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October 15, 2005
6 z% X- a2 z. V% {Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING# H2 e; p9 T& `3 H
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
# L! Q/ T- ^9 s8 V! R# _United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
) ~+ N" l$ Y: O0 X& p5 C* j VSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas& `! M# C! Q7 N- I* f
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
$ y7 Y+ M- r% o! g. E j( I4 tflag hang from the wall.7 q& z* \$ R, g( i/ O( y$ S1 S7 N V- o
7 V7 l2 b' a1 v# X ^0 H/ gOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one4 P8 t5 X& o& q: N# U
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
) Y9 w6 k( ~/ Q+ cpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
+ w8 G/ n3 ~2 S% D: xboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students1 K: H; S5 l! U' i! k/ T. e: v7 j
are already choosing it over Spanish.8 ^! i, X* X- k
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
- W2 N. K9 H+ Hat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city, y2 g) L$ ~ F
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
: D& ?% a# b& U* @) Y9 g! Y) p. Mschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings+ S) {2 [) O1 K
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
2 k& r4 H3 U4 ]9 |: vone of its most difficult to learn.+ M! Q& f0 p) Z# M& r4 \
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
" G/ |$ c3 v2 A! i$ t$ Bpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students& Y m$ Z0 S) J1 N# k
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.7 j4 l5 W8 m. b0 U7 o, x
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of E. c) F; ^' |5 e, \
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on+ G, Y0 t3 L$ }; H, A% A, [3 b
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
. f, O g0 U0 |8 `4 Bimprove 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. g. @4 ?# K9 t+ j/ ]! b
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country, I( \5 g7 a# \# L
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! Q4 {7 ^" e6 j
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
* D. r B! ]3 l: L( ~curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
4 b9 T8 }2 \! Jof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of1 s0 |$ P# |" B" W/ u
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education& y4 j. i. b \7 y+ ?! e
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
1 }' o- D; ^: Ccan."
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+ c9 N. R; @% Z$ c3 GThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
/ j: f4 r b* @elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10) ]' K- |4 s: d, X0 p3 A& T
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
) S& ]( C% R! J6 o! C2 |0 @Institute in Washington.7 E8 s5 y3 t: V9 O$ k1 e4 ?
& I% P9 C/ W+ A) w# b' A5 B) X7 P"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
/ x0 n- w0 ?1 S% `! |0 Q0 daren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.) ~5 w% B% U/ \9 b4 {0 [
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical9 }) O1 B% f) Q% F
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be# a: C' l/ @3 B2 D9 R
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a: \; q9 ]% ^3 W5 B! A; z1 X
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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6 O3 J$ K: z3 @5 E( J; DUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
; B, F5 |& h$ D5 Lsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in1 W8 V" K, `3 H% ]( N: A
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
- F. n( @ M* V; F! {Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or i# L" l( w3 S/ G" V
on weekends.
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' F1 Q7 r1 P/ v3 @8 i& r0 Z; QThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
* K/ E, g- C" B) R4 ]: w( ~schools during the regular school day and primarily serves' k" J. _: ]/ M
students who are not of Chinese descent.6 e- ?" } y' d; y6 w% f) |
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
$ s, P! B. B) N" ]! ~ rproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the( ^( K* r' q. p+ L+ ^2 ^- U
competition.
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* G/ r d9 q3 ]1 k1 ]+ n T"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley- R" g8 S5 K/ E% ~+ E6 G: a- w
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
1 P: k Z8 q4 N5 iall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse7 O* d; H9 T$ h' K9 m$ P
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from. v5 f: Z* l5 T5 ]
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
' m5 e7 P5 I5 b! o; n. jwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to+ U* N2 x! Z! j* S8 ^
the school system last year.! o# ?' z' B2 j
! e* \" G- o1 s/ kThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this5 Z* C: D1 ]$ @
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.3 n" v- B4 O3 ]# |4 [6 O4 E% P" J6 _* i
5 O3 ]* G) {8 l"They have a great international experience right in their own" U' p# j- I2 D7 @* L2 g5 l7 X
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago' Q& _& u( |) y; r( Z/ V
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
2 m! f I" Q" u0 l; S% A+ bhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet7 Y8 w7 B7 r- e |
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
2 G( Z! I) W, ^2 g. v3 \' Qclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign- w. I& T+ w% G8 m, T$ h
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
4 I4 `5 k( B. U- U9 m- ]Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* C/ [. x# g( o: j$ Oaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in. v/ P4 h! X! k- R, O
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
& P! J2 P9 U6 n' Zinstitute says., B1 l0 K. X/ j$ |0 C3 j5 |0 p. R
% F) }" c/ \2 ]5 B( w; dSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth+ r# E, H) `* r. D% _6 O. n
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before5 R, T( S9 r+ R; y% U; ?# e9 n8 L1 |! d
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
, q( t+ f3 G9 Y- {5 Jtold her daughter.
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) Q Z2 q4 {; a5 y7 |7 v0 ZSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
% E# B2 m3 G8 g4 e' [class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
% a: u: y- b6 S, Q* {! B! ostudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
' h! J, Y! H; ^7 Doccasional frustration.
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% M6 p) z, Q0 F7 X"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
( G) D0 X) Y/ R" ]7 J u. }recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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6 I' P3 K" Y/ z3 ]Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
5 e4 W5 @( U, P( Z* Etaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with1 T, S, Q" H" Q+ J( n
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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) s9 e) i9 X/ |"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
- U9 X+ u& l- k1 |5 c6 T* Ksaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
7 t$ M9 o4 N- U0 sas many languages as I can."' m9 R# B0 u$ p" q+ Q% `! z
, m; F/ v& j2 rAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
: N7 m. ^/ X; K; Iskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job+ g3 ]1 O/ Z( y
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
2 K+ o- U0 C% S: sthat," Ms. Freire said.
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+ h( n4 V8 {6 K9 u" w. [* qMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
8 _- w! G1 B8 N' }0 f- f8 N; Zhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
. F0 ?0 A3 w( s! ~& D4 C/ kschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking. C X3 @& m; D
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
1 R3 r0 n( q2 v3 c( iChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
+ ?: M+ N E4 s# |! Rcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.% ?) [# O# j6 C- T1 Y6 q
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
2 D9 i; [1 t8 U4 Hbecause of that missing certification," he said.- k; _; C: L/ E: X6 }# ?- ^
! Z/ W2 M% O+ V; P6 a' S a0 P( RThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,( _) R6 J5 B; Q
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia2 z. r7 `* X* J1 {
Society in New York.7 E2 U1 m v. I/ I. j
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
6 n& _; |( K. t. x- t7 BChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from$ j ?( P9 J9 L8 C. h4 {
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.* O" {0 T! b7 y; @& A N& m( O
7 c/ o3 ]) s+ O, P% g6 }1 ^"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our" j! p% Z- ^" @4 @. l8 U" x" C
own."2 v2 J; L7 s3 w& p* S+ x
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