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October 15, 2005
5 \( k; v. r; H2 Z* L: y9 lClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity, V& G- ?) F- o) V0 W
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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) \* O/ E0 m* K* o( m0 MCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the$ J, x$ ^1 {" p" N, ^
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
: ^/ p F3 S: p- dSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
1 n$ @- M; P6 g, I- ]dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
" \" r5 M3 S; @( }& Rflag hang from the wall.5 z* ^3 G& U) _( x- ^+ x
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
. ?" ?; ^- c. G) P6 ?another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
; n5 K0 X- L7 C7 Npracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
: Q& G5 L# O3 @. K( e* q& gboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students" Q/ g# k" Q/ F. @ p2 q
are already choosing it over Spanish.+ a+ e$ }$ {+ L* I/ J2 d5 |
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& Q' I3 t1 w4 n9 S6 h% Y
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city) L" R3 P% [4 {5 T0 b
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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. O0 s5 ^6 m8 e( AWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
w, _/ f( p; r, Cschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings) ^/ R% @' [# h, {; |
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
" M0 h J3 g n4 T4 p, U# L8 ione of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
& {7 d' \1 S+ I* d lpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students; _- ~1 Q/ s7 V
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
: V ^8 n3 v8 [1 ]5 X: ^Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of; x7 v: r3 ~+ f+ a0 x9 U7 x
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
$ i6 q! [0 q( j' ~- k/ WChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to" L! \- F( \7 i$ C
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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. Z( U8 a1 E V# TAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement5 e. P1 U& c9 P# E1 R5 A( c' Y
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
: C4 L. s/ [: astarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to) l9 H0 Q! I* x$ o! v8 l
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
0 b0 s5 s P+ C! C3 T8 _& v; ycurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director4 k3 m; ~; O6 y2 { K1 n8 H3 [
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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, H% h' _3 _+ D) f n6 F8 E" Q1 i"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of& _1 I5 ~1 I9 D G! W ^- j
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education: R, a* F* m5 Z# {3 \0 u, z7 ?
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we z Q: a& ]7 o2 v
can."
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* E6 V# ]# r' U7 C0 x+ {The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
. H8 n6 z& R9 K" U3 C! u+ delementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
) ^& D( O6 s# P" `years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language; g! Q$ _) B `& w9 m
Institute in Washington.
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9 C' q9 A# c0 B' Y( q0 F"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
% G/ a+ G' D/ \# @aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
/ Q3 W6 t5 |+ b0 [- b4 ^McGinnis said.. N) T6 _5 a; A% T. X" p9 H( Y
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
) T ~& W1 M8 B1 mlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be$ a5 y$ w! T0 o$ ?3 F3 k& @
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
6 Z8 _5 E& K5 m& |) F1 ^challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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2 t: }+ b" Y' g0 ^+ H, f6 F- iUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
, O" I6 F# y' u2 u0 I8 Hsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in. y; \) j* X5 q
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
* a- {( e( ~2 \: M1 g& U4 v. LChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
- g9 d$ x( P) x l9 hon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
3 t- F5 L( G( z+ k. A" k" O* nschools during the regular school day and primarily serves4 h7 [9 L) K- m0 j: V3 T
students who are not of Chinese descent.& N, W, K! p0 g$ T6 | }7 B& x
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said4 E. r4 s3 k1 r$ J" y P
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
( L4 }! W: E- _) ?! ycompetition. ) ^- h5 ]6 D- z( i* h* u+ X% B
$ r$ X) U, H, w. |2 Z"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
) K$ c* U4 Y8 U. Vsaid. "There will be Chinese and English.") S; k* v% r& q: o: k" j R
/ o1 E6 g& D9 ]3 D0 jFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly0 i/ n. U6 x# V7 K1 J& ^2 s0 V3 b
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
: q# c9 y5 Y" C8 h' N u( K3 hschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
8 x; o7 i) O4 K" ?9 `kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students/ \% H1 n6 H# y6 z, Z
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to: k/ Y5 q5 w1 c) e& a" I$ N8 J
the school system last year.
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6 c( V- b7 {7 Z" p: OThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
/ E1 R9 l, {, ]! c* }/ ?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
" z N4 @2 R$ z- Sclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
* c, f1 e2 i! ?0 m. a% |$ c! {& MChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to2 m% ]. f: v$ V8 z/ O; X
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
; G0 x, B. a2 B0 [on an equal playing field."
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8 T0 v6 B+ l& ]( oSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
8 l; s2 q7 Q7 I4 z5 h6 ^; P7 j" n0 fclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
5 G3 f' N {7 D1 u H3 Y PService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
" \9 [! \1 y: C6 @Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
0 e& v2 M* f) Y1 q5 Z# Kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
/ R2 W9 Q, v- c" UChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the8 m6 Y6 b* B4 Q [
institute says.
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9 w; R& o( _4 u; W/ o' SSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
+ b" j% u3 w: H7 n! lgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before( Y4 G% l' f; V+ f9 W
deciding whether to take the class.+ D; {- a3 T, m" Z( ~
& s0 ]* Q6 h: a1 G, i"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
5 t1 V/ R0 E, S; |; L1 Atold her daughter.
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& F, o% N- C" z$ R% K; tSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
# E$ B5 I- g/ \. [' \6 g# lclass.& b/ X7 B! y/ ^- V' h( g5 F) H
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are. A3 @( f, o! {4 W* I/ \% W1 C
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without# A% k3 p9 I) @- z q0 ~
occasional frustration. G" Y' m$ @& y1 W! o( L1 k8 k$ f
& H! Y$ r7 R8 E; T/ \"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
( R! k2 R0 |; Y' e& Drecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.# P2 ?$ q- z0 g1 S) ]
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
4 @) A' n: i4 u; X- {$ ?) d% btaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
4 j/ t# j& z$ y7 t: wChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
0 t* T) b9 Y" Q/ isaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn8 W( B# I! N+ Y6 I/ r$ W
as many languages as I can."
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. z& d5 F8 W- HAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the3 X6 x; ^2 q5 K$ @
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job& E7 D* {1 Q% l" |. c
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
( ?9 i; Q# R. W+ \2 kthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
* Z& [; j; ~( R+ \$ g: v& ?- Ehere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each' _8 s- T3 k5 ?% A1 O7 b
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
; u5 ?, j2 z6 V+ r- U$ q/ q, Ttime from classes like physical education, music and art to make% s+ n f' v1 @; g( W
room.5 V6 M/ u5 a* V. } ^+ K7 q
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
, C' i6 }+ F% a* I# PChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American. t3 ^' C- c' B& o! u
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
0 A" m" o& s( Q) Pbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! C7 e4 @% E8 b" O7 Gsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( \8 u4 S) W1 Y& O9 |/ T
Society in New York.
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$ q8 S2 t! N( `Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
+ v- t9 ^8 H+ ^: H. uChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
8 @$ f) s& q) E$ m) Lthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.8 z5 V" s4 e r8 [& q% ^
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
+ A: X( H# D9 D, C" T: N! \, {own."
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