {5 D9 \1 i/ f4 R. `! n! T
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
% z% i( Q' ^( Velementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 106 ?6 N, W; \ _/ V ~5 |! [( Z
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language, ~: G" s; j$ F# u/ g7 D7 s
Institute in Washington.
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5 `/ q6 v6 `0 D. \ N( W6 J"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
* r; L/ Z& h5 ~3 haren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
: D& F# @' a$ b9 _/ [McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical6 F9 c# j) {$ U6 G% U' L! D
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
/ l# K% d) T( W' Q4 Gready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a( n% F, k$ x( R. o- u! u
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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" G, ]: }1 S. D* rUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and7 D3 [2 D) G& ~
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in* {6 D1 g4 X5 a- Q4 D/ G
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
* W% F/ ^+ K) e8 _7 ?Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or' Q7 [5 F) p: r0 E1 L
on weekends.
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6 m1 k$ y; u" g/ j' n! }The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
# u# p5 R$ Y0 i+ s) R. t6 fschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
3 [5 V- e# a4 Sstudents who are not of Chinese descent.% k& Y0 z2 O$ N J, N& p
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
5 m% C2 N' y7 S7 e4 hproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the5 m2 w. j' }+ D3 K# a1 z
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley* s6 M) U3 U8 G* t x! k
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly$ R( H: K, ]6 [' Q
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
: E: y C- \* y; xschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from" y7 V1 Z9 k% d% Y% D
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
f4 w! j* i/ }8 c" wwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to, s# C ]6 {- V; N. ^& ^9 Z
the school system last year.; F" F" g, X. M- \
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
" s* F* u; [, U7 m* z/ F- Wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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: e$ A, w3 M0 P! b) i"They have a great international experience right in their own+ z* F z0 S# _/ [1 z2 \- g+ R
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
' \8 s" s4 R( t' r& b6 T5 lChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to% C5 W6 ?4 J" n
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
' }+ a" W; z- K! C" Ton an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
6 O! \; }* y! uclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
' x* T# V* u; a+ _0 M2 m$ wService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
8 U y% w% R% J# [; ZChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
& g }+ V) l5 c) A5 kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
7 Q ]& u* ^# n$ J; S( hChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the1 k) k$ y* \+ T5 m1 _
institute says.2 Z; ^+ |3 }/ k
- U( R. ?+ U( K! J m! pSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth {# y) m6 y. q% R
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
4 _! C1 A# F- Y# Zdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she* t9 O9 ~9 N& u6 o6 w
told her daughter.
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' h& S5 t, N0 P; Z6 aSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite8 c8 |7 n( W B6 \
class.. g5 k9 \. p/ `7 l T: F
" ]1 _! h( k; W6 J6 J5 c0 }1 iAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
: }7 |( w* Q% ystudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
( J, o; ^! D/ e' [2 Z7 a+ h5 g Soccasional frustration.+ M) A S' \* f4 ?% l
- ], j3 J# Y% S7 ~2 i0 @, Z1 m"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
+ y3 F2 _' V) y! c+ rrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.' c. O- q* @# X( N5 I ^
. q6 J) p4 J$ W0 g, ORaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
7 Y+ r4 Q' k& \$ e3 |taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with& z! |' F9 t5 E, h6 J/ e# X) y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.% ~! m0 n3 y+ I3 `
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul) Y) x" n7 n$ ^: ^) g6 @. l- c0 R: y
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn$ v4 v$ Z) K- ?& B
as many languages as I can.". C9 |& u- O7 m" ^# N; q
( k8 l" Z+ e Q$ UAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
; h- k7 e; w3 G( iskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job: i7 [- J9 i# c9 u. l
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
1 e1 P: ] U9 K7 e( J. H* Mthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program' B; f S5 }) K9 n
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
; m* a0 B: j1 S6 \. p' O. i5 T& y Sschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
; r! W0 d A; |( mtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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) ?, u1 P* }3 `1 D$ U$ P1 h; P! g. H, ]Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer- p: }9 D( b" o6 _2 X2 u
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; H, a; E& e) W# P( r
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said./ F1 Y/ W* V, B
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified2 u" W, I: Z. c2 g. L
because of that missing certification," he said.% T9 O) m2 D* G) v6 x8 u, {
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
/ p9 ]' K B1 Q: P" g& a/ ^2 `said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
! L3 H. n- b: _9 p7 m F; t! FSociety in New York.& w" d9 V5 ]* {3 u- G+ u* c- n- v
0 e% E% F3 O* ISix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- a: U7 [. z1 f# r9 R9 C R1 k6 ^4 \; @
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from" ?: P& g$ Y7 B1 y( v f
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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