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October 15, 2005) w. O) z& F3 ?5 z3 ` E2 ?
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity8 s. _0 Y$ c# ]
* l& H5 L9 a( k% B+ |By GRETCHEN RUETHLING8 ]* r$ }+ p& D% @; W4 ?# j& d
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the! c+ {( d9 D K. V4 y0 w
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
6 b+ f/ |* `6 H0 P E) H1 G0 TSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
/ f; X/ {$ _+ B ddangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese( C0 f- [0 P8 T _5 q2 y4 H4 D
flag hang from the wall.( m# U U- B$ c' \
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
" y" O% e' G7 p8 J$ G5 b; ~; B& wanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders2 h$ O5 y: c/ d( O; e
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
$ w$ ]. w1 Z& kboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
# I6 ?+ Y. ]3 p% mare already choosing it over Spanish.4 A1 n" \, N* N8 n& F
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
" ]6 a+ h# K: z0 o7 f/ Gat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
" t* }1 [, G! g0 foffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.". i# o: a6 v8 X% a
; [1 ]* e" m3 N' W+ I5 W# X" S! t+ SWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
4 ~/ z. w- \! k* O; F$ B8 }( D* _schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
, O5 V# O; S, t: c) Wto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention3 j8 R+ g/ }% ~7 g, B
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
& g2 c! y4 @) l9 |4 Upublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students# K2 `9 [ `5 h" K, H7 s, a( Z
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
' W5 _: Q5 y! H7 \Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of+ a% W1 K/ Q! M4 I" {
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
: G" J0 N2 ]6 `2 W9 CChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to. Y( `( A+ E- k& ^0 W& E& ]
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 ]2 W4 s" M7 _
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
' ?6 f+ _, V6 G& l% o: M6 e- Ystarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to6 Y; J2 e6 @" [' ]8 h+ J
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
7 `- [0 \* g! N; N5 _/ a8 n6 pcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
3 Z, _- b4 Q" d& `# mof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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) E$ _# R6 T) K) i' M"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, l/ |: G; Y9 o. h" o: v6 U3 L
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education4 E* h$ v5 |% W ?. X2 `0 l
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we, n) g8 |# X3 B
can."
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2 j* Z7 r1 }( C! R: f: tThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
. \; b8 i# `. C4 u- Ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10# @! w. r- I8 z4 |/ C( `
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
1 ?% y( h4 J: i/ I( u8 P- u# vInstitute in Washington./ u" T1 P \. u* ?4 a0 P
# \8 z0 X# U1 R; b"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages! Q( v! I6 s& x2 t1 G2 F. o# J9 _
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
3 d' R0 S+ b% E9 [' ~) Q; S0 l) ?McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical: O A( P) c9 j" Q+ ?
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be* r, K- l, G* z7 \$ ?, M( N
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a3 s+ C, }9 d; E0 u6 T
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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. o. Y2 E4 O3 O7 q c& vUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
8 y" P' J1 x. h, D/ zsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
# L, h& f1 a' m, X4 q3 ?* U6 G& m8 icities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of6 s+ C! p8 h) h4 g9 p2 k
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or: R* g$ U( @! }, g& R
on weekends.& c( U' [& W, G; F5 j
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
* s, d1 H$ X& Mschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
. n5 ?" _0 v- \3 C1 ^students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
, e; E* g: k6 x" _: z2 O* P7 s! }proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
- Q% q9 Q4 T" G m- Xcompetition. 5 \" h" d" e; j
- {( w2 ?3 m3 q; N0 d* r' t( e"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley+ k) z+ D2 n1 y, Q; a. b$ K
said. "There will be Chinese and English.": ]8 F6 R+ q+ K9 m v
) ]0 S, x4 O% ?& a- PFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
, W3 ?2 S: j! U3 S- o4 k% Z+ pall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
9 U+ `/ B/ o6 v5 Tschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
% f$ q& f7 K* t( k7 k$ J Hkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students% Y, \1 @7 h) m. x
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
% J( M( a6 b$ L, G+ j8 s+ Othe school system last year.2 \: Z/ r- R) ~3 g8 N
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this) T3 @0 e7 \1 D' N, V
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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" r- l' C( }8 X/ B) O/ _"They have a great international experience right in their own
! o" A- ?/ e" e/ k/ qclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago1 j! _# [. \; G
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
r2 M6 G0 `- i- z% d) X! Fhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet8 Y# o* @+ K# ]$ P" R, C: Q
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
1 p/ P5 q. z5 W8 M" }! Rclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
, A- m& p P& I7 }Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
- `0 B- c/ r7 |7 a$ q* B; ^* fChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
\1 @* ~; I9 }. C" y& M3 ]! Laverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
: \: f! `) X3 _6 mChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! @3 t, j9 s- u0 O- }$ @/ J$ [
institute says.
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$ n9 \# W" H$ R5 O" G. d# OSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
& H }3 `. O4 j8 D; c, wgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
, X- ?5 W7 \8 k, @deciding whether to take the class.+ c4 N( K, `* ]9 U# m
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she$ u4 r; E) Z& i! w7 b
told her daughter.
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* g! Z4 y0 E; nSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 o+ o! T/ X) }! }0 g# p: H' A8 cclass.
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: N1 g J" E) P* F0 R2 ^: QAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
`, m- w8 j7 H' B' u. nstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without2 {7 I' Z; G$ f* {# D: U( M
occasional frustration.
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6 A" } P' R& g# e+ ~" Z) s: D"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a7 b( c- B9 A7 N/ [0 O7 ]
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.7 {+ i/ N1 e N% j% [
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he% E6 q+ e% p* D
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ T4 h+ j& x' H/ m5 D7 x3 F0 u
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.; `' r G! R& f
# d- z" i/ g, J! Q$ v/ y"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul# M8 j& O# C0 H9 z* W& o
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn" N/ O, n1 {( R1 [
as many languages as I can."8 h; _! M2 l* g4 }$ \6 F
1 }1 j1 \9 e% {0 s6 bAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
8 [7 |+ V9 ] ?7 }4 |( O* a) G- Vskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
$ ]1 @- {9 G; Nmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like' o" h) w2 _$ [4 z7 k0 A
that," Ms. Freire said.& [* `, J( o" A: B8 ^) ]' k
5 Y$ B0 P& l- V$ L4 y d* g" B; ?Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
8 [- }* V% q/ C6 U, t# }+ fhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each: f& m" g# l4 O, b& L1 V
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking4 G& w, i1 Y% `6 y; N: m
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
7 n3 B R0 u6 z1 b, d3 Troom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
. I* p( B- Q; T5 E1 }: OChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American5 C- W! H" o7 M. w
college, 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$ b2 e3 x) y" `, [! U! ]3 ~
because of that missing certification," he said.
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7 D/ P5 q; T& j& F9 C& DThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
0 `8 Y! V" G# A1 ~9 A1 b3 \said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
. e1 @6 H, I9 b3 YSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the' k2 U0 l# ?% ]2 G7 _
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from- _$ c! ]' U4 f) A8 V
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.4 X/ ^- w6 D4 e/ u
& }8 ]$ O* ?0 v& Z* {"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our" E6 z' I) S; E- s
own."9 E1 b) P0 Z, p. a
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