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October 15, 2005
3 R1 x! E. e5 q0 S: H( f! {Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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- q4 Y4 W+ L+ a( HCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the# G& \" `% }4 s8 Z0 ]. z8 k
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary2 D: z! R1 Z( N; X
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
6 V9 ~ b" V' w4 n$ qdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
, q- I1 g3 { ^, ?: R: x0 R7 Vflag hang from the wall.
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) b1 c5 g3 O+ p4 G6 K5 E! aOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one1 M8 p3 V; n% t1 g& c
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders* I( O, t8 T6 m) ]+ I# _% ^) F
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker" z& L: d- \$ w! ?
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
' O$ C% a1 h6 z3 e* }) x/ k3 gare already choosing it over Spanish.
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+ L- V4 ?2 j6 p+ v"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* b2 R! Y% l' O8 e. {at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
" b3 J7 V" o3 ]1 P! doffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."" C0 n9 j8 O$ {9 F2 y" _ g' V! {" Q
7 N1 P2 Q) N# C# `& X' M1 y% ~With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,; w) g$ ^! F1 R* i( K2 O! u) C
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
- T) y5 O+ X- ^% R: ?. oto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
! q- X3 ^1 |' d9 jone of its most difficult to learn.
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3 r/ F+ _) {7 S! MLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
7 g' ~& @: |! L: Q* `6 I! P& spublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students9 \' a A1 t( r* [ [' H
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
9 q' R+ [5 K: \* @. y2 dLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
7 R0 ~4 R. i( [+ hTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on+ h g2 x ^" w/ O: b# N
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
W' ?+ V& _9 C' o1 Yimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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$ c7 _$ a4 B2 @3 H' fAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
5 s8 z% n; s% jChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
' o: l5 Q% V# _% Istarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to6 b* D. h2 b( v/ q3 }
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
' S" G# ]# y% w' ncurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
' Z! v) u: j% L( K; ?+ o; kof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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' E2 ~: v1 c0 Y) Z* w: C# K"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of& X+ U# J9 h; E
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
/ j2 j0 [- ~) vConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we, y* ]$ V! P S. b
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
0 m) A* M4 i( w" nelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 101 S6 a" C* Z/ l- |: E8 }
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language7 D+ f! p. M4 J& S
Institute in Washington.5 z: }3 ?( \* R+ X9 D
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
0 Z4 _4 N7 b4 q% c- Earen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
- b* \) r* C! I: ?+ O: B# \7 GMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical2 z+ r2 o+ L" P
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be- z. i% Z9 s4 l' n! z
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a' h# V" q6 j" t; z. B
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do." j ?3 H0 d1 ]) P& M' j" F
: A B1 Y' ?! X* RUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
4 v6 Y* R9 [3 c& N2 k- c) ?* Msecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
2 ]' ~3 z7 U% k6 T. }& ]cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
; A' f8 q4 @' c; n A* cChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
}2 C- J2 O1 _on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public$ ^# g# k3 n/ {1 k) W
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
) ~& g1 F- r( Q }students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
9 ^! X+ N* f" S4 _8 aproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
4 l- {1 x `1 ?% t" v) o4 j% M; P% Scompetition.
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# A! `% s* s& Y+ z$ `"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
% M, |0 K* L* N2 @said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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) `! W! r/ @$ S+ cFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly( s0 ^; s) }) `
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 z+ \( ~4 D7 ~, ?2 y2 A- l+ R% t2 {, p
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
: ~6 h" R( b& A! K. Xkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students! ?: L7 h C/ O, s' R' e9 [
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to& X" x2 {# E9 Y
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this' M: C5 F0 O5 f4 l9 g0 J
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.1 p! b9 E! x( E
! U, O5 D6 A! H3 D% l% p4 v"They have a great international experience right in their own9 f7 ]$ F) i6 \/ P! u+ ^; C
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
& y! @4 i4 o7 | P p: GChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to+ O( X4 k! @7 V% o
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
4 z) `' R& X! u" }on an equal playing field."" X+ Z; F% q- f
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
_ O \$ n+ d2 p# o3 _" s' Bclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
" v4 p& v8 Z4 J1 [6 w: qService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
% h% z( |& z# f8 W8 \2 PChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An7 H# \% z8 w, X2 L l" Q
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
" i# i7 i3 Z5 R( m7 j+ ~- SChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
; \, R2 S+ M/ n0 _/ |institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth: E: L. |8 Z& N6 b8 y
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
$ _' L4 R! l$ \; k+ edeciding whether to take the class.5 q# A+ `; E+ X4 j* }
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
0 l0 r, d- {/ j; w+ atold her daughter.
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3 ~- c. P& h8 M+ rSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
A2 ~# d: m# n6 i2 d" ~$ bclass.) i r' T [7 X) {/ a; Y; [7 g
2 v0 o. C5 }& rAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
, g2 Q* U/ f9 h) e7 tstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without/ Y. H; A: k8 Y4 ^. G6 G, I
occasional frustration.7 [7 m; N2 b2 u' b9 m
' `( x- Z# W( I Z. O6 s"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
6 c& c% ?& s1 D! p7 ~' xrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.8 H/ u1 z* L2 p5 e5 W2 ? |
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he2 P; \% D. X% ?
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
* `4 v( e6 l6 Z; mChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.5 @8 _4 g9 `. B2 }+ k8 M$ K% P
9 C% L$ o* E' f+ b' T"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul: L$ X- W/ W) [# c( m7 d5 V. X
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
/ V5 {, b& [ ^' s- tas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
- u( L- l5 Z( g) _ I1 C# Yskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
8 {3 y* h+ c, jmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like' l3 w$ @# g. C& u, B
that," Ms. Freire said.* D& X8 e4 T5 A7 S; @& p; l
* {$ [3 c8 f8 z& oMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program |; j$ S! S5 u0 v1 ~
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
& {) A. `9 p# g6 N2 y0 Nschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
2 _9 _# G8 R* A% Z itime from classes like physical education, music and art to make9 _# J, J! W2 O, X* z' i
room.7 N, f% i- P4 T3 w/ C
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
4 D. P5 f g6 `- Z. }1 v& wChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American" ^' K0 f0 `( M# ^' ?, X
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.5 D9 n M3 D1 t' m: I, ^
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified* G5 E& C! g# {# L7 V6 [
because of that missing certification," he said.# L% O% |8 L# z8 I$ u8 Q+ ~$ m
3 l$ z, Z+ d$ \1 @9 B$ W: lThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! V0 L$ q! K7 q0 K/ A3 x. i2 Z7 d/ Wsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
6 j# v% h: I+ Q5 dSociety in New York.
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( O2 ]6 d1 i/ k5 [7 eSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
: V) A" E2 F5 r* c3 hChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from3 y1 Q) P7 M6 e2 }* u! i
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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# {; E( v2 a+ K3 ^7 c- m"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our5 ]7 i4 Y6 p: l
own."; K) d8 O! ~) _% Y
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