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October 15, 2005
1 h& |/ b/ O; I6 d$ eClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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1 V1 ^4 a! R1 L4 T' }" qCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the6 T4 j ]- |4 Q
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary+ _2 h: h6 f) k# d
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas" H8 o8 o, s8 n7 s1 i! G4 _
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese% C, u; o5 S9 o p1 P2 a9 n
flag hang from the wall.
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# y# ?0 {# I4 D7 t- UOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one( [3 ~+ ?: o6 V' `! r( ]
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders+ b; R3 O9 Z8 V: l& G
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker w X" X- F$ t5 {
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students" R7 r0 Q1 Q% u7 R7 }
are already choosing it over Spanish.8 @, D8 i7 L* I5 G) ^) C9 @
# S) S) E3 [/ D% {0 X l$ y& @"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal0 V( q( M# a& F, Z& ?7 E2 s+ f8 O
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
6 l8 r7 B9 s& y6 Q# ~offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."' p5 c0 `7 ^1 ?* s5 \0 n9 J
8 Y q9 L6 M1 m& B& h% nWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
8 r+ Y, |5 y* p8 \, Tschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
( W7 l1 e2 k) i+ S( pto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
1 C8 M: C. j0 X9 hone of its most difficult to learn.0 u K- k) h! Y
* G$ R' g% Q o. @Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
% {' A1 x' b. L4 B$ lpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
: i: T6 g& O* [1 f5 i t0 f3 K0 j' Ystudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.3 T2 c7 `9 V! ]0 Y' Q
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of. \' T3 B! @) @5 J
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
8 Y3 x7 E4 X3 @% l. gChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to( y* e" N2 b3 \9 I: t2 p! ~& Q
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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, r# o" ]8 p/ E5 ?& l% F FAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement# T( U1 F7 g7 R
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country6 X) b5 v" X# L" r% M7 n
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to+ A2 z1 Z4 q& B# r0 N
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
; v: `" Z/ s1 ], L5 w3 Ccurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
2 E- d6 d( Y& ]# h. Z0 lof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.6 A* X6 e9 {' S1 p6 s
: m! p4 L! |& y2 z. Y1 ^0 B3 H"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
, b; g+ j' g0 ]$ c* W- |speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
% t- `( L; b3 ?0 d9 |2 V8 H* UConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
5 u% W( ?+ n- D) e7 X8 Fcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from9 Y. u& ~! q8 k- Z/ W: P! b
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
7 E$ L. B# n; A8 \& e! |1 r- |years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language" @( q; N/ E+ Q+ \4 j: ^8 K( I$ q$ ^
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages# B! P: u2 d3 H
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.+ Y& _6 L6 n2 j. O
McGinnis said.: o6 u7 m: \! _, H
; s1 Q7 e0 A+ I' H/ j: Z) Q"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
! \, }6 d- K: s' f' m4 v% Ilongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be9 U) i# h7 v! R+ u; B0 }+ S
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
$ Z. t! Q1 t" w* p( b' Xchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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0 y! ]1 U0 Q; _- EUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and7 B& Q) a4 u3 }
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in# k" u5 q3 ~: R: n% m' Y( e9 a
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of- T- `4 n7 R0 ^4 f( d0 a% U3 P4 Z" H
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
+ G$ L9 G; ^6 u, A2 d5 Z7 g/ ^on weekends.; I$ ^( S- s7 ?. z
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
$ q9 J% j; N5 x; ]% ]( A/ @schools during the regular school day and primarily serves: x1 f; k& F# [( z! w: x; z% K" Q
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
: P2 C- f( ] e' k# h8 T2 lproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
$ B1 B+ v4 j3 _* Q7 \9 k% y. ?competition. ' Y6 v8 j+ I" D* s
+ ^2 K* ?) C- \& _"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley) v$ ]7 Z) E M9 K& I4 \3 Z- Z
said. "There will be Chinese and English.": K# h( V7 @, A) e: d( }' t6 f* }( B
! ~/ k5 H8 y! V3 w' N" l* m. `From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
' F8 E. k* i8 K6 _9 ^' Hall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
2 Z9 Y( K6 ]' Ischools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from$ O' ^+ N, x8 T6 L+ V1 ?, v* ~+ i9 n
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students2 w3 a' C* e8 k2 O
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to4 U6 d# s1 c9 f8 }$ t
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this- I; H+ L4 d# P" H* ?
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.8 Q) Y6 F) \ ~
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
3 u$ Q! W) L, v4 a6 i; l* ~8 ^classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago6 a( p6 T, e3 i# m/ w" `; z, `
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
7 z" l d/ I* {0 g* R8 N1 ohelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
7 I0 g+ z4 _' Ion an equal playing field."2 V3 Z" U6 u9 m" u9 s, |( l
, y1 j; a' \' y8 o- w* ~ y) oSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese% }6 | l" x! \
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign% V! o$ \. S1 g7 o
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
) s8 n l4 @ V' F" x+ wChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An' E4 k" n9 o2 K, S% N/ K3 `( M
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
+ d o: W1 m/ ?8 z" Y2 DChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the- F7 s' g3 w- o2 H. G- f
institute says., {# { x! l9 i' e7 e. j
# j/ u* f% A7 K& t; Z9 ]1 cSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth# A& z. E W0 U7 v& g5 p3 X
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
# s B; v, [* F( k) z/ G% N1 k7 i$ H" |deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
! S' ?6 \; M1 `$ ?) d0 H/ J6 {/ @! utold her daughter.% C9 E( _, d5 ?
! M1 C* ~8 a) D+ u/ }+ ZSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite' w) A- W: l* O1 l @
class.
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' ]- `% N& ]/ E( wAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
8 r2 H5 Z6 D/ b6 nstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without) c7 g( x. G7 A$ G6 H& I
occasional frustration.% _7 o' p1 g3 M. L4 q0 Z6 g
! l0 }8 Z! {" m8 E"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a/ Q5 D: j( M3 G8 B+ |9 s2 H
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.4 m) \- A1 j' {1 b+ m, c
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he# y! q0 T1 ~8 ~, U- U% d! @
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
+ f3 c& N9 G% d7 R5 K" x" l$ _ QChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul( h" g) _0 L$ C' i5 F6 h! D
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn) M2 ^! M1 E5 T* ^
as many languages as I can."
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) g( X2 ^# @" I0 I% a- t4 B+ dAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the$ p- D* l+ b. @- n) I8 H! ~+ ~
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
5 B6 N7 a6 X/ ^" I" u- ?. d6 z, amarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
- b Z8 e; P; v) Kthat," Ms. Freire said.1 l! L( z2 ?5 t4 I
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
$ c$ _, t1 o" @! Rhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
! \' q$ [' G& m* n+ ]8 T5 eschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
; y* k! N @- ?6 O& jtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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4 c$ [* K; i9 v" zChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
7 {; a( x: m. TChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
- {( ?5 A* |; P L7 ?7 u5 Bcollege, 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* F! s% ]# n R
because of that missing certification," he said.6 k+ I1 F* G5 C
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! ^( Q! V E! a% ]2 b3 l. C, X, R' osaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
" u! g- ~+ B" r x' qSociety in New York.. E! L4 u: w( W) d r; ^
# n7 ^. K# ]$ B- p J# v/ B" _Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the2 ]3 c# z; @0 Z4 A! {
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
7 I3 l) ?$ \8 ]0 ^5 V! G9 _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
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