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October 15, 2005
6 O3 {- w% L( b; T# p/ ?/ _Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity% c+ [+ W) J0 M" P3 q) d
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the# r. V1 H9 `# w0 a/ h
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
( v* `& ^- g* t( TSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas' ^1 n7 i& t2 `- Y; ?) X! s9 i2 G
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
% o+ u8 W8 J; i/ lflag hang from the wall.% W- f4 X, k# t( w) \& {
) e" t% S' T, w# uOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one; r5 s0 s( j$ P0 J
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
+ N+ z. Y2 a. k. k dpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker9 x9 ?) g( @4 p( L
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students1 F7 v5 F; j- a0 o% |, s# s
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 d1 P5 o* V" f$ F0 pat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
# y/ e k" `, ^4 T7 Y* w+ noffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."2 |) H; n- j) `
2 n1 G+ R9 T) ]3 w) J: P0 Z3 \& ~' LWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
P7 |' T( C! jschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
" ?- v, ^& K% Sto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
9 I* N# t& ^5 a( }% T U5 fone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
2 V1 s2 z) E) ?9 M1 apublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
" G: w! H0 M% Bstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I." j0 W( O1 d; i2 {: q3 H) J
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
/ p; \% K; j) b& K2 b8 gTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
$ J: p$ U7 _1 O7 }) B' m* F. ~Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
9 M* \0 _0 Y0 o" E iimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.5 T. r) {7 d* E5 Z w3 ~
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
5 f. p X- v! @1 T0 GChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country; m' y0 M" c, B; K
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
1 O" H D- ?7 J% sdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
9 O! Q0 \3 P8 s7 q' zcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
! B3 _% C7 R" u3 }) `of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.+ Y/ g- u* S1 {6 R/ A; D! R
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
! V( h4 F5 E' d2 z, sspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education* n% U: e7 A$ k6 F8 x5 O7 k8 x1 q
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we8 @$ W, x8 z. }
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, f! y) R/ O1 |- u, k2 T8 n9 J, yelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
; h) J" o: c" s' ?. _years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
; F9 r4 A/ `; i* p1 X& k4 X* ?Institute in Washington.2 q7 W' u+ `' n5 g& ~; s( o8 l F
- E4 k% [1 P6 f! f! l. _"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
1 z) E2 G# @+ N0 ]aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
! R) o; _: v4 `$ v3 \+ G$ OMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical0 D9 m4 w) r5 M4 W/ t5 l
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be) a1 s7 i7 B$ @( i& S3 _! s
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
( U0 D" U& w0 }- g$ l. c: n5 N8 ichallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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" V2 k- e. H+ E" L1 `: u4 VUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and- B6 h2 w4 b. L) g) k$ y
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in7 ^7 G! B: E) [7 v- x
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ _, X1 ]7 T# G
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or4 \$ x# U4 [3 o, {4 \6 @
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
% I/ l4 ?: h' p1 S. A& kschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
. h6 c% e2 @4 R& D" Y! cstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
4 H0 V" T# P/ U4 B% W) J R, o& U' _proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
. i& B5 j+ t0 v3 ^( I7 Bcompetition.
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9 Z3 D/ L4 K5 o& J"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley w' q3 n$ b; V. y4 u% P( V( V
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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3 P9 n- l# J/ y# O, Z/ q' EFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly; \) |9 C, [: w! Q. q8 F
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse3 ?( v8 j! N$ ?# ^7 u2 b
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
7 H$ d" M, X$ D; C* Gkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
( o. U: Q: q( x$ Mwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to, n. `+ ~ E% ^ Q1 M0 p
the school system last year.5 X5 N3 g- V7 H U
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
+ ?, M1 j2 A2 t U* w; O2 Byear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.: j% q/ X7 v3 H$ u8 G6 s, M
, _8 ?' t$ f! v5 G3 a' ["They have a great international experience right in their own: V1 ^6 A8 M/ k
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
' f: n9 u3 u0 p2 |2 u4 cChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to8 w0 F) P, A8 }9 ?; d8 p
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
1 j" {1 L* ?8 D( U( c* ton an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
5 ?$ ~% R& D" q* ~! H; M7 gclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
8 G+ B1 L* M8 e5 ?* sService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks0 R$ {6 w! X% P* Y: f
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An3 U/ V' P+ P" t) A0 I0 e3 ?7 y
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in4 D' D% g7 W8 W8 L
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the2 [1 P0 n! V2 S
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
5 H2 p7 X! Q8 m% n- e; m: Y0 E; }& ngrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before' o8 L1 Z, p7 W: V& c x0 E
deciding whether to take the class.4 w# m; O9 j1 S8 n: R
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she# o$ D6 t# m/ c6 X1 I$ V
told her daughter.9 q7 l$ e. k9 J1 Y. \" S
+ k# Y& Q7 L( m5 w. }- E0 [8 v& Z3 ~Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite4 f( a8 t3 ^% ~+ w; _# M9 z* g
class.5 A& z8 |, d5 W- t# r9 S# @6 b
& }& O+ t2 U1 |/ B& a1 vAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are5 x n- `8 J. i& C( i7 y
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
3 Y: c( A% Y' c: R, C( ~! h( c1 Yoccasional frustration.$ c9 Z7 t3 `9 H0 G% [$ Z2 j+ n
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a. h) U9 D4 b2 J
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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) B: n/ }, X; c# m/ \) oRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he; N$ S M2 O* \' z1 b
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with) j- `; Z6 C4 v9 F3 e& v
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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$ R3 g; M, t {4 |( m n6 ^"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul9 V+ U1 }+ i7 d9 T& x
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
0 @4 I8 s) k) P" ^- V1 Q3 jas many languages as I can." c7 v: k' T0 E R
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
2 u9 h; L# z" n9 x2 C: k7 J! ]+ xskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
& J/ q9 q' R' U' ` A3 ~: Bmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like4 C7 D( b; {: J
that," Ms. Freire said.! O6 c0 q; s9 `7 H3 R& k9 [& C! B
6 I/ p2 z7 W! z( v4 Y5 B/ lMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
4 j, |7 b8 \; `' W- Q6 ghere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' ~! \3 e; p# n5 j7 Uschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking2 U1 W, @3 T0 }4 i0 ]
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make" K" |, O, R: x1 d, _ w( Z
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer+ A- I) Z& R( w
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
5 r# g; [+ a) B, W9 b# h k! x: P+ dcollege, 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
& l: F6 X9 ^: L- Q- T) D. Kbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
3 j4 M( I6 w3 ?) D8 `% esaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
, k& A( _' w W0 B- t4 \Society in New York.
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5 N' ]" z- |7 S7 f2 O2 O; `; I( N% _Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the2 ?. p. Z% i4 J4 x% m" B
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
, R) O! P4 J( H; [the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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: D5 K$ ]2 ]' j0 o r3 }7 b) g"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our: t" ^) i( g3 \) l+ \- T
own.", c3 f* m5 G: E* w
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