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October 15, 2005
4 W! Z& p- b! i& E) ?; Y- {& cClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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\$ f' ^) p# R5 _' Y5 h- tBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the% K' v% e# I# I, D9 ^2 U# g$ r+ W
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary8 J8 _( H2 w- I. j0 i. R& a4 U( m
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas, f1 q5 M$ ~0 D" b; G- F$ [2 t
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese! b$ Q2 \8 t1 S4 R
flag hang from the wall.$ w+ H' c! f) }8 M+ _" E G! C8 t, l
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one+ K1 c$ U" O% k( r: Q) q: s. P @" Y
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders$ `: o# _+ Y0 a& ]6 X
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
( f- U1 E; M: ?+ D4 p/ {boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students& g) F4 V' b) ?# [; J: o
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 Z4 V( m) ~6 f+ ]! Sat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city8 y) w" n. ?, h {, Y9 \8 b3 l! k
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
5 T3 L- Q3 p% W) S8 j7 v6 ischools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
" v% B5 x' n; ]% d) Ito include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
/ ?) Y) u" ~( T; k9 e* Jone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to# E$ W3 W; d4 K8 b
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
* K& y. { J1 b' t8 M& M/ {8 {studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
( a& e. @1 w# E7 z0 x7 ~. q( xLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of" O: C% W% r; ]' b' X% P
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on0 D/ `3 N3 p1 b* @5 n2 Q
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
6 G1 g( ?. V. X7 p% p, o4 \7 aimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.+ ^& a( Z9 t8 D9 |
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
6 I( Y: f, E8 _* `& V0 vChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country. D7 t7 X9 c; f0 Q
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to; L' j. U' g8 T, l3 U6 e' B% ?
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing( B% T; n+ G, h, \
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director0 t7 o1 |. i/ _8 `4 |3 C9 ]6 L# X
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.9 c5 @( f4 R8 K% Y3 U s
1 s- Y9 A# w$ r: ^4 p' D* L2 ?"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
+ Y' }" @6 p6 I1 `speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education0 R7 Z6 A6 y6 {- [
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we2 `% H2 \4 ^; Y* M6 t; V7 ~: \
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from/ w8 v. a. w4 l/ P! d( u
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10+ C9 H% o, v0 Z5 {
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language. `+ |+ h% B% ]" o& D5 ?# Y8 o" F. j6 e
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages3 ~' Y8 h% G: d2 v* z1 Z. e
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr./ c' [. ?% }: a. x! y) A7 F1 M9 K
McGinnis said.* t4 {) V, j. c! p) w) D7 C' e
+ c; p6 E' P& A; X, b0 B"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
/ F, \; t; K, B1 H O& D1 Flongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be7 j% r9 a: {$ l
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a& l+ [% [. ~0 S+ P
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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% x2 j5 ]/ h. mUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% Q# g9 B- Z% |9 l3 q3 X
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in/ ^8 c$ |3 _8 X
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
7 \7 ]3 i2 }( \" mChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
3 L$ R' j) z1 T9 Y8 L$ Eon weekends.
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" e& {* G3 u; D% y F* M+ i8 K* mThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
' e- S: E3 u$ [3 _6 Eschools during the regular school day and primarily serves( _" C0 e* k3 U8 f3 Z6 h
students who are not of Chinese descent.7 T; b( b) h' M4 s
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said D0 I/ _ I$ [0 W* L8 G: Z6 m1 |
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
) _0 n9 j f) R! z. x7 l; m$ v% Bcompetition.
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7 S( t+ l* c5 e& ]! I, D"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
8 D) D% o& i* x" e- P K7 }said. "There will be Chinese and English."3 ^ e7 e- q b+ B
; r" h& Z3 C/ x' g% MFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly# P7 R0 Z. K& d: |8 F& Z8 d
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse6 i+ E/ h- a* W# T* Y7 p, E
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from! B" X/ x( }) q7 y& c/ y w# `
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
! C) s9 |8 t2 h- s; Q* G; e0 swho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to( ~- s4 O. `- ~! A! f3 H, Q) t& A$ d( m
the school system last year.: \( ^% ]( ^$ c" l. L* ]
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
$ H o2 g2 k: R# F. l( f, k8 ^year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.+ Q7 e& g/ l0 B2 T- x
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
; H; s' J2 V i3 X2 oclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
+ y# f5 @1 H: O1 p N* eChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
) _. |+ \* m6 x4 Hhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
( K3 [* o) j, t4 H4 k7 Mon an equal playing field."9 p3 `" m; J" _! @, k) ?' J
e3 F# K2 u) |6 N) LSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese( |6 J$ N4 c, e
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
+ P9 A, ^- V7 t; l, xService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks' ?: z( o+ c5 w, [1 M; w3 a
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An- I, C& v% o4 J/ ?& c G
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
6 S! V% t4 O; Y9 j* S7 _! E% JChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
" |# V5 `3 r+ ?" cinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
; p/ G: T% E# f8 M7 B. m4 C1 Dgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
* c9 b; S. B- n i, ^- Xdeciding whether to take the class.
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" l$ E; y5 L: t, T- I* v"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she+ ]$ z8 ] ~' z% B* }* C6 O
told her daughter.& _* z7 o$ K0 F+ {
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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% V, m, O! R' `At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
# M7 }$ y" e! n* Hstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
1 E9 O5 x& Q1 k2 Coccasional frustration.! j* b* y. A. c( [( Z& M( l) f
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
9 A5 s# P$ t2 E5 q, grecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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' P! A6 q: S$ Q( O3 ^2 c ERaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 G& b1 r0 r& r' F: c
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with; P- d- G9 r; ?- P9 `$ N% A* Y0 w
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.7 }9 P8 y. j. |6 K" P1 t( _$ }5 I! u
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul( y; f1 O* J$ x" m5 g5 ^
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn3 l9 {8 B# S$ b1 B0 R( t
as many languages as I can."
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1 E( {4 _+ q$ ^Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the6 [! V+ g g' f/ ]" Y
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
/ K, F+ L4 h P3 Y5 q4 |' P) d) Vmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
/ ]; K- ~1 o+ |9 Z4 Cthat," Ms. Freire said.
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# v/ `9 Y: V# F$ J$ X, {' fMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program5 Z# q( k }# k( C% ~! N5 i. |& \
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 C* ?& h, ~: J. w
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking: }9 |* M1 Z8 Y* A# H$ a) A3 ^
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make+ g" X! ~* Y+ r* K( n( l
room.# ]& T8 ^0 |( `' W
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
( c& I" s# F# ~5 d7 l# QChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
* N( W) T" F/ z$ Scollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified: q0 I" a' L! m+ ~; A9 |
because of that missing certification," he said.
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5 c2 o; \$ _! A- A3 \The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
8 @, t9 G/ G1 V3 `; e# d8 D: _) R9 s, bsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia; c/ V2 i u" O* G0 y4 _ W: O/ u
Society in New York." b% x! q G5 Q6 s+ g% n2 G5 B9 B
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the6 G# t9 c. E/ f# h- B k* f A
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from* Y+ D. [! y1 u
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: I/ m( F7 H* D! K* O9 j& }( R
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
5 u/ V* S( {+ N7 b" ?* eown."
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