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October 15, 2005
% o2 @- }3 z. d7 e. P/ ]Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity- |; ?& Q' ~1 X7 e8 w H
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING* R. E4 F9 H. G- W# B
! ?! F/ M8 Q. x5 U" T1 ~5 tCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the2 n; m2 `) b) M
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary9 w/ K) b2 A$ y& c
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas( R- O- r% F. \3 v
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese" @9 V6 \+ |3 G8 P0 h2 x
flag hang from the wall.4 r4 _4 j7 R, V6 e0 d& S( X
& O) Z# B, _# {& _* i x4 V' d7 GOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 A" ?+ [1 N/ T% f$ W- s) z3 E/ h
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
0 G" c8 @6 w& Q: d( h \( x' Lpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker b2 A+ o9 J, k( V" q
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
1 `3 x- R* w7 g: H" ~are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal9 |& B1 h; @! E0 M9 C/ j
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city, s3 g+ {4 H' k& Q$ [ u
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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9 C2 `* P4 l8 J: ZWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
7 ]: q7 W4 ^1 Q0 [schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings% N1 Q: I6 X: v, @1 @
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
! ~* o f- x& K7 ~one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
1 c; G/ t: ^: Ipublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
/ m* G3 H( h2 D; `studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
& H5 n& a& v1 eLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
# _0 U8 p- a) t; T$ `$ @Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
" u7 F0 ~5 t2 E' v3 m( g) ?: k/ B5 WChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
7 k! E9 V+ o* h2 U* f R; M3 wimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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+ Z, \2 ]# x" [+ P" _8 y& }After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
% F) O0 x% @, w; \Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" V( k F& d' t5 c8 b
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to' r5 o4 A Q3 _- X; V- ]
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
! \% A; \1 C) D! R5 b- r4 Kcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director, R) j: i& ^9 i' H
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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9 O4 }+ _& l, Z# e; D' p"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of3 x0 o$ x# a* m7 z+ \ {5 X
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education0 _6 v) g% z( z4 z, |/ b+ F
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
0 L7 R! Q8 H5 q( o+ _+ [can." 7 \9 D+ ^. |+ r: g7 U) j$ Z. Q
* y5 y4 v! ?' h8 ?, b' CThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from5 q/ L2 m: [! Y* X+ W. n. q) G" {
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 104 O0 N4 {: C6 P3 n2 F8 Q) r
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
$ j. v6 T3 ^( p* D. U" v( C$ nInstitute in Washington.! N9 i( c; G: A5 a- r8 b" |$ f$ U% R
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages( @5 U3 w0 i% |' j# O* ^* Y" X
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
7 N ]. X! A% A2 k: E: LMcGinnis said.; Q' p8 b3 _, T- t: q# A
& b( P7 y; _! d"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical/ ]6 }. c- P0 i# t" N( d* u! _* z
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
: Y, g! Z; {/ fready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a2 {& F/ S6 C5 L/ u$ Q1 v
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and4 I) [' N& u+ w9 W. J" X% Z
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in0 G. M! Q0 V5 N6 j
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
2 D7 a$ }4 }) ^' B; ?Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or( x) X8 b1 D7 H/ Y
on weekends.2 W0 R0 Z V v1 _/ u7 f
9 \$ T! \0 V1 oThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
6 E$ D$ U9 v. fschools during the regular school day and primarily serves H& m; i- h1 m* G, B- @4 f' m, p
students who are not of Chinese descent.& v9 n; z$ \; S& M6 x: v! N% d
' r$ u, b' a' T" PMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
- }7 S7 P2 C5 `( d* F. A- Gproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
& l6 s9 c+ K* E1 q. ocompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley; b8 {6 Y$ I3 w T
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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! v# D4 r8 |0 z8 E- P: ]From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
9 S& L# @! @6 \' @6 r! z: Oall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
* T2 R1 X4 C7 @2 W4 o% m0 Wschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from1 H0 y; i% k* P; v" }/ \# a; ~3 z
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students, x9 c1 M% j5 n2 o
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
- h; W2 u5 m" t7 ?4 o- pthe school system last year.- k: D3 t* y) _" W9 i3 G3 v9 \
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this/ X. N9 l2 m4 Z% Y
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 own" R, {8 G, E' E; p0 \# Y; y
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
; Z5 ~; H- Y. U) l' @Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to( C& a# y' |1 ?/ W
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet6 e% C! ~' n# I5 d
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
$ g H0 h; E2 c* [( n: iclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
' T6 T7 t) c2 w `9 ?Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks4 L& q; x& \& E7 ^
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
T( _2 ?0 M* S! M! B3 y9 L( Zaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
+ p) d3 [6 p3 eChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
% @: x% I2 z% K1 w: oinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
* |' g9 P2 }# V3 \' tgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
1 ^% o! i8 j' k9 w# Ideciding whether to take the class.- H4 U# D1 e" \
9 L- ]5 D/ L* V: c7 Q3 `3 ]9 v"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she- V4 G+ V# V- i9 F W! g4 r$ ]
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
' g! c- @% u8 e5 l. z9 V- n; A- }class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are$ G8 q6 X5 ~' h
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
# D) ~& T' n4 W/ ]5 v$ @/ f9 {occasional frustration.( T9 M. N, _6 J3 X. M
6 i: f# }$ S, R! O7 a: T"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a; T/ l/ m4 G+ a
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he$ R0 u6 G; a" F
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with, M$ }0 `# W) z3 Y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.! K# ~0 ]* q( _& r
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
8 F6 K' F: {& R7 s/ {6 \said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn# H p( j3 v+ A5 Y% O
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
* p/ d7 o' `+ T( }skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job3 c2 U" v4 W K# a2 k: m9 ?+ }
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like9 K/ W' H& m& |1 l3 _( N! Y
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
4 N- l \# g2 C( S3 b! X2 J3 x6 chere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
) ^ W6 n! D; W# i& G1 _school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
" N3 K4 Q+ {5 y7 k' d1 _& Itime from classes like physical education, music and art to make) K$ [7 q6 a0 w) t2 A! N* S/ V
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer9 E; n+ @1 L, ]8 |$ S1 y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American6 a% `3 J! ] V6 x' B0 q7 m
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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1 d$ p. z& a5 `( X) U"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
7 D% o3 Y3 I: L* g' |$ f8 o& f2 |because of that missing certification," he said.# b9 s$ D. ]2 e _; I q. ~
! E# Q3 W! O" \8 g& nThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,, V0 P* f/ z0 z5 H+ o) Y$ n
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia3 P5 \+ V% c1 y- j% r5 z/ o2 K
Society in New York.
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; r9 c$ @% C' ], MSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the/ I e7 N$ e9 D# R. f
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from/ o! E8 D0 E% n0 Y+ y
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
% {$ g6 b) q0 w. h- Mown."
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