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October 15, 2005
( }* y/ J/ W, u0 u M9 qClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity! o* T: F' S. Y0 J( h* K7 S
6 P: O: q' _" ~5 Y' Q1 q8 }4 \* RBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ y- Q! b9 n" `. |( a# b
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
* `1 E: [2 Q- }. dSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
! B. ^0 I$ n% B1 Jdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese% C B% J& l8 u' B' v7 G
flag hang from the wall.+ v8 E" J1 y' u3 ^1 O4 P& M
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one" p, E# q4 p' O" [
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
J' i$ g4 x. | w# I* `/ k( D* ]practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker" `, V% E( s* l4 L y6 M
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students: ~6 L+ U: z8 ~% q' j1 R
are already choosing it over Spanish." u& A; T) [3 s8 M" Q4 ]* X0 C- q7 t
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
9 }) D4 D# N. d# ~. wat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
' Q" Y: ~4 S; I2 I3 f0 K2 [) Loffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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/ O9 U0 d5 }. V0 K* nWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' V0 z- H! J3 m& G. k8 @- Z& Sschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
7 W! S: y4 y; g3 |/ o' _: ?to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
1 O8 [; R- H7 W! q0 tone of its most difficult to learn.
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8 x3 N0 k" Z1 ]% ?4 Z% d9 sLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
8 s& H Q# s' u( @public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
5 i+ }& m0 B& Q$ |0 }studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.- G% d" F+ v4 q2 D; c% x; m5 d4 a
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
- q- [- v" o" d& \0 W/ M1 A, U4 kTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on1 B! l- g% i. j5 ?8 P) u
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to: o5 N- a( A9 r' I
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement2 C' w$ D, Y8 a/ O0 d% _ s
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country- a( Q8 u2 D4 x) W0 [+ u: V! T" _
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
0 n4 z; c2 @3 P# y$ h2 |develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
$ ]7 }9 `( d; Tcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
/ n* c& \3 {' x6 L1 {6 X( i6 W# vof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of* |7 w( u; v q& o: z
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
1 Q0 e2 A1 T3 L0 w1 k0 u1 BConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we* r' d( l7 m( p+ O6 S8 e
can." & B0 H6 e+ D# o+ q2 J
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
5 p5 M9 f. X7 ?. ^elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
2 K/ K% F! [( Myears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
7 ]( B( f- F4 r; p. {Institute in Washington.
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/ m9 g( H; \4 F' ]7 {& h"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages( }& g9 |6 Z6 r0 i
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
8 Y1 C& X! d- Z0 V7 V: uMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
( a2 |- q; g7 v) c- ~0 Zlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
! f; J4 z8 `" |0 cready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a6 J5 a2 P6 @0 u1 s% s) L- @
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."0 m' |. I* D3 j* p
. K+ R$ F% {. ZUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
2 @( Y& r4 {4 p) i$ R; dsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in' ^+ E+ O/ u; |9 o2 L' E
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of1 ]4 h# `( C1 k
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or3 J1 B) ~+ N* _) K
on weekends.. S: I3 ~$ }# a" g$ Q9 ^9 O
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public1 C5 O/ v7 G: u) {' i
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
; R" F; ?8 a* m6 ?0 Dstudents who are not of Chinese descent., q3 z* w8 k1 T1 f& y9 a9 j; @
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said8 n( \% Q, y* l% Z
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the, u- U! m9 H9 ?0 ^5 H
competition. 0 c x3 r5 h& L. g% i: Y
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley* n F+ k( @% g- @
said. "There will be Chinese and English." T2 Q2 k) e: @" b/ g% Z
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly. [' ]) O# i& u) l, W4 I! l+ Z
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse2 k3 j) p7 y4 K: @& ? ^
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
0 s ^6 u/ e3 E% Rkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students0 O- I, @0 s9 H/ z- r
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to' {: } _6 L% P- c* B5 d' t
the school system last year.& K- T7 T) X* I, A* i# A
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this1 @8 M5 b% {$ I- {- N b
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.% A3 D' T. {* e* z4 i( B$ `
# R, F" g- [ W& f, M"They have a great international experience right in their own& T; j2 @# W/ a# x$ [
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago9 c8 o; D& `; P% e0 `
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
8 @6 t: |# m* h* L7 h: ~help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
7 _+ u& F# F% ~on an equal playing field."
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5 e9 i. T n+ T& J0 |. K/ _Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
& \5 z9 | s; X: N2 dclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 p |+ Z5 ]9 t- ^Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
! y4 e* P9 L) {6 i# r. mChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An' d {2 P5 t7 C/ r9 s. ^
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
5 b* O: ^ {2 G% ~1 W! GChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the' o& ~; ]5 _+ U% K3 M
institute says.
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- z8 u3 ^7 [. f0 p* ]% qSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
7 U6 V. z! x) b8 k0 \grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before7 z0 `# j" Q& D# {; l9 A# O! B
deciding whether to take the class.
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( ~( ^; L& N9 F' k, U"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she4 b: q# l" E8 d) z: Y6 G
told her daughter.4 m# O- x0 n/ ]; F3 {. h( I) s- U8 ]
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite( O3 t6 } b6 S
class.0 s) D' |. e0 W+ V$ B4 j: p/ _, L( a
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
, u6 ], u1 U9 n j- q- z6 ?studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
5 h0 _0 ]0 A% b/ w M! U& }# P% P; ~occasional frustration.* R* x0 a0 F1 V& {: a
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
& h4 g; b5 L% | y4 K Vrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.1 k. ^4 V( Q- v; S+ L+ ]
5 Y) W: |; S2 z; h/ xRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
% W- s7 s: ^9 k- E( G' r8 O+ htaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with: G% q6 h- H0 Q1 f' x6 ~: C4 X: w
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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) S% O/ J0 g9 T1 e"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul. V$ z0 o- U/ ~
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
8 f, c. X% a' {7 das many languages as I can."- C6 D) b. |! x: f% D0 L
4 V: [/ |; c' j% i/ lAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( K9 N5 Q5 g' A. J. j' K( \. xskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
6 i9 }' \- Z% M# j! @market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
% H' D6 d8 q. e- a' ithat," Ms. Freire said.: `- T' L* l: t; D7 X4 P+ ^- l. R
: f7 J" a% P' F5 |- UMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
/ [' ?4 ^" I3 J$ V3 ?here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each( U( m8 Y, w# s! r( `
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
4 K8 [5 d$ L: l8 k5 V. J* S% C: Btime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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6 i* m B# a- S* H# q' f3 j- wChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer( q1 G1 g1 Y C# X P/ s
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
2 h% ?1 Z% [0 x" wcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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9 G( _$ F V! q% y"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified/ S a2 q! N5 q
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,( s: ]8 J9 f9 i; n1 b2 h: Y5 [' u
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
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X/ h/ l4 g7 c8 s: f+ JSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the5 _& v% O4 l b
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from; p' [- `* p" o9 }/ Z4 C* J2 Q0 L3 b! C
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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L3 i5 G |- w" V: L) s1 w: E"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
, B- x8 f a$ T: N- v, Bown."
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