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October 15, 2005
. c+ W' s$ g+ m8 @Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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9 W0 S& K+ R' t, BBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING& S f- D: z6 \
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
7 ?( c% j! t) J3 ~4 D1 u* M/ vUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
" j6 J/ G4 w8 `School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas( \3 S6 P' t' M3 K9 \
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
x% x- ~* c9 l9 G4 F' P' I) ?flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one6 ~0 f) n1 e; k9 {. `
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders7 J6 J! \/ c8 o3 t T
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
9 A% K, M' F) n: {7 i8 w; jboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students. m9 _$ ~' d1 f' ?& u8 w L
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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- d% z7 _, X9 w# @8 a" P, c$ S"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal$ ]" t8 h9 C- Z" L; L% `
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
. L/ F/ b# @2 }% D' \offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,+ t% }; H# t+ M3 w# o" F; D
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings9 c( z. H# r) f [) N$ w8 m
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 n/ e2 ~" u9 c2 D! q2 `4 Q& Lone of its most difficult to learn.( F" X* m, u# Y
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
7 P3 J3 b8 m# p& S+ e f: b; B5 opublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students2 B4 T2 {9 S! ?- i j
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.& z& P) Q _3 k/ q7 g. q& K
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
+ |: _! C! ^' FTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on- F+ A' u/ l6 `, r& }- s r z
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to% D5 l! E- e& |" r5 [0 K6 B
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 Placement1 H4 s8 `0 n1 x* S# _# z8 N
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
/ U7 h7 s \% G6 Lstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to$ P' @2 a- q/ W# o9 K% `. m) Z) k
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing7 _! H- r" D. y/ s2 N, N. a# O
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
3 K7 x! f# x6 W4 ^* e5 d# nof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.3 B! @* v- J2 T N
3 A6 C6 v- ]. v7 M/ ?- _"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
3 @0 Y( Y% c( E0 R' d ospeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education5 @ z+ q& h' c8 V- i
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
% U7 H) b" \+ Celementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
9 E: m5 s, K0 T" Syears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language# b7 u, W+ w* p7 @ ~
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
, |+ |/ ]3 \$ Q; @; O# i) saren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.- L+ S7 B. b( e9 {# k b- Y. ]4 x
McGinnis said.) D) L! ]7 H* W& G9 ]6 ]" N4 M
; o& a& ^% i; I/ b% Y# a1 C/ W( a"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
7 J# Y2 o3 p. \4 T3 dlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
' L* ?# U' d9 Z. ~+ b8 g$ l2 [ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a' f4 D0 Q/ {+ A# |8 `8 Z4 T
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."7 _ J0 t0 F, }2 z% n0 t. |5 _
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
2 w; {; g* i [9 A' `secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in- W! m0 O7 g- q* }: d3 J
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
8 ~! ?9 z) F3 n' ]Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or6 F4 \1 @/ R( w1 b3 y) Q+ {
on weekends.
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; B% v! ~/ N( m" m- z( `2 T, eThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public# f" [) R. T# {% p$ k
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 ` `* K, W6 x( Gstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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2 Q5 N" R* F2 MMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& f' V; H4 G C% Q# `proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the# c/ Z& d3 n3 w# I; }
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley/ S5 }) S, g8 Q# ?9 Y' a3 x
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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6 T$ d v, W) }' l5 i: Q2 BFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
& o0 m0 P8 m5 E. o' E. Nall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
; _! z" R2 u6 Y( R# _/ G" ^) pschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
/ t* B4 Q2 ~ P, |kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
" _& q* {# Y6 V& Awho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
" n: Q* ^0 Z# G$ \3 ?9 ^the school system last year.3 S' `; }8 O/ w- g }7 A
1 U' u0 i, @3 _: \; v& zThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
! g; _) u# Y) B p4 J6 J# fyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.9 `) W1 R; c/ g: ~9 z
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"They have a great international experience right in their own& `+ ?6 B- c0 B1 q. l# _/ z3 p
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago1 J2 U! m3 D! V9 r; }
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to" B/ e6 D0 S6 w. a( ~# y
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
: \% e7 b3 p7 {0 Gon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
% w7 s5 D6 B! \" Hclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign- s, o; b& M& N* t4 |6 b1 v8 _
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks0 i- w% g* U4 u3 L3 ?
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
O" k; R8 G9 {4 Faverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in: v( z; n( A7 P, G
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the2 i1 D- ]; M" V9 O! q! L
institute says.
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) P- v4 t. T, P+ mSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
' N* M2 ? j) |( wgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
; w3 U% _# C. V; a2 E' R' rdeciding whether to take the class.: A# F3 S& i- C5 @2 |: t
) s, z9 z! x: `) n9 |1 C"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
3 ^5 i: o. y# D0 _3 x) k( utold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
: R+ p/ i" o; J$ Tclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are$ O3 S3 B8 v+ o$ P
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without1 o. O8 i: |: I% d
occasional frustration., E. l' x6 H5 M% r* g9 E/ s
8 E( j: y3 I+ b5 i# Q/ J$ F+ [1 k"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a, w8 v7 ]: F3 @
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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' d6 \% O7 s( \3 _5 L ]2 C4 fRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
. S2 a! I& l/ E7 i* ~9 s' b8 staught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
! Z2 N% H% U% \3 D& TChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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& \9 E0 d! _1 C4 ]"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul' w9 w; U8 P, p9 g6 Q" l
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
" |: I- J* L5 U! s0 ras many languages as I can."
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" j' {, s2 B) e |5 `Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
, W' T; c- w9 ~7 a' F5 |" `5 ^skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
+ |1 j6 j- x0 @market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
5 K0 u0 Y7 | M1 t, W0 xthat," Ms. Freire said.
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& y d7 P% q" I* mMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program6 l' j5 y' {9 y0 k3 y
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
( w5 R5 Y4 e- @+ u" A3 w/ lschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
7 g* `8 |' E4 Q8 Xtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make4 }. }9 E$ _# G5 q
room./ c x/ L7 o7 ~ Z( u
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
2 F" R' P b) H9 K( C6 U$ I9 M, W/ CChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
2 O) F# g: E4 k q1 q( Q0 dcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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3 E7 @% q! X; [6 f( w2 ^# g"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified. V& R. W- N- x2 s
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,1 I2 Z& p& g' x* U4 ?. r9 z
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
/ {+ t& H5 g( M) }8 s0 @Society in New York.+ b: j+ q4 X+ V# D
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
; {* d4 n$ K" K, UChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from% h8 b! L5 K6 j5 z
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.' F: H9 b0 w3 W0 w
) N' w2 \, P# w- [$ |"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
2 |3 M$ t" X; d8 {; pown."
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