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October 15, 2005
" f7 O$ h4 P- }8 ~* h. w. ]Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING" \8 F$ ^" } ]# r3 n( m2 ?' H
8 m0 s3 ^4 J) [% u( C6 E% H4 lCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the* U! c8 v" ~6 [# a' n L) v" z
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
6 y9 B8 N# Y% W5 QSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
3 Q. _; h+ b' ~4 V: i9 I) W9 ^% Ddangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese( V5 F5 a2 f4 `, w+ h1 N
flag hang from the wall.$ M* y. l- y- M) E. `; W4 c
5 {& U" _3 L4 cOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
3 }. b- ~! m2 j* [* W% m) x# O/ nanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders4 o4 e" x1 m: r- |# d7 G
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker7 l( {/ }0 s" N+ H5 m8 \
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
* E( L t$ S" uare already choosing it over Spanish.
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, T( X. ?" _ X! ?$ U0 F) ^% p"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal% ~" Y. O1 _+ m" ^7 G
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city/ W2 x; Z/ K; `5 b' m9 f0 q6 b+ G% V
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,2 ?8 J0 ^! Z& M4 W
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings4 M" v/ M p. C* T9 {3 X: Q; ]0 A* y
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention1 n! F5 K0 ]8 }5 \( h! I9 A
one of its most difficult to learn.
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' A/ E! F4 |! i7 s- i6 Q( Z7 a' VLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to; Z7 v8 X/ n. z4 R% v+ G
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
2 `* Z9 N, q' p& W9 j. _ H) e8 }$ qstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. U# [0 r* y+ G5 G. `9 m) J6 q
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of/ P0 L7 u- K5 F1 X8 R# {
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
1 t# C! U0 a) _+ o6 QChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
. S6 k: [4 l0 Q0 wimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." z( r, `. v$ z L% Q4 w8 f
6 L' j* @6 _& m7 ]% Q, T( WAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement1 k8 s" q' J: _ F. ]1 M
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
9 v. `4 ]- P! S: Y5 Vstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
1 I4 t$ a+ k& Jdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing4 s# o( _7 D/ G( A! h8 G" c
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
C( m, P3 E$ Q* H4 Y& _of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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- x( b- {! l7 U* J"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of& ]8 H9 g* ?7 w/ ~
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education# o( `6 y% t& G
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we& G: ^7 w5 w1 }1 G o9 f S# u
can." 0 |2 K. A( L5 t- a+ E
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ p4 \( H* n& O2 _- W3 h
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10& q9 K, F; K' B" n1 @, x
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
T7 x4 X3 L0 |% eInstitute in Washington.. y' d1 K8 O5 k3 ^. J; R, X
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages+ p* |# f: K* j& C3 O) l
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.# O! b' o8 b! P
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
6 S& |- P) ^# _. r, p( H U+ a4 nlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be8 e- z& d5 D! _
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a' E& @6 }, @6 D, ~1 C) t' B$ J
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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* ^' j# ]( _* B! z+ [7 p! rUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
, `, d9 d/ B( A$ D7 d0 m$ w& N% Hsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
: W" f# ^9 @) A- bcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
$ t+ G6 h1 X7 m- O( WChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
" l% ^. V) y6 Ron weekends.' G6 q, K+ `: L: B1 W2 J% P }! t
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public) W7 b4 t T0 B3 U8 T t" S5 V M" g4 z
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves- G# w5 l3 |; e; k9 p( B
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
: z/ H7 e: G2 u/ ^proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
; A/ k* D Q* c! J, \/ F- G, Dcompetition. - C3 D4 e3 X& F5 G+ C9 o' }
7 O2 U" x1 j% n' J4 e G"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
' T) V- |) d; C$ [said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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) a: `7 d/ N1 ^/ IFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly# {' K& w8 _1 t3 f/ g2 W
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse6 u" S, k. r8 n2 Z: c( i
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
% l7 r# }. @4 R) c! X# S% B* Okindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students8 A# V" }4 K& V1 S; R, z
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to* ^* ?; O* U t
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
- N8 B# g4 n; ?year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.6 C8 i `! K" T& o- v' l& n
1 U3 v, |: v- s0 }' z x"They have a great international experience right in their own
' P! p5 h3 j$ Q. r+ Xclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
* Z* r) M1 e; e+ c( rChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 I5 A( |4 H* E' G ]2 x, X8 \
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
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2 G' j$ u, h1 a& I6 h- zSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese; G, q! n' R& X! M! d
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign; [: U, s2 J3 |, ~/ P7 N" d- _
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
e5 P. W0 y" N; A8 B3 RChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
! m( p& u, W8 w, J% @average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
5 | E2 o# w* t3 _# _Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
* A9 v& B& @* A3 T0 z' B) W( b' Tinstitute says.9 p" W% E+ T; e+ c2 r
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
9 A; E; w( z7 l* V* Ugrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before- q5 K$ x6 O+ {5 a- K
deciding whether to take the class.
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: |! M. p# C/ r3 g. Z+ }/ w"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she0 w$ O6 y2 i4 U% @* b T
told her daughter.. O1 e: }) G$ k. W5 ?4 n
" [: [* }; f6 R, z" q- ^( ISahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite9 f# ?% ]# X1 h0 {# x- q
class.$ V6 A6 V% {8 s% c
2 ]; [9 X9 h- M; {; aAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' X, D8 ]2 @( d
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
X! {) l7 o/ Loccasional frustration.6 W5 G# P* `3 c
# \$ W4 z4 ~+ d1 F"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
! }9 u2 x% B( E$ G n/ ^& Crecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.) C0 D6 g- D' m) [& `4 k; q5 I
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he. t \1 E x# ~& V* D! L# e
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with4 K/ e0 j$ {' C) ]
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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# t- P* Q, T8 ?9 R% @: n. M2 ]% R"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
' g5 J7 l* V2 E: \said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn2 h6 y! H8 g1 M7 z/ t. E( R
as many languages as I can."! q/ u% D; q6 d9 @
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
6 T+ Y- q/ q6 c3 c3 ?skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
6 N# W- `# O5 O5 o+ U) s7 Hmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
. Q- C Z/ Q9 s4 T& Q' Zthat," Ms. Freire said.6 b2 ^$ Y# E1 I; B1 M1 Y$ H
" v( b" h9 b, q% @5 ~1 dMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
( z3 m. o# D, R$ There offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
n3 {4 i; v7 a6 j' F ~, N) Uschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking# ~( | ~( k9 V$ q4 x* h6 k" a
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make; y7 L1 c+ s5 J
room.
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% p6 d& r7 q! W0 Y/ s! OChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
1 @) T4 W; \; l- M0 r. S9 ZChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American" Y8 J0 e& `6 f
college, 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) \* Q- }$ }7 O% n- Q2 R" C
because of that missing certification," he said.
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, }9 [& W3 S, C6 ~; Y. P E! iThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
/ z2 I- p8 V6 o5 X& m6 Wsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia9 f( n9 F) N; ]( t& I
Society in New York.
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1 l) p6 B+ n( G& E$ Q) TSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the) k4 l$ r) s# v$ `/ _5 _0 j3 n- b
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
7 k, B; ]3 Z$ V3 j9 o9 W# R: g/ S N3 @the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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8 y" w$ b/ a) e' P; \3 j$ q; [$ @"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
/ A9 h& v: z4 i1 B* Uown."
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