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October 15, 2005
5 c b0 q& W, L, IClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity( |# m+ O5 B! R% \9 @
% ?+ t. |7 k+ I2 RBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING' h& C% D* H/ Z) }8 J
) ~6 o! g% n. Y' Y7 n3 D5 TCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the2 T6 B; L5 z- L5 n0 Y0 k
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary2 O& W" Q8 p. c
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
5 H5 r1 ?8 v, v2 Rdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese. `* J9 D- ~ @. ]1 K
flag hang from the wall.4 ?, m8 E R4 A; ?, b% v* g
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
3 c# o) \7 }* ^0 B! g {another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders3 V- h) h3 C; ?; x# N; Q* d/ V8 g
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker; U3 \: Z w D9 ?7 y4 o, F
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students( z* V7 j+ q: w9 Q4 ]
are already choosing it over Spanish.0 q) l5 a; C. y" F, z
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& X9 g# }7 h7 V/ h
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city' u1 [" R! m! S7 ~% s) m
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."8 o4 {& Z! @$ f) O
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
% r4 P' q3 H2 a/ Q# ^( Dschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* A1 Y7 Y2 G5 ^; o8 |3 D
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention+ _6 r5 H: c6 q& f. N+ v
one of its most difficult to learn.& H8 q' O; w) q X# W! l
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to) |3 c# a) t* r8 B- t0 p* U- Z
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students+ n- d! }. U! U# R7 l5 ~4 Z. S
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
& A4 {4 H6 Y+ Z2 hLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% N" \4 C, i7 p0 [4 I, t# g2 STennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on3 a r3 W. p, a8 k0 F: y; _
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
3 M2 K1 n: D$ W$ H* z K2 Rimprove 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 Placement
- J' j$ @( F6 m. Y/ U1 r+ u! B& JChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
" r7 M* a. v- [8 n( j* \ xstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to* J/ `+ l# N. v, h; N/ D
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing- ~$ n2 B5 q5 @, t: ]' l! @
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director3 Z* e% D. y- t2 e5 q
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: G" g; S% W7 G$ F, u' g
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
3 I6 ^% j/ X7 N, E: s* QConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
8 c+ h- s- |) y; _can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
& C" c% d- F- M/ ]5 L5 welementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
3 a) o9 Y; u2 T; ?* @years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
2 ?, \6 e) z/ v! n1 I* e+ VInstitute in Washington.
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$ v6 f/ f& T8 X"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages' C* b! f! ]+ k5 ~% j# Z: P1 Y$ }8 \
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
9 |1 @0 W( U( U* Y5 RMcGinnis said.5 `% y* }; ]4 _' @$ E1 U
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
; |, k9 J! S/ M4 j' e+ A, {6 ~$ klongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be( B8 p( _7 x# t% r
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a1 C8 Z% ]5 X% N3 L3 p" B9 I6 ?
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."4 U4 F8 c. I) n- r8 z+ E
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and: v8 t! V3 n: |, |& W
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in. G' q4 \4 _3 G5 O0 E8 a
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
9 d6 B. s; e0 k( |7 i- j! ]! R* bChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or9 P, w. a. D! p& Z* m0 S% l
on weekends.
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: I6 Z) ]# A1 p$ r9 J- ] rThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
* p) H: ~' @6 }% e1 d# E9 Dschools during the regular school day and primarily serves( \# X. y/ A# _0 V
students who are not of Chinese descent.8 E- U: C3 \: z6 c1 R% G0 m
3 \- S$ ^# [# `% z$ t1 VMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said! R' f! M( B* n# ~' s2 S
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the+ r" Y+ b' t) h1 n6 p( H
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
, {" ]0 h; [7 Y* B1 |' W! p, Bsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."$ R# B' V5 M/ F* e4 V" ~
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly! z3 K1 @% v, `2 y
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse/ x" G1 W& b1 C) W; F
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
: k1 q: S1 D0 Z% K$ Gkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
$ a& J% ]- j9 e( Hwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to4 s% ^' r; ^+ e m6 m
the school system last year.
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4 h8 ]# w% Z5 LThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this( X% L# O# K: ? F4 ^. ? A
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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/ C! t5 z# n) o0 t/ ]# h"They have a great international experience right in their own
* ?7 o0 g8 h2 \& F0 eclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago$ V7 {8 g' z1 q# T3 e
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
. r+ y3 }+ g ]( G9 g8 D: N# Xhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet, L' a* ?; t9 ]9 L% s2 w: J, U
on an equal playing field.": O( ^; a% f* ]8 E+ K
8 N# `( Z$ S2 T' z0 Z2 @Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese2 h( L) e) }$ o& i9 _2 _. M
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
3 o: Z4 ]% L3 |9 p) l$ ~Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
) q/ [. E T+ r s9 [9 ]Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* x" |! s% X6 k( P7 h& S! Z& oaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
$ Q9 G6 ~. H1 z2 I2 [Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the- g& Z. K, O6 o2 S
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth _+ L5 i! d7 k x# c( j7 [, A
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
1 E2 u) Q2 T* W0 y& p+ n2 J fdeciding whether to take the class.
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3 b. K- f) \) m' W3 h"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
5 q" Y6 w q' m- U* V+ ^told her daughter.! D" X3 Q4 {9 q$ g$ i, s; c
+ Q( L# H( d0 o8 F8 I) uSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite/ I1 g& W$ h; R/ J6 m& t5 L
class.9 b5 W L( g O+ }
) ], E8 i3 E0 E6 W3 JAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
7 w+ |( C; ~# u/ s3 C+ Lstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
) n/ w& @/ M. v1 k$ eoccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
" f5 A3 i7 O, O! irecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.3 {! f5 r5 v) t
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
}6 [6 ~! o0 d' Wtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
7 w( `9 I o2 b9 ?Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul- W, T+ o/ F4 r1 b
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn7 `$ a' P# Y5 _+ W; o8 k) _
as many languages as I can."
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0 ^+ z) r2 V( }8 e, O8 DAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the( [& O4 I. X; F
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job9 R3 w0 K# g( m& V0 W9 A- ?
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like+ l6 v. h j8 s; q8 x2 u: a" N7 _
that," Ms. Freire said.0 ?. A5 f) [5 A$ S- C" A9 q1 l% v% u6 P0 y
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
2 S/ s- L% u% j! l( q0 h, Q1 Q1 Hhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each3 Y3 m8 {: D I7 S: `
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking6 C$ N0 B+ _1 T- l% \# ~+ x
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make8 F L4 I) `1 K3 E- u1 d, y6 f
room.. B8 Z* C' Y) Q3 E! n. @
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer+ L3 E e3 w& X. c
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
2 m) ~: D$ q2 A# u& wcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.3 `. t- M: A8 G+ x1 z
6 v3 E; q3 h* e" R+ v6 T/ \# n"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified$ _& j4 }- b3 L# o
because of that missing certification," he said.
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# m |4 Q& V' n/ z4 xThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
+ ^9 m0 u5 B6 _+ X* P5 Q( Isaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
& i1 M% r; _+ j% P0 @- H2 CSociety in New York.) D( j/ _% k. C. R7 ]) h) j: j
2 C2 o' K% k ^7 ]& OSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the5 \2 b/ O# S: ]; q% E+ p1 d* g
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
" H) L! p/ ~/ n! Z/ nthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.' p0 ?& @( v* {8 X$ R
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our: r- R1 t$ G7 Q6 S
own."
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