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October 15, 2005
/ r% m; B, |# r1 ?Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity% F3 n. h& k+ i" w
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the7 U* a3 V" O" n4 T$ ^
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
% x- A7 f! h4 i# p* M7 ?# [School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas# v- o$ ^4 u! m- C! B
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese8 K8 \6 Y7 C3 E$ n4 {
flag hang from the wall.4 [. v- j* K: R7 \/ g0 [- y
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
# m5 x) W1 z; k8 d* M: t# ]another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders% v: _3 Z8 H; X& D7 v
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker& x x1 R/ Y4 I i {0 f
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
7 o. {- U; H* |2 Nare already choosing it over Spanish.- W: L" w" L" L* c0 {3 z+ m2 p; @
) P% a( \' B+ y"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal9 G* {& x. N) I
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
1 g9 j" J: C: Z- T/ Ioffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."9 _7 m' r6 O4 O8 E3 S( y. G
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,- @6 x. z" u$ A, r4 O5 w
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
, `; I% W( F1 w: vto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention l+ G& a& s: H8 u+ U, k
one of its most difficult to learn.+ a0 s* ?: Q7 O' \
, _5 o1 P: A$ |; iLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ R1 W6 h; F. u7 S6 q; A
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students) b5 o4 n. P9 X! S. ?
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
$ }, G4 {: s# \! p2 o. \: cLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
$ ?9 p) l% [% m6 @( W4 l2 [Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on1 I$ l+ _# G5 r% E' w, T& b
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
0 V/ X) B+ k9 b- vimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.3 ~; q1 T5 E( Q( E' ]! y. Q
& i7 y1 Y9 F _7 ]5 wAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement; o7 \2 c( I. F
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country& T( K8 V q& U4 N7 F& z
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to+ t+ z8 n$ p2 W/ B
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing) ~$ u; _3 I+ e8 ]2 `
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
$ ~' r4 k7 q Z& E( dof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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/ f2 X+ |5 e1 Z% R! F- d: b"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of7 L$ b; c' s3 c
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
/ ?! P8 D7 K% @, G" L0 pConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we$ \7 T) v- ~: I0 K& k
can."
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* s2 A! A% x" s0 F9 f. g7 qThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
/ s4 x* B" w3 O9 ~8 `9 w# ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10* A) d- g' W$ x- O6 _+ m
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language8 |, i& b( Z1 N D$ W( T
Institute in Washington.% B! ~8 j* k e8 p
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
# B! v6 e) B' v1 C5 [+ V/ Oaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
9 N3 @) z# U: v! O: l2 U4 i" BMcGinnis said.! l9 d$ t1 Y0 G# H
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical& E6 C u4 T3 |3 O! `
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be' G3 B! q* f3 ?1 c; M6 v* Z
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
) S! z) }( {# l E- i0 @challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."' [; M( t9 V) M9 S" d- F2 {
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
0 Y u; @- A5 z8 B$ Msecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
! j2 |3 O/ K0 f! E3 H5 Bcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ b3 h" x2 B5 y& S) I- W$ _
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or, N7 \- V/ |" l) p
on weekends.
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: G: l+ Y' w$ R5 {" pThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public: n9 x6 V B* t7 g0 p$ ?5 e
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
( A) [4 D6 R1 f3 s" e# lstudents who are not of Chinese descent.8 W' o' K) v; n
9 \. c* M' ~% w) `% K6 Y# fMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
9 O# M- c+ f0 p' G& }7 o+ R- [proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the2 t% a- P/ v( H w8 i U( B
competition. % d4 i3 A- h; A& ~2 i% n) {9 C/ N
5 S5 a, _5 X* d. J" n, h {"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
2 R/ S% a( J( R& U7 ?said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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' R! ?& w, Q( f6 E, d2 dFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
3 A! e+ s+ a: Z$ i; b3 p2 m/ [all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse/ s$ X5 |5 c9 T: V+ \
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
0 q( c- _1 {/ g2 a! a7 O9 c/ d2 `* Qkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
5 v* f9 F- m2 z" o3 Iwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
! C7 c* u" |% }0 V( M1 Uthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this; m n4 }+ ]: s$ ]5 a% T+ ^- |( N- k+ ?
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own6 b1 P5 I/ p0 _9 q8 q+ H
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
g( V7 Y- q: f, @0 nChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to: N# {6 O0 S$ f* B5 ~: Q
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet3 [/ Q7 I9 x! P) E
on an equal playing field.") |9 Z8 u; ?. H U
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: Z9 c( _1 w1 R# d/ W' cclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign9 D$ Z: F8 G$ w2 O$ N. F
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks6 N0 i2 Y% I! v
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An/ x$ G1 x9 }6 a' r
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in3 _) Y& @ j# x, X5 M; ` Y
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
2 B V; a5 C& G: t: ]- einstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth: h z2 }4 l; {) P x9 W. C4 E
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
( k9 ]2 H( c% Q$ edeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she5 [4 ~) ~ N9 R! f1 J7 [1 B8 G6 N
told her daughter.) H/ p+ G5 r1 ^7 r7 Q( i3 ^
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ |2 P q, ^$ Z
class.
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( I' G" g% D& e1 U% @( WAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
" U, k) ^2 k/ U P$ h; ^5 Kstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without* w! I9 ^! _4 ?! l8 A! ?
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a$ M# U" U$ S' V
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.- v( V/ x s3 n+ g `
& I( Q6 r4 n5 m- K" _Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he/ _' V6 b/ J4 ?3 T! ?0 O8 J: _
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ _4 }: E' Y E0 h2 F- SChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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" P3 D$ y2 s# q' m" R. w/ ?"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul7 Z: Q. C6 [7 H8 M
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn* T- S# K' z3 N \1 @. O" N; _
as many languages as I can."3 s6 g( N( h- @5 u
9 s6 h) _! ~& j* ]Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
) Z/ i' I6 j& ^9 C/ Z& l# askills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
. U9 n9 W* V5 Y$ B. fmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like8 d) h( U8 |4 y! @0 Z. O q
that," Ms. Freire said., N3 K' m% M% c7 y8 X
3 Q' U2 e6 j! z/ tMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
! X' M* t0 @8 e# [here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each0 l/ M9 _* h3 c6 R4 ~2 j: z/ B
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
r8 d! v/ h5 j2 r7 [5 ltime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
?$ C7 c; P$ X* M) d* X- E, }5 |room.1 G& X2 A* e6 a+ q. [& m, S
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer- B3 S- m z# |* B" J% }
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
" J# D' a9 J6 l( Hcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.- y( v0 n6 x; R1 ~# C5 d4 m
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified) O/ H8 b' }4 W3 t
because of that missing certification," he said.7 X. e, {: j+ O) M
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States," t1 {7 Y/ n( G
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia$ a! T" _- `. R1 x8 x9 e, L% N
Society in New York.* g+ C% y+ x4 b3 Z% S3 c# B7 q
! ?0 ]% v2 e$ O" i- _# QSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the: X& M; ~$ X, I I+ t
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from0 K" ~ W5 d/ {0 H5 v2 r
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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% K" ]7 N& L+ W7 q# i" ^3 N6 P"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our4 c9 f2 G h" l+ Z
own."
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