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October 15, 2005
: m, F) b( ~# M7 K I$ Q6 kClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity; i5 O$ u6 y* q0 l: b
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the2 r/ {* G9 u2 q# Q/ W) y# i3 f, S
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary# c% B u. g1 h+ b; x
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas0 O# P$ j% `- _- q& j
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
9 R7 J. ?9 P# B0 J2 R1 |flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
, X( G" x% n5 \# Canother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
( n- F( A1 z. Gpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
! E; a: k% D" k% {# q) Tboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students8 ^0 [4 _" j2 N# K/ N( N
are already choosing it over Spanish.* ]4 {4 |9 s& E8 J- e* r
- j$ }2 T6 m( v) L" c! M$ H"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
9 W$ n9 W, s+ T' m* ~" [at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city% b2 J# w# ~# K( W
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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# w o7 W- d6 D1 L, C+ ?: b6 v! uWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
! ]3 r" \9 P$ M0 a5 G9 C6 Lschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings; ~. p/ M8 T4 U8 S( P& g
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention0 g' b8 {% n3 Y7 s; O
one of its most difficult to learn.
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; O+ i% t6 C d; ]# m" P3 `Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to3 |, e* w* t# Z
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
( m# j! Y0 x( Cstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
- V# T4 g% X) Q1 v% X# d9 L. \3 hLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
' @7 w" ~% F" r; |+ I8 MTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. J- j3 a! J' W/ u' hChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to. o* H& l- j; m9 }
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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5 C! M$ _( ?/ M# R9 T3 JAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement* z2 d$ B) B2 a: Z. d: T/ K; ^- f
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country k8 n' _# a( Q2 F
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
: p1 n! c( x5 p& |# n' m( fdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
1 O5 X: G5 _$ ?; D V4 Y0 u% ]curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director& B* ]0 ^3 ^8 ? `: A) ^
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board./ N- t3 i5 S k% C/ z. h# p
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
* }$ P: O. H' y4 Ispeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education4 N& [; Z. p4 @
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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9 F7 \7 R N7 d/ e" MThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, w* e$ F2 d& Q8 m: aelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 108 c2 c- B' {: N0 @1 U
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
1 w* T. K: T/ q0 P" LInstitute in Washington.$ b$ {' ?: \: M, S! u
3 i( s9 F( G: m3 W9 c6 q n T) i"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
; O, G$ j+ s% |5 H0 paren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
+ K W2 \8 H7 D6 g7 I# x' [, BMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical7 M- L% G+ G% U4 \
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
W- [$ f# K) T! `2 I5 W+ fready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
3 m$ ?$ F7 U- e T7 |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 c% x" X+ u0 U2 W+ O: G
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
5 t. l. Q+ l( p9 Q5 U; Tcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
6 H. N2 F' i1 L! L# `+ |Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
. t1 C* D, K+ l+ P9 {8 R. o3 ]: d0 son weekends.% b. Z( [& D1 Q. Z& B% w n
3 W/ a. L$ r' rThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
' |. I. r( J& t/ N: uschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
, Q8 D, b2 j, c d6 a% d9 dstudents who are not of Chinese descent.% s2 [9 ~4 D5 H' k
B/ b2 Y- J* M7 O* E+ H: ^Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
( H+ X1 ^% i. [' Eproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the# z0 g+ }$ K2 n2 p1 N
competition. 3 v5 R7 B2 z/ X8 ?& ^$ x
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley2 h& u) \* W( ^2 ^) d" j: h
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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' \. s" g/ u, a8 n3 YFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
' x% u6 ~ P% z y" _- Zall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
$ w* P1 S* S. {$ Q7 v( _% r8 {schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from) u# {3 `9 Z+ S
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: J2 n! ?* J1 m6 A$ T
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
h8 I( n6 b+ H* bthe school system last year.
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* n6 ?4 R) D; g% s, U2 @4 E1 I9 nThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
5 N3 E- ~! o6 _! @year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.4 Z) A" s& n, w$ e' Q! k
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"They have a great international experience right in their own% J- U1 t0 X7 W
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
% e' }" h- g* M0 g0 W9 c$ T& mChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
0 b' Q+ k7 f8 L* d$ z5 Y$ lhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
( k! n& T; @6 Z# |" kon an equal playing field."( N5 M+ J# n0 K, Q
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese( h8 m9 L3 m( I6 C% ]6 T* ]9 r& ]7 R T
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
4 w0 ~+ \" V) B- V l2 pService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
% C% c: k" Y3 g/ t7 y dChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
3 N: x( g2 b: J/ u: N* Xaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in; K# G4 D$ y! R6 N: h/ P
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
0 O; q5 M) {" h7 S% t* Q! Finstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
2 l, } W3 t1 ygrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before" E' w$ l8 `# y8 r
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she" Z n$ G9 V i* w# m, C
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
+ t* O* [2 R }& H" z# d; c4 Sclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are G$ g' ^2 H6 \
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
5 c( H. e4 g: K8 W' hoccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* _! t; X. H9 y- a9 k6 e
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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: D- L/ F5 ~% m! d' LRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he: q% T8 E$ O: B
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with4 f& v$ C! C0 i/ A- p+ j: W8 [% `& k
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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e4 o( e' }+ }"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
, K7 y3 ]: ^# e1 z% m6 `( tsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
1 m R: t/ u; J( d- yas many languages as I can."
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/ R q F( E/ LAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
$ f. o' j0 ]; A/ U. B; sskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job" ? }% f6 O, `
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like' N$ Q1 F9 v" H1 q1 e% t
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program% c( j- O4 y0 Y: w8 d" }
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each; u# w3 j$ _- {0 v- W- m/ ~& W
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- C$ n/ v" h! p: _3 |4 v
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
! G/ ?' C- c" H, s$ \room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
, `2 e7 A, i# r2 ?, }# o& LChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
; n& M# ~% T% x6 g; ccollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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/ h- S( ?& S9 e6 l2 x" @4 [: \- \"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
5 `& { t% x$ G2 q' Bbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
6 h2 A$ \; e2 |/ q5 s4 B0 d* o, {said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia$ H4 q6 Q0 a: h9 {1 |* W
Society in New York.1 J) Q% ~0 \6 i ?* E4 n/ X% x& }
, E( l2 E J# n, k" ASix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
9 E' R7 v6 ]- j7 |' P) aChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
3 |" a+ u( z9 m y+ I/ gthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.6 M5 u+ T% f0 ]& H* D; G
) ?3 M- H$ h! T: r$ s& \3 f' \0 G"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
& S. N5 C; A% E$ D# {" l' R$ A0 Gown."/ i8 y) G# b. V2 H a, A$ F# C" }
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