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October 15, 20053 f% U: J# \+ S- b
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity0 R1 \1 _8 d ?: b, q# F
8 | u9 ^: d' n& EBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the# S8 f- C+ m2 Q. [
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary- I* }5 ^* y+ R" n$ u
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
G' N8 u y7 U, \; D& rdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese1 i+ F6 L" d: w- w# N$ h
flag hang from the wall.
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# i8 N9 h! }3 w+ M3 Z( l8 g; WOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
- e4 [5 }, g: g/ s4 oanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders- i8 L2 D5 t# ~& b( l
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker* n' ?; ~; ~/ T- p! L( n
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
/ ]) B$ M2 i5 a, b( r' |are already choosing it over Spanish.6 m Y6 c- {5 U5 q) `- G
4 G& W+ w$ M$ J3 D |, E2 V6 m5 Y"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal, O5 [( U- @# s7 U* ]/ M
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city! C7 h. q* o8 y% a I
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 P: Q+ `$ J2 X1 U+ _% Y/ Z
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,+ f* `7 z% l3 K. U& G* `- D: R7 }
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* M3 j4 R* o. M; i0 O; H
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention9 n" y& e5 V) X" ?6 U
one of its most difficult to learn.' c8 ^1 k$ g) F" u3 t7 q+ Q- ]
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
6 ]1 |3 M9 L }7 v3 m) Cpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students$ T7 z( z, H; ^
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
/ ~2 Z" Q3 y* Q0 E3 cLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of. t. X) f- w6 e
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
F/ G; w9 Y( ~" H E1 N5 RChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
- I B& o" ]" K" |$ A2 a% n% [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 Placement
# o; |5 |, j7 |8 ]- S/ z1 q. ZChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
; P" z5 n' ~; l# E7 ~ ?' Dstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
: q+ R3 x" r' p! W' g$ E8 Jdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
$ O- U+ V' s6 q; l" ~curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director* }2 J7 @9 C0 [9 e
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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- W5 X& R& t! d0 R; e2 a"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of- f+ J* T9 Y3 N
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education+ @$ G) X: D: x, ]: B! a
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we+ f( H- I u2 M$ Q6 o
can."
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: e4 A9 F! `: }. `( c+ o6 bThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
k$ J0 b# L% w8 p) k1 m- g$ A: Welementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 101 |, Z1 c \& l. `
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
$ Q/ K. w& @0 g9 P9 L3 i9 a. gInstitute in Washington.
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% t* H/ t" s4 k! a! O"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages' S/ \: ] k- C+ Y! O8 J0 p; l
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
( e! F7 S* S+ B( b% J* f# c! rMcGinnis said.& H6 l- Y4 Q) _# P- d
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical7 H O) O+ H6 @: \# v* {6 f
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
9 _. o( T. o- O2 q2 M( X2 j7 t8 kready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a0 ~& H. F# ~7 X7 I6 w
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
! @4 g% n/ P n+ T. f Y4 Qsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
- W1 x) K" L( }9 v- W/ n+ N6 D5 zcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of$ V! H' D6 d' I3 H) P! [
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
! Z- p/ d) X8 L1 l! w; s9 Pon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public2 P' D9 o) X8 B" I% ^
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
- w1 x2 j$ P$ T( I# N* M1 jstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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( M' U$ U! ~( M" H% Z Q! BMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said8 {$ Y5 Z5 F6 K9 K4 Q' t/ U
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
5 u8 f6 Y' q$ u) Jcompetition.
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+ \5 ^; w' k/ Q+ k: P"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley+ O7 [0 B- o' ^0 N8 W8 p( @
said. "There will be Chinese and English."$ a$ s% O1 J3 N2 \6 j% y% G
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
0 ? t( i9 P* C; O$ S. H7 nall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
( H! P' I. \% ^; i# h2 eschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from, f& U( s P# z+ l# K8 l
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students/ t7 S8 }' H" w6 [% Z2 j8 A& f
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
. W% [% A" S0 R# R* Q/ K6 Wthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
+ j& o0 S# f0 O- Nyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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1 M( Y4 d, E" O* I6 U! j"They have a great international experience right in their own
" M9 l2 J+ |# k3 R* k& _$ T- g- vclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago) y- N9 }7 z( C2 x3 N/ n
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
& ?2 Y* l; z: N3 I. V: ghelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet) }# j% c. p! ?, N' Z
on an equal playing field."% X, L7 V) T) W$ ]. a+ i
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese) Y( N5 m# R: O7 Q# K
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ b6 T% e% C# } FService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks- z) b8 r! J' X3 X$ R2 G3 C# e
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
6 j8 c3 O; e) h0 g" N7 A6 r9 |average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
1 Y" |+ c: K) ?; v6 m# t1 ?Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the3 R+ T" g6 y5 m% C
institute says.* ?/ L4 j$ ]* v, A3 r R
- i, ~& {# d2 h1 V! n! m0 RSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth* p: u3 o" I. z' H
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
! h @4 x! A5 V2 I7 ?deciding whether to take the class.
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. ~! H& Y& X) ?+ t, N"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she8 |* h4 j- Y& T4 A" I) M2 Y3 w+ }% d+ p
told her daughter.
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$ G i$ J% U, b$ y3 C7 Y! ^Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite- L8 Q" Y- a- Q/ N& L8 W2 G
class.
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0 `! L3 E% F5 o& s. F6 T hAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are0 d+ _" b. W) r, A/ i
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
) t T. t/ k2 g2 Y- y) G) }occasional frustration.
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6 s. X: W% W4 z+ a: f* q"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
! Q* V# Z& w* ]9 Vrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.. D) g" C4 _( m2 y3 N0 X" }3 h1 B
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he7 X/ J; n& d2 O2 w( C: {5 x. N
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with$ c' f: E$ `% P
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.5 h# p7 n, G: o9 j
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul& J! u& O# ]" c5 \4 a
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
1 g* J, j0 Y4 D3 d2 W7 _as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the: N( `* k4 E# D% l& O: ~
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
3 C# @; O7 `# F4 W ?' o: B% U* a* Amarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
$ ^. M* ?, c' athat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program& K3 G+ ?. _0 X# V
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each6 x' R8 l+ K4 y1 T1 n' T
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
. d! Z. s* Y: T4 p2 N2 ?time from classes like physical education, music and art to make) {. q* I; p/ x7 L) T+ W# s9 a3 K
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
# y1 w% r, {$ R+ T1 hChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American4 u5 `: ^. A$ J- P$ N0 X. m* e1 U1 ~
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.2 ~0 P4 E7 U* S! T# W! z
; I. n+ U+ g% [; w6 e"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified2 C0 ]8 L. P0 W% D' Z* \
because of that missing certification," he said.2 P) K' b& o5 b1 b( c5 j
& w" D5 G1 l/ Z8 B [* i# f" t' `The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
H! i! |! n! A0 fsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
4 _! u5 C8 _1 |2 m* m% @Society in New York.% Y9 j% W5 b! p; M# u; K9 [' Y
& _% f3 W) i- `0 e" VSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
3 g: l1 C1 x$ l4 L% t: C7 Q1 x7 t8 hChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from, k' m, S# C) T$ g$ h
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.- K# D* |: B2 y0 j
) l: @( m% G G"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our( B- ?: X) h6 H* @+ u4 a% a
own."
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