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October 15, 2005
, Q, F( O6 _- d$ r3 @* c x$ i# QClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity, }1 W& `2 X8 [0 ~& H' \! V
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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% g' c" R. B r- g2 ECHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
" [; O/ ]+ b5 O% f- BUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary& A5 n3 ~0 ?0 R, m5 U; x
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas0 h+ g2 R+ L2 ?" T. w: f, I$ r' k
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
; m3 }! H0 J$ B8 f$ h# Y8 xflag hang from the wall.# d2 o& O4 {( b+ \7 G5 ^
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one8 h& T' z+ |0 T/ i: c7 {6 [! `
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders* v$ r4 q6 S, V0 B, [! v
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
2 a/ @; [4 ~+ t3 e7 e3 i0 f: P5 _boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
6 ?9 n- A1 o& C% a+ uare already choosing it over Spanish.) h2 Q! O5 G; I% ] ^( D# z
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
s5 O. `. ?' E" _6 C' e: Y, y; oat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
7 l" f: X; I- O w; M6 k0 foffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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+ r6 T5 X$ Z! ZWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
+ n4 {3 k& ^! L) ~) D* aschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
! h/ r9 Q3 k! Z6 }: Q0 s0 t) \7 Ito include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention6 E% x3 e" E: S l' n
one of its most difficult to learn.6 O4 D: x, ^) W7 l# E
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
2 R% P6 C# U, ppublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students3 v2 X* d5 R- K# J8 P' S" [3 j! [
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.; R7 |- s. O' a# C
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% D8 p) `& S- p- Q3 zTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
4 H$ b4 h5 Z2 g# |3 S5 |! v; z1 t1 yChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to9 e! l3 d8 w* t# A9 I7 F+ \/ I( w
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee./ D0 C1 \1 I- S) K1 [8 E
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement& k l' P0 \# G7 g! ]# u! A% a
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
4 P* u2 a. g3 v3 ]4 R2 _3 istarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
, N$ T1 G) f3 q" e# O8 Bdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing& u; S! @% \" R( ^2 S6 G; A2 {
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director6 q' Z) {5 ?; ^0 D" a
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.1 P5 n+ L! K7 T/ I6 z# m; W
9 s( \' z2 w) {# T2 h"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of3 g- v: \! `1 ?1 o6 v* w) d+ L4 h1 @
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education% z8 M6 i9 B- a$ a/ |# u! f/ p
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we. ?3 N, v) y+ n, Q( p; F
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from* F8 ~: N$ b: V; Q9 [
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
/ l3 A0 h; G, F# |" Tyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language$ U- M+ w2 b9 m: K6 i
Institute in Washington.
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5 v% |% o% o5 F$ @" b: t) c; i% e"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages7 m$ I8 d6 R0 c5 ?: }# U" ^/ ]
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
1 \& D1 {/ s9 {1 rMcGinnis said.
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2 r1 q7 `& ?0 u h# Q' M+ @0 Z"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
: J( u5 J+ E, x2 y3 P* Xlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be B1 q4 S1 U( _
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a. ~( U6 }7 e4 O+ C7 }+ x Y
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
/ w5 N! }; ^2 x/ a2 H. X. m! m* J3 X, Osecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
: y+ d5 g9 U& ^ ?. v' ucities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
+ Q% R1 F& ]: Z& p# n+ A! }3 Y: ZChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or8 `1 U+ _3 k( w" ]: W9 @7 ~& F
on weekends.
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8 u0 i4 g2 M0 W, A, f5 \7 V7 FThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
3 C" e3 A: y# c0 q2 ~schools during the regular school day and primarily serves! z* }# E: S- C1 ^+ C' P
students who are not of Chinese descent.# K @# t! f& O$ ^& J. Z
; ~; r; h/ [9 ~! N& U V, H, NMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said2 t$ S4 Q/ k( ?2 L: ~* ~
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
7 R: @) z5 l6 o2 _; Q% w- R# t* dcompetition.
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0 Z% M. i6 S: u+ s"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley/ F* \6 r( }$ q3 q: x
said. "There will be Chinese and English."- v2 T2 X; c4 b, @8 Y$ w$ U9 @5 J
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly$ ?# D* l. j3 ?: n4 X: p9 b
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
6 [) p) D$ S0 q7 z. e9 ^7 E! `; ?schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from' I. k# V9 e: {# K7 D
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
' S! N! L' r$ B8 }# b3 x. D: _1 vwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to1 r! ]2 [0 {2 J9 ?7 l
the school system last year.
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- f2 k' Y* _2 e' hThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this" E. ^* t- [9 [
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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& \5 ~7 u6 t% A, \- I"They have a great international experience right in their own0 m1 `' V% h( Y5 D
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago" |' m0 D& }0 U* c* e" J
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to9 ]; A: ^4 C3 }- B* B
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
& |: C( z4 N- B" N. Kon an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
$ y, [# i* c9 q7 ~- m9 cclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
4 U9 I+ [% K3 o8 L0 DService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks- h i0 k4 ~4 y! J8 u9 u
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
' `8 t8 j2 I1 E# x3 V! r& Maverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in/ @" g4 B2 P( J
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
9 t2 Y3 N; N6 V5 @% ~/ Dinstitute says.0 a+ d) Q7 {1 x+ u4 o% C R
8 Y# I) i" ?6 V _/ j. _9 _Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
' n; h1 B" Z& Z% ], Vgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before; y* s7 z4 A) z3 s7 L: W+ v
deciding whether to take the class.4 k0 R8 s k: L8 \& g0 S
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
6 |% Q: N; J- B, U4 f. l( c1 _told her daughter. W1 a( B, |- [# `1 d; J
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite! s" e- Y, L, U& t4 K+ l9 t/ d
class.) d- p* w9 E" k+ \
W! |+ u& P+ v+ mAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' W0 d0 j5 [) ]
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
( T ~4 j) d; E' boccasional frustration.
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7 [ a# e. V g( z) s- P"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
* q/ F* k1 n, ~: urecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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7 M6 S6 Y$ I o6 A0 o2 xRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he( G6 V. w9 Q3 ^$ I! M. N! O8 N, h
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
, `% h6 M8 g3 l4 y5 kChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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9 F B$ A% u$ b5 {"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
2 R) X Z5 b N8 u) `said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn ^- K2 n( x$ B D6 k
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the2 [8 y" ?# T; t+ S) U+ m5 \
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job6 i4 `) @6 m* e! B" `
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
" ]8 U; O' [: G- c% pthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
! P' {) w7 R6 j! R( Shere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each- g( w) a6 K# r" D4 t0 K! [% a. @1 n3 O
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- s& }8 h. q' ~: a! j
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
4 e2 y" o1 T! a( ~room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer% B ^9 n' i2 |+ D2 N4 v9 t
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
9 _3 `* @$ P5 q X" Ncollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said. X8 L6 y: P2 b( J2 ]: X8 c
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
/ u4 V! o) @6 M2 N; |( w& [because of that missing certification," he said.1 `# {3 T' {5 j1 @1 M" u
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States, ?; o8 j" [ m
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia' L. B& S% d6 ^9 X& m
Society in New York.; N+ K# A% t3 n8 W8 Y* r1 y7 F0 r
: m" t, p2 O! [Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the* V% i4 p6 {# w; [0 M% `
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from4 G7 @# \3 i2 b) x$ ^* }$ R" R/ }# [
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: ^/ ^6 D a& J* S) v- ?/ r
own."% o5 x) j- r+ i
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