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October 15, 2005
' K4 k1 j4 {( A1 _0 V, F/ LClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING/ h( a) x5 l$ d" {9 Q
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the# [& p2 N% h& L1 @# f% K" P
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
6 P: a V4 k- U- @School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
" o& D" t1 ]) K5 Gdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
( @5 {, }( ]' y6 P8 u Dflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
) S5 |- v4 U6 l( t6 l' k0 Y9 k% ganother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
- X$ D; M4 f: m. _3 F" t$ P! g; Ppracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker; E& T+ R6 \; j3 y" d$ U: _3 O
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
' e5 ~9 n% I' p) m4 y Yare already choosing it over Spanish.. V9 {9 z* S( Y* N6 |' F
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal8 T- B6 ?" h5 [) f9 W& e M
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city' f- X. ]9 T( Q
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."2 g, m( U4 U0 y3 L
+ y! I U* _5 H$ a% r; C' Z JWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,; n1 L1 V+ T5 N2 F0 Q
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings8 v* _+ o2 P8 N) j$ H
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
; X, ~. W. o" v# T: _8 }one of its most difficult to learn.9 h1 m- M7 i1 {) t
. K* d: b. y o% QLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to- X, g x# } e7 F/ Y# d0 c
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
6 v3 u* l0 _$ n5 ~studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.+ d% o& j; G6 |, b
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
/ ~; a9 o% m! t9 D/ G# BTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on7 |, A- L! o2 e8 T2 C5 t
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to' ?$ h5 H4 O. ]9 F4 _! [
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
9 O$ w z: }+ vChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
; ?/ z; W2 k" istarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
% o( X8 N& u6 L( E! Q$ m$ jdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
$ t+ p7 y. E4 s4 R2 _curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
2 r, |' b7 j+ m$ w) K0 B- L; tof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.! f4 Z* M" _' f$ f8 r& [
/ Y0 _# ^4 [$ r( J1 q' `3 e"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
- I( K! j1 `+ m: O/ O ^6 espeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education/ }! B- R2 W- ]! n/ j
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we8 b4 m: C3 d. p4 S3 Q
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from0 d/ i& | Y2 a6 T! X. j7 a
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
/ a9 F/ O! U" {/ ]* Jyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language2 G" H2 t8 q! _8 D; W
Institute in Washington.! G0 t( ^8 e+ K1 Y0 m# A; K7 F
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages, T. K% R$ m0 Q8 Y4 o& N8 L
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
& _. R$ A9 ]! F- q- v! i2 R- QMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical2 i0 J6 k$ j( f! Z5 C! i' q. P* W
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
, F6 z8 X; J7 D S4 {* gready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
* E. e0 t" P. m9 Y/ ^challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do." }* @( n D# ?$ K/ H2 _
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
$ `# o- y0 U2 R+ K- Z) z, X9 dsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in6 M. c; H9 M: g+ P. P/ U4 n
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
2 Z8 m V8 _1 PChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or4 l' M4 x0 [# f0 P0 S( I& @% S
on weekends.7 b! }0 f& x! @% M+ L
" n. ]; h \ d4 A1 R2 \4 GThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public8 d8 ]' e: |& z- ]% Z
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves: m2 H/ [" \, g
students who are not of Chinese descent.4 v+ f1 P: E: @% t- i
/ U( J, G6 h# k' D& NMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& `0 c* S4 v+ J: C" Nproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
, x# v2 Z4 }6 w# t) I8 q$ ucompetition. 4 v# |. h& ^9 |% V0 `/ [8 z9 D
- ~0 T; g% ~* Y"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
. N: T/ q# `6 b4 V1 _3 T' ^8 Msaid. "There will be Chinese and English."/ M1 ?" z$ S5 U h, N9 ~
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
1 E0 r; t* }3 g2 |( Y+ Yall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse3 c: G/ d' N: d- J
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
' k# M6 r" d3 ekindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students! y6 O2 x8 \4 U5 l% _
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to, J6 q. z% m2 r5 H& E
the school system last year.
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6 E/ T w( n" H& b& I9 HThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
! \ r' Q3 f: U* U( Q, R8 V9 \, ?year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
/ H1 s4 T* Q3 M$ m) x) Pclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
) a8 `4 Q2 }. }Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to" l' G" t% ?: F( }# B
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet; {* T- M! P- c+ P$ C4 `" d
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese" ~& Y$ y' i2 C! y2 r
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign7 L9 K- h6 F" m9 T5 {+ |
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
; y4 ], E6 H0 c0 L( SChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An' ~+ y. b7 I! q$ M% b
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
9 h, C; B4 o: C$ p! ?Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
8 c+ u& v, l- B( X3 Ginstitute says.. p8 O* `% b- D( y; O& Q$ l" k9 b2 C
' u2 v4 H& t: K$ ]% cSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth8 C: ~: d) I2 |/ {& N' \
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
# r1 U% ]6 H4 Udeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
! t9 V1 V' y2 v$ jtold her daughter.% K( f0 |3 q9 d
1 v; S4 \4 d! A8 N* Q/ H5 I5 WSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite) x- U: M1 X" f2 _. c: Q
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' a$ g, l) b! [& ?' g
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without: Q7 @1 w" @0 s# t
occasional frustration.3 Y1 W4 o0 f. K1 ^
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a# o+ L! ^$ L1 S9 H( s! |
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
8 S& f; H3 V( o" P2 Btaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
. \% F4 n* @5 U/ t8 j# I% YChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.- i# q& s& h2 b
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
; M# U; i% Y$ {% Gsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
! Q2 d% K J: {8 @3 N( a7 xas many languages as I can.": M2 Y' Q+ i9 C, H, Z
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
f+ q' p+ T4 E7 C3 x G7 yskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
6 L6 I- \3 Y0 l6 Vmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like4 a0 I& ]( Z0 x1 l* T
that," Ms. Freire said.- j K6 F: X& E! O6 K- a
. l% s" T9 |8 y4 V: wMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
3 C$ ]1 {) ]1 H. q2 T; lhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each; z4 z$ q5 \% a1 D0 J; `8 }- w
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
1 Y8 G! }0 D2 H" }3 z, y$ r& Itime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
8 j' j4 Q4 t6 @' D6 a: ]room.8 x# ]2 ^. B1 w$ M& G" m* f' X
( x4 m- ~/ r, B% X( J$ HChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer, y$ l8 P$ z( I( A1 A
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American* l# y" N8 K4 ^0 J3 k
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 qualified4 e! s! e- M! B6 I3 @9 x5 }
because of that missing certification," he said.) ]/ E( A: {+ A7 }) j6 z
& M- W9 o9 s5 E- GThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
2 g. h+ [; m; N5 A5 }said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* k" R N O8 s" z0 T* c
Society in New York.4 v+ z8 V+ x/ w: C5 a
7 W! h; a# X$ s! \6 Q1 rSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the7 s) R$ m" ~7 \& D0 |, i1 @
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
/ {2 y- C! U$ R. W9 qthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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8 ?9 i" V' X0 ^"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our* I+ r% w0 o; n: L- a; R7 C2 ]
own."3 @4 K. N9 \7 p; ^
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