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October 15, 2005
h/ {4 ], a# w' b% ~' F" Q8 xClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity; j0 u3 U- E* c% U
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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. |! _2 O4 y* YCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
; h5 p2 J' F6 ^United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary# C/ k& s2 r- ^! e$ L2 Q
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
* \8 T+ F3 e& Q# Q i4 a4 Sdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese% i0 C$ x- m2 w- X6 G
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
U1 f$ {, K% a& T- E, Kanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders2 R7 {8 ]# E3 T' O
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
1 f$ Z) M' A; u) a+ Z1 s# ?boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students1 N! g' N: N; A5 w" i
are already choosing it over Spanish.$ ?6 o0 f5 i3 N/ }; f1 X
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
! h' O3 A0 A. t$ G3 U/ Nat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city/ d' R, i7 y6 C# c) S
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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5 ?, q- H$ C- E0 R8 i+ O) jWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,0 j7 T' p0 W! x; Z0 a
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings% ]9 @8 N" L% c w
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
! n f! a8 W7 G' ]7 x& [6 Qone of its most difficult to learn.
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0 k3 k$ e7 h4 [% QLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
. J& a! U$ }+ `- gpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
+ f; s2 w; Y X; u* @# istudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
- Q: |, ]" Y# F% fLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of3 h# w! w) L3 k+ b- ]& g: d' P
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on; ?: _. F5 C# M: H+ |
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to8 L( R4 v8 g" u8 E- h. q6 {
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.3 r: I. U1 W, H P$ d P
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement, K; x$ i" p$ I0 c! |* m
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country6 r a$ ~' Q- e7 Y
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
. L# x# p/ C+ {1 E. Y+ m* Pdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
" o8 H5 P A$ P4 tcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director: B" k; Q5 J' S _! P+ L: P! F
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.: G* f6 k1 b' [# F
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of( U3 W, f8 c. o# |. \( C+ T ?* S$ R$ L
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
8 ^# C/ @) N( oConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
: }4 k# A' ?* E! N; }/ }can." 7 ^+ Q8 D) l3 J' `4 T$ U; Z) A
$ y" w' B/ Q9 l" d; M: HThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from e8 ?8 y# T( Z) d
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
; ^/ B# h4 ]* M& Z# dyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
$ Q+ X# E/ N# R7 e: e/ KInstitute in Washington.0 y3 a# a- d! \2 I: P
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
* V4 s8 R4 n# u! w; jaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
( F- y- i7 X. ]: S1 }McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
8 @" r, c1 h# Rlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be" E- S6 T5 e8 _2 I
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
& E# n+ |0 }7 k; I& A2 I9 c9 Rchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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G6 }# [$ S. D5 T- P# i. v9 |Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
0 t! W( z+ q/ R9 Bsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
8 V& j0 j) _6 A/ d0 A3 e& icities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
i+ v( a3 T2 y3 X6 T# UChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or8 A; c& Z; q& j4 e, i/ y; X
on weekends./ H1 V' y$ W8 k, k/ M1 W! I# e0 g; X
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public" J I6 V. m/ T; S2 X7 t
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
4 C3 i! h/ }: `- [" A1 F& Pstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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3 x) I) n' d: J z1 zMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
$ q, k; M4 M2 H2 V8 f( p4 N/ Bproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
" k6 Z" x: g( i) w% Acompetition. + u# [# e, u. k$ n0 z2 B! y7 c: F
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
0 h4 l5 e6 |* ]$ [$ a4 T7 b5 Msaid. "There will be Chinese and English."0 K/ a+ v0 [$ P' k6 P4 {. W
# Y- e$ ]5 J' M a$ H" {* O! BFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
3 ~! l6 h( W$ L% E" ^all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse x, D$ q3 G- [# A4 u
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
! b, X+ t B: [- X2 akindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
' c% ]- L& O6 iwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
& c& m3 [* y9 pthe school system last year.
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0 L7 R7 Q' f( c% Z4 S- XThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this- P; I f6 a6 W2 x# B- c ?
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.3 ^ q1 V0 b0 H( C
! n- D$ v8 U& O# F! W2 R"They have a great international experience right in their own3 w; Q8 F1 Y+ x" D8 o
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago6 a; Q+ X$ m8 L0 J
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
: r* Z& Y& e( e m4 {help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet- U; t1 ^5 B, `( N/ z! v
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
: e" ^6 Y" C" K" b- Zclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign, E2 `! M0 z9 @8 Z4 \
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks9 V$ V3 J( ]; V- x4 Z, g
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An3 Z3 B5 i; K4 i2 z8 x5 @3 Z, y
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
4 l. c# L- B% n. O7 Y" gChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
( q8 J) f9 T7 B& R5 uinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth1 I7 h9 j) l) x
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before- h! F0 w/ q% Y! K
deciding whether to take the class.- i$ d1 `7 e$ d) n4 n: C: s
5 \7 G; `9 H( W+ Y3 {"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
- N, C* w7 P% @ S- ^+ ?- u1 stold her daughter.2 @* H' s# p6 A! M
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
; B: T6 K/ Q0 k" x# dclass.
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/ V0 z; t, X7 B7 I X; s: SAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
! c4 n9 l4 ]1 x% sstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
' q* X! Y( }! {" |9 J; R8 moccasional frustration.0 M2 S# q, y; p4 {5 e
+ Q* {5 ?; ^, N) {"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
' X5 ^' v) G2 {2 C) W+ L. grecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
2 V- A$ R* A0 Ttaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
$ I3 T1 i; K( n0 qChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
: e- B+ T0 U6 H, H3 K3 csaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
& X! Q) r* q @) V8 uas many languages as I can."% p) e) n3 B5 W `/ {* K
* D3 q( w& T) F6 S! hAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
3 C% s! N1 a; J9 O0 o" V Bskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job& U5 N; A$ V7 C5 u4 ?" R
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
9 V- [: I6 l- c+ D) w$ ~that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program3 n8 {/ h$ q0 L T5 ^" q3 o
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
" Z( L* T1 b4 v% l7 a) ~school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking7 ^6 D0 Y5 Z5 Y
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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: w+ Y' I7 N9 h4 y* [Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
k, a; ]* x C* F; f2 t3 {$ \Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
* R3 b3 w! h0 ^% `! }college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.7 n- @+ @0 T3 h4 s/ K) Q8 U
: y' I. o& M ]9 p% P"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
* c9 r m- z2 r' O2 X2 {because of that missing certification," he said.; y( A( M9 [4 H/ O$ p
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,# U% @+ N3 B' V" a" I$ Z( D$ N
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
- x# l P' s5 B. C, Z. nSociety in New York.
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+ ?" w9 F i& h3 t3 E- v6 I) CSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the1 s7 w2 ~ U1 K3 s# m }" |
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from" E1 Z; n5 T% t0 ^# r5 b
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.) a- o, b8 t$ r
3 \3 v) y& Q* b, d; q7 H"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
$ T* l( {9 ]5 P! V5 Jown."
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