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October 15, 2005
" c4 i8 z& m" C: C5 UClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
8 J2 ]) q! E4 [; ]United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary3 @3 h# Q8 r" U7 C. D3 [& r
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas$ \4 z* p" Q7 V0 O" R! ^1 ?) p+ U
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese0 \" w! W6 P, j" t/ c! h
flag hang from the wall.% u9 h t, \6 O2 ~8 ~5 {
6 u* o7 {. a6 H& dOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
5 O+ \$ A0 Q0 @( t7 y% M7 a J+ Oanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
' j+ i/ e( {/ Fpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ d, E8 z' J+ @+ [6 V2 ?
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students, k# l$ A x% S. ]8 x5 u3 j7 l0 p/ l
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
# q* t j' {! @: Jat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
4 W0 @' c/ J+ \4 Loffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,) e4 s# T1 Y% y1 Y
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
6 q% z) _* }# k2 q( `to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
9 l* Z& G! q) ^( `) H rone of its most difficult to learn.
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1 X- j- I+ Z) A+ e2 jLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to# {" h' z. A" I( V2 T; w4 f
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students% f$ |3 E1 ]% X6 T4 \+ k
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
( e2 g. W' P+ ?7 ?! f- Y+ R8 jLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of* X% `2 K1 s$ N3 C: V3 Y: ]+ Y; I
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on: g6 r) ~' e+ @/ K( w5 _
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to" R# A5 `2 j0 e+ e$ i! @! a
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.% ?$ |" G R5 O; Z
4 F) k' g5 b9 `& e- BAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement9 \ u4 c7 z+ V3 s7 E& Y. X
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
( s7 I* i7 H: ? b6 K1 T$ Y1 D- Bstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
2 A: m3 W' c: D- V0 }2 \develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
0 C& E, X) X% f! @( wcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 \7 G$ t: I3 \" \8 y8 d! S/ sof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of4 [" J z" }4 U) l$ D/ a N5 J
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education0 f2 X6 l- n$ h1 ]4 w
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we) A$ E- z" k, a! O. A
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
. K/ A7 a( ~3 S) Y; B' jelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
& e& H$ Q: r6 p& Iyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language y! c9 k! @" I/ m4 ?
Institute in Washington.- ]- @, V1 ?9 J% l
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
; M& q* w t. l" y0 ]% faren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr." k* |( k* s6 r" g/ G
McGinnis said.* x0 U2 ^4 W" C* G; x$ d
) L# ?, c% ] _) n; q3 z* |"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical, A/ W0 S' G( `6 T5 ]1 C
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be; ^* A- v1 n: ^4 k4 N2 P! n. U9 y. a
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a9 h3 q, l# I3 o
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."+ m0 U4 |1 Y( N$ o
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
* Z% J. R# c. I9 @2 bsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in$ e" j6 b W$ P$ D1 p
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of2 F& S V" H7 _, S6 V% E3 [/ z! `
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
+ X) Y- d2 D$ [5 ~on weekends.4 ]+ t8 ]2 b+ a' U r" B9 K" C
& a2 b- o" ^" R: cThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public* z: P+ Z' b/ q9 w/ L3 t( T
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves1 Q; ]# W: L# G3 F* u
students who are not of Chinese descent.. u. q" s& s) L
' U9 d7 y5 ~6 Q; e( |0 h, iMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
7 K5 U5 r( m' @9 p8 rproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
0 v& w; d( l2 j0 ~+ N& p0 t! `competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
" n/ t# ~* D9 `8 R: N7 ]$ |' rsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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% x6 y* D1 B; \8 F/ IFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly) ^: ` K2 F W
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
* S" Y( M2 R9 a; D) l8 x M/ {schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from* }4 @; b: U" {' l" s1 `6 |2 B
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students, d6 M1 b/ |/ J* c
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to' n% p" F) O1 r- j
the school system last year.2 \) ]( Y6 w, a+ L4 R
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this/ b, ~; ], }( J2 Q6 C A. t& A' U
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
h% p" f3 w6 w2 `# Jclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
) Q1 i* i( y4 Q* ~( l O, eChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
3 F, W9 r1 k1 l ^" ~help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet! |& m D; m9 S$ H C, ]$ F
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
; m7 \" U7 U i! s2 F) uclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ z0 ]: G n: V$ z: h1 @Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks% v8 M6 K, V1 b9 O, p5 [7 ~0 A
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An. j) `! ^8 w9 s. F
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in. i- b9 F, N4 ]( [" C7 f
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! g7 k$ a1 ^8 M, x' a
institute says.% Z2 y2 b. y( B( q" X6 S3 a: |8 b7 o+ Z
a; d4 q8 X1 q/ O. cSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
; E+ g+ ?" o! n) kgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before* Y$ Z5 q9 D2 n) q) J# ^
deciding whether to take the class.
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7 z3 ^' g$ g4 X3 }8 Z; L% s4 c"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she4 T5 j* [7 f( e5 }/ T
told her daughter.0 Y2 x0 v4 c- k, w8 X% c
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are4 U) ~) G, w" G1 T4 W
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without3 H0 L# t. B: h% T: @$ D0 L% g
occasional frustration.2 n' u& ?5 |8 ]( y# ^' v ?& ]
5 Q4 S3 T3 w; s) K"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
/ o& }4 }1 R2 w i0 Precent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he1 P0 T+ R3 w) e/ Y$ V( l
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ _3 W7 v. F; J5 |& iChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.$ k& y7 {% h, j4 [5 |$ P2 O5 f
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
& V" p% v F* P& e6 q# asaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- Y( ^; w; \. I1 S5 s
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the' s1 n7 ?. J6 I8 A/ G' r1 N
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job- T$ Y- O: |$ i/ f/ C
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
" U# W& T: P+ `+ q" ?( Rthat," Ms. Freire said.
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0 X, O8 Q6 p( |: ]1 |* Z0 HMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
3 W1 O( t, d( [: m# c/ f% ~here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each P& E3 I4 ^$ ^
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking c+ L" z; h8 _' N U% q2 r2 h
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
" G. n1 W0 l6 g$ { q9 N( {0 _Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
. h' P! ~# p2 C: R/ {college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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( s* `; d* F5 w"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
( e! q5 e* q: fbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
5 d& A0 m. b. X( d# X6 jsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia' }5 ]1 [3 I: o+ C$ K( J8 a- X$ V
Society in New York.* `4 ^1 {6 |# j( {% g
! ~ r5 u9 y# _7 e4 O; i' LSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
* ] p- f* i8 oChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
2 {# j( H, ^2 ^: athe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our+ @4 ?/ C4 O6 H- ^6 d
own."
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