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October 15, 2005
( Z6 N) y: E* K2 SClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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% O8 G- }6 f: ^1 [; q3 F: A) ?8 DBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING" Z' O, n# p. J
2 L: p, F/ D2 k+ A* H2 u4 sCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
( p/ v+ p' h$ |United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary5 Y- y( w% r1 k; E
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
8 @' P: `# _; l3 f5 p+ u1 Gdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 t0 ?" U! R( p3 l
flag hang from the wall.1 H j3 r7 @6 K! o
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
# y' Y: I& V) w. ~another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
' J$ Q. Q$ |7 f+ j5 Hpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker, T9 i' E& i. D$ x) V
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
H" Z2 ^9 R: `+ W" W3 Eare already choosing it over Spanish.
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3 M7 D* j. J" U8 z+ T$ Z. D"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal$ N) w7 ?) i+ ]6 F' Y3 J
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
1 P; K5 ?2 g0 U& ?% Ooffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". r$ D* D; m- q0 I, p
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
- b, D; M5 b' z) ?1 T9 w( nschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings: p1 d1 \: Y, B) I3 M, U6 Y
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
) ^$ A1 A3 C! d$ U; l, ?% Done of its most difficult to learn.3 H4 p9 r, g# \ m( ]
5 T7 ]8 m0 W; YLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
, i8 n( O! ~7 w1 U3 ^0 I; _0 Hpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students! n p: `1 V B) V; s1 d: K5 n
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.8 A% x% l- R/ ~' Y0 Z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of9 N1 \( I0 m; [
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on3 ~8 G T8 b) ^* V9 R. R5 c
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
) S+ E; Y* {+ V' V# K8 N) ]8 {improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.' } D; n9 z) }$ O" T7 w
$ u, Z1 `5 G. _% D% q! s" bAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement- d* ^) m6 d* D+ i
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
2 x: b, l) a( o5 O3 vstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to# X2 d2 ? T# `
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing3 ]- a9 p- L' G" |: a8 O
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director! `+ p0 Z9 e* ~/ e% H: ?4 b
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.: k) \9 D/ Q; T6 o
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of) U7 n! }7 ]; l- L) ~
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
# I. S9 ^3 B8 T/ I' T, GConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we( J( d7 V0 |; y! r' V
can." ; w( U* o/ Z' X- P: d$ i- @
. @2 O) j6 `* l+ E" H7 ?The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
# A7 `' _1 y0 u5 M5 r) g1 felementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10; {( i8 G* Y2 [* e# P
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
) K8 d6 s1 x0 X# b6 BInstitute in Washington.; b% v3 e; S, M$ p% o! y
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
" G; F% q( ~! \0 l* b0 v3 v; V; {aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.3 V8 P! ?. R1 V: K+ a
McGinnis said.
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( |1 q# j, i$ I/ b% t/ b% w. e"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical& j2 K! L0 x" l$ S# v- K; X
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be) Y6 X( e. i( ^6 M
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a; }( x* N1 g7 D( e8 H
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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' X, ` Y* b/ A1 u, b# L: ]* `Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and8 i/ g3 c- s( @9 ^+ d7 B. z- q
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in7 `3 H& u* K1 c& x. A
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
5 P I; A3 |& }6 R' {+ CChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
" g ]+ l9 _: i. gon weekends.
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: ^+ a; g4 g* B8 q3 E2 O+ wThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
) _6 ^3 d: ?$ U9 ]6 y! \+ k$ _& x8 Eschools during the regular school day and primarily serves7 o3 u: Y8 k# M$ p4 {" j( ^
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
$ x' B: O' o9 M$ [! w, v% Xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the) [2 V4 `& G# d5 a
competition.
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" _: K; m `# G( w& b4 r1 Q7 V"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
: U& L) I7 \8 j# F: i' M+ @% jsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
8 R {4 m; q [! z4 A f* ^all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
% \8 j$ |* h7 Cschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from3 g8 f% g) c% G0 d9 d2 }1 ^ q. ~
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students% u# d* G- J. J" n- K- J9 W
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
W6 N9 G; Q; Pthe school system last year.5 h" i+ r8 [% t( v u
8 Y: k7 R7 k9 l u9 m* {- e2 jThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this0 w: N! ?; H5 u
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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8 ^- L* ?& c5 N* s/ T$ ~"They have a great international experience right in their own& v- t+ S1 Y4 }- M! ~
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
4 N, c9 \) L |, p1 N1 zChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 i+ ]/ W3 f% y: }! h
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet- j4 r* N9 T" `) V1 X9 X
on an equal playing field." }, b0 z, `2 y2 q0 [
- b& W/ \3 f1 y. X0 K- TSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese. F" C. F" s# J
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign2 |; q; \" ] A$ Z" k- N. Z
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
. D% [8 a* F3 @/ JChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An* _) Y: s2 t6 |3 {& W) |1 h
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
& x2 c4 [; u. E2 \ W; J' yChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the5 l. Q/ y$ {9 I$ @9 _
institute says.8 U: S& o% c8 v: h4 O0 r$ u8 k
9 ~1 v8 v* E: ~( S0 CSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
" J6 A8 Y* A* Ugrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
& k V8 w- H9 u/ odeciding whether to take the class.
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" L; S* R) c$ ?5 E/ ?* f6 B"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she8 b9 s: @" w! S) ]5 F
told her daughter.
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, U- I7 |, p0 r% ]/ FSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
) v+ b; t% }& N% _! P& s9 Y* {/ Zclass.
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) J2 e6 I$ E/ ?At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are1 m# K5 g/ n/ ?3 ]
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
3 c9 N0 ^; ^0 A* boccasional frustration.- G4 ~& {* b4 f4 n
9 ?; h+ p' q0 `6 p8 U, z"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 r$ ~0 e( v, Q2 S/ Erecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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0 l7 U' o* H( h/ d' N$ TRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
& ]7 T( M% Q p/ r: G" Ftaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with: {& i2 w3 R, ?! u8 F) I/ {
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.9 [* w% o. N2 [6 Q+ B2 B
% J$ K( ?, `$ n) Z2 Z"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# y; E1 M; f9 c) csaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn2 P: n: a( @7 ?1 x2 {; b; n& E
as many languages as I can."* D& I. v. ?/ n5 I5 n0 z3 ^5 l) O
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the T7 Z9 g& V) ?
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
9 T7 x. f6 k! r2 bmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like6 \ O1 G$ x' v8 {
that," Ms. Freire said.
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/ b/ Q' S# J% R" ]Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program$ L: [: H' m% U" t0 Z/ x- D6 t
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
0 Y+ x$ U: W4 [7 d6 [3 Tschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
- L7 k5 N$ k8 ]/ p4 K8 D& itime from classes like physical education, music and art to make! I! J& y7 J$ _: |) J
room.8 V& g& x7 A! N$ J8 k% `! {
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
7 h( N0 o8 e3 \3 yChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
" x7 K5 w6 z) Scollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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& J" U3 B5 e$ c; }/ k5 b2 \) p( ? ?"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified! m; {4 o* y, T( w
because of that missing certification," he said./ m# M& ?* D$ i6 \- N
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
; o0 @; [ a7 x. Vsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
; U" |5 B' b! J2 I% ~Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the0 Y% M& y8 S- N. M$ i V- v7 n
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from) o5 z9 ?+ P: `5 o- i) } u
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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% F; _9 A& q- k8 u: S"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our+ d- e+ ~5 ]9 N9 l2 J& Y
own."/ ]& P/ n. r8 G5 W/ m$ _. [* G t; D
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