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October 15, 2005/ J: B1 x+ P p& Z0 y
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity# Y8 g" `* i& X# f- A M( I! y5 @
! ^9 X3 h: N6 G+ kBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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1 |/ k) D" X' O9 KCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the6 S; r: U2 F' Q5 P* }4 }- a+ I
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary- L9 N! L& c" H6 d6 W( Q; |0 W0 ]# B
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas; P1 l3 } }$ |% o
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
) M1 S4 Q' i5 b" F9 Q; i# Aflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
* N @" D% n# W s8 C2 G, e% wanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders. C: u- T2 M- v$ q3 n- [
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker! g7 l8 T: ]/ f" f# R* I
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
0 d( j2 b0 \( Z+ }1 ^are already choosing it over Spanish.
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! ?& t7 p/ b5 L; x, y"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal" w5 ?, Z5 F* f" b, Q& r8 \ P+ D
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city, ?/ k9 n# s$ B# M: Z2 c+ h
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,& R. ^) l. H# @. {' g( F
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings) }$ t8 B, c; C$ k$ D
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
2 Z! u4 D- H3 N' d6 `1 I3 tone of its most difficult to learn.3 m f, |0 J6 b, t; n* J, N
$ S1 d. ^( t( [Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
8 ^1 ?, P5 [5 x6 ppublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students! ^* Y# `7 g# S4 u! U. h6 a
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.! F3 v( ]* B F' T( c0 X
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of* X3 F- v- Q& X* A% `3 x
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on# g9 _5 P, ]) l0 M$ Y
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to- V8 B% @6 f7 r. n9 I
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.! ~5 p; j4 |% l: j; B
1 q; E8 A8 N* @' e1 j0 mAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement4 {, K# G6 ^& x) ~& U& Q
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
; m! w+ Y- n- S, { P& T5 G9 ]starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! r$ T2 s; R) z6 k
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing2 m1 z% C' F+ A3 @; l
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director9 M2 ?5 w2 r6 F( @* G" n: Z8 @
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of2 T# t, |8 M, g
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education# e, c0 G+ c( j' d. ]
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we( e$ b8 e: F& T$ P
can." * R: O( ^1 Z0 p
/ I' y. ?8 E1 P# qThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from' _$ \ X9 S5 Z
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
+ m' |9 U+ V- T, Y4 x! eyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language4 r, F: r; @. e; h- z
Institute in Washington.
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' R1 g3 f% q- K. T6 v$ n! O"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages1 t& e. Y8 `3 @5 U/ a+ Z9 K1 }) A
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr., v1 B V J9 r
McGinnis said.# T6 J* \6 q+ l2 _8 ]# r( X6 z
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical3 f: v4 M5 W) O3 p8 O* O) h
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be$ m: t& f) n& F! O& p3 `
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
5 ?& s' Q, y& d+ vchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."3 W4 c6 W J( e+ H2 G
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and. ~6 X4 `" }! _) p5 a3 ^* g5 R
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
( o D! E/ I1 Z# Ncities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of* N% C h% K6 \( X' N6 x/ l1 M1 [" n$ d
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
3 d* v w4 ?8 a j* Z. z( e D% U5 yon weekends.
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% w) _: |, ~8 ~; O5 G6 eThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public+ E2 e8 O |: C
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves3 X/ u% T. I k6 p
students who are not of Chinese descent.& ?" r2 [- K0 U5 `) S* J
) H5 w( }$ M: o& A2 @2 uMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
" R; [, k! N: u: G- Zproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the( k4 i8 _! T0 g
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley$ i' a: `9 {( U- N$ y% j
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
8 ]; @+ k5 H9 C* \all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
4 Q% w+ H% X) n' Q. ~% T) Mschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
4 }5 h& q, U& g0 }1 L: dkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
8 a$ c+ y/ P0 u" b" Wwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to$ H% D$ b1 k* h! Z+ |2 ~
the school system last year.# ^" V" s1 O5 e/ I
$ y4 U. P$ ?3 {: q s$ ~: `The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
! Y9 k$ ?, e/ P: D3 Iyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.0 s. }$ b1 L0 l6 _) \
3 A5 j' {. l1 c4 }+ @* k"They have a great international experience right in their own) b% _3 Z U8 x7 m1 V
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
; v: r9 ?. S$ wChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
+ s( `8 b7 e6 ~5 D& i5 U) lhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
0 o* `& R2 ~% d: a8 Con an equal playing field."
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1 G+ i: V3 S( ?$ h* TSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
! \- B/ E" F5 j; N& R6 @classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign9 M0 \: J- O2 u) h% q" i
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks4 P8 p! E: v3 T3 d+ R! |
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An2 Z6 S( j- V+ v7 I1 A9 C6 Y
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in+ i" l& f6 T3 G: [* m6 T" Q6 u+ R8 V% j
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
# o7 ~8 t$ c+ k0 u& Xinstitute says.9 b$ @2 x( t# W4 h- N! ^$ h
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
6 C. a! R+ x) w4 j. X. ^$ Tgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before( E. c: K* u6 J# C* F/ l2 M+ \* V# R
deciding whether to take the class.0 T5 K+ i K9 R: w
/ A+ ~% E- N2 x( _8 R"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
) Z: t: k, q R G& R _& O. htold her daughter.
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2 r0 [/ [) f/ c; Y5 ?1 z8 WSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite% y' d" n2 s" d$ k% Q
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
: U w- j) V6 y( Y+ a$ Istudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
" F; E5 `+ o/ \. Ooccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 T2 }* O0 {! R4 n; F' c/ ?4 N
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.2 R! s C8 p) {% s q
' h4 w$ z. `2 x9 L! DRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
# q9 J. E7 T# S, o- h3 otaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with: l' N5 S( j$ I0 g$ _
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.6 I6 v3 W2 @( m: D, {* N3 g4 c
; p# ?( i1 `; ]6 g. J"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul/ U; q. J1 Z4 t" @ b$ f( X2 J. P
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn, u# W0 w: |3 I: k
as many languages as I can.") o- T+ U1 h( T+ v
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the+ E; r. ?$ S: P
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
4 M: x8 x+ y/ M) x6 Hmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
7 u! g9 F1 @' u+ P( l* Bthat," Ms. Freire said." e! d. d' [' _5 \
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program6 K& f( {6 D6 E
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each. f( \: c; P3 K, m
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
+ K2 {$ ]( z0 \) ftime from classes like physical education, music and art to make; v' c( U0 e8 B+ D: O
room.& C7 D' W, T2 A3 M- ]
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer, b d& A1 [/ s" V Y0 \) b
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American2 j% ^$ K/ K; |) ^% B4 B
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said., Q9 k+ x5 B; o. T. a& h- z0 Y( d
+ A8 S5 Q1 b% R% D6 L. O"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified! s" ]7 `6 ^: j3 E: J
because of that missing certification," he said.; ]! j/ Z' X2 ]1 n D u! J
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
: z; m5 \- S+ C* Xsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
* b: o" Z" v1 V3 z8 |' WSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the, ~: V: {8 M* V; S
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
+ t2 [! L# y9 }$ [4 @5 Y, ythe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: S+ @1 ]- v1 ?& r- R) ^
; h$ v: R0 w' f: P$ D9 s! c"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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