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October 15, 2005
& q' p& k2 l6 u3 H' U; u4 n2 }! b' SClasses in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity2 i9 T3 h$ X" e" R, c* l, l
/ u: h- U3 W) H `4 CBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING% F+ y: w* Z& F* _
& ? ^( x" e3 yCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the4 |# c. }5 E. s4 Z2 A- \: F
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary8 l l& M8 k% @* I3 v( p
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas; z* {' v: v/ R0 j# m
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
4 D! m# `0 w! U5 j& m0 ^% O! zflag hang from the wall.
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3 z1 z6 t4 `- c: ?One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
6 ~+ y: b+ ` {5 [# r! f# ]. }another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders. b4 [6 s( k5 @. [6 P3 Q
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker. W6 X- _ q' x f- x
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
, v. q7 {9 A) V/ u" i( g' gare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal5 x. z+ R; j% |% j* u
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
% i2 y% R* [) n* Doffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.": F* ~5 l$ F/ ^. {, T3 R$ F
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
& Q# i2 Z# u+ oschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
' F, {2 r% m% cto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
5 U2 _5 m. x) I5 C8 ^$ f# Yone of its most difficult to learn.6 p1 t4 {" d" c. t9 l- E/ X+ d
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
0 p$ ^' V6 X2 K$ U. e+ |9 E8 r2 opublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
! _/ T: {% h. }$ p7 Jstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
& O- t6 f" i" D6 {& C: J" fLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of& ~% t! L6 K4 c( o# x [
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on4 g4 F& u( x5 _3 U2 v; z: v: E
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to8 a0 }7 r# a; E( c: ]3 R$ g4 p
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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2 S3 q, G+ s' yAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
& H) d c" C- P8 m& r* pChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country9 ]% H; e. Y, l7 X, e H% h
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
/ h6 L( I+ O3 ]2 t; y, a5 y# N' ?develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing7 D/ }2 T8 f% i) a u+ z% `
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
; Z2 c& ?& k9 B: T3 H) D! U1 Oof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of' ]1 v% h! ^. _/ v; X5 r. W
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education+ j7 z* C9 |( T5 I6 ?( A
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we" s; v! g* \. ]' i7 [3 M
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, j, j1 N, J+ ]+ t& a: j' uelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 105 G4 Q( Z' A5 s7 T6 ]; }. O" B
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
" d! _3 ]8 g9 q" yInstitute in Washington.
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) l! @" k8 ~# ?/ u"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
" \6 s6 `4 F( w. {& B* _' z0 aaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
. T. f4 o0 @! J2 SMcGinnis said./ [/ s) |+ Z$ D) |9 {
~" H( Y& q( H/ i* r9 l) k& n"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical, ]1 y5 r V0 D/ @9 G X
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be* H3 }$ J" w; @2 q& A% K5 n5 o% Q
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
4 f$ R7 M) f) s0 a% _# E% ~challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."2 Q1 i3 f8 L }
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
* g v: N I% o2 Q) C( T( csecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in) b/ M: q5 |8 `9 e/ d
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of/ q& @6 @) f9 H5 O1 J7 `2 {
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
( g+ ?2 [% G$ p( }% Don weekends.+ Q- h% ?6 c; `# u* [4 i
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
6 J2 D! b3 f# \5 ]6 h9 oschools during the regular school day and primarily serves6 H* o; W" y# `
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
. n* j$ u6 M6 X, O7 z' xproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
% v0 K2 y: f0 L/ P2 Pcompetition.
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% |' B |+ C/ e4 p+ x. c4 B"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley2 {! \4 x5 M/ ~! c P/ g4 ] j8 c- g
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly: q N# s1 D0 w
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse8 v' y1 ~0 M$ u% W- m
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from/ S5 J* b+ A6 F" g
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students) C1 |: h% c3 ^1 g
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
1 U* {8 [: {" i3 a/ pthe school system last year.
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1 j* Y# e5 r+ }- LThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this9 @, @) q: p2 K( V( H. b y
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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- {; f: U4 X2 A"They have a great international experience right in their own
# W' ?4 H# L0 W8 O- w) W4 Z+ qclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago7 K: n+ ?5 s8 i6 ^, c% D/ { r
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
/ A) r5 Z0 q6 `6 j- Ihelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet- m$ e# f& S' f! J& |
on an equal playing field."1 Y6 Z3 `. @. B$ T
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese C; k' H6 Q f
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign$ S' o, P& I) a+ O0 Q& X" ~/ u
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
$ ^ w- m% T7 DChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An2 G4 M0 d/ o- B. k, P) |
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in% A9 B/ T3 \" b; H: w
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the/ ]' L2 B, |7 p
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
3 ^4 ?" f4 `. @8 ugrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before1 L& L" c& n$ q: J% m' @
deciding whether to take the class.) \# |* B. l Q5 W+ Y: W! N" T
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she% Q$ P7 y7 I$ R9 @9 R* [
told her daughter.
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9 z( L, g: r% }3 e3 QSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
+ k6 u7 a! \0 X* s0 v& ~) o! jclass." J% Q9 @/ Z8 H1 ~- [# [, u C
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are+ A) p7 W- }: ]
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
. ~) F, e0 D% W( z/ B2 Z3 {! ?occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
9 } S8 U' H6 O+ s7 {4 m; wrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.4 M$ ^( O% z" U2 b* K, i
1 n2 X5 ]8 J, m" sRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
0 E& ^% X& m; Y+ V9 j! jtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
6 ~! [# ^. q0 P" bChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ _6 t# s( y+ z6 z( E7 T
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn2 [9 n/ }: D# `9 r" w3 Z
as many languages as I can."
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! p9 b: B: N8 S. zAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the8 ~4 p* V4 A d/ e
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job9 Z! U8 Z6 h. i; n Q
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like/ R+ z3 c, S# q
that," Ms. Freire said.
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I7 |; u" ~' l) [Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
- y( M( W2 @! ^here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
( x6 w4 \9 |2 ~; [school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
0 ^7 E( Z8 p2 F4 h; htime from classes like physical education, music and art to make" o; z7 {+ d/ C4 F) F( Y
room.9 J7 I' L" _3 v' D# a* D
7 T L7 G8 t {3 h/ y8 m7 u1 WChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
/ b2 }5 C$ b& ^' i$ ~" z7 EChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
, C! N( w; n( |1 Ocollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified$ [' P! ?# v+ |0 z( p; f
because of that missing certification," he said.5 P( y( o3 R; I; H
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,8 N1 Z0 A; }' A9 o' l/ l( z! n
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( K6 f# f$ M2 C/ ~/ @) i+ N1 c d6 q7 J
Society in New York.1 @- e( o( E5 Q# [$ k
/ d0 j" o; c" E. WSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
2 u& F' y) y: g4 EChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from0 w- ` m5 I: V# T5 }& U* G
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.- q( i+ F- a8 V0 K- J$ |
% U N. G3 Y! c0 Z; h2 V: a# ?5 @"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our( H' ]8 ~% ?5 M7 d! m# r
own."
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