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October 15, 20055 x3 p0 I+ i7 X, y) U
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity5 k' a7 Z( f+ k1 |2 e% a) F/ N) t
3 _/ t7 [, F: o- D+ {
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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0 W7 K. g2 h1 a! ~0 ?7 G+ I$ }/ mCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the; T P: Y; O" P, a: L: N# o# Y
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
# L/ z6 Z3 n, w! {. W; O( N! bSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
$ u Z" e- H6 {; x' N, _dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
- v6 |+ l" i2 V# u. q, Lflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one h5 ^2 t: ^3 W
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
! v# L% L# `( m3 {. {practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
. ^. I @7 F/ p8 @boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
8 O, x3 b2 c$ g) F4 zare already choosing it over Spanish.! i/ ~" L# i) A" b% z" M
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal5 w8 \! {. o+ ~0 P; F5 ~0 R- d4 n. f
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
9 A. w A# j3 n$ loffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.": z5 n8 h( n! f$ O- N
& \* ?% K0 O6 w! MWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
& e" O# ~0 c9 _) q$ F! ~schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
/ n' O2 c8 i( l6 zto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention. S6 a. R U) M& w- {9 Z& ]
one of its most difficult to learn.
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( n( x1 z2 W' E8 `; h- VLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
' ?; e$ g# T9 ~% r. R4 b7 d( X' k8 p* Vpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students9 q! M; k5 o$ y9 i
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.* \8 E# j, I5 J( m' H/ Z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
1 U" E/ P) J4 k3 L) R8 O5 iTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on" e8 Y/ y" G0 W+ \! c; U3 M
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
$ P! m$ v/ A6 gimprove 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 T+ e3 n& ]3 p9 }$ R- u6 [Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
; B4 N0 a% p5 [+ }0 b* b, dstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to4 \1 w0 l) H! P3 ?! C) N5 k' Z8 C ]
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing! ~ Z/ |, F0 i! C$ s5 r
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
2 ?" X3 {, u" |: O; o1 G% g. A+ T0 u. zof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.6 D2 v& @; J- O
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, B- Y) A$ j, h: d8 i
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education- K- v: \4 K7 f; D- {2 v8 j
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from$ `2 _ c! S/ d
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
$ g6 Q m4 r. m- P: J9 f. P* ^years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
9 B& Y5 D8 \' y# ]8 IInstitute in Washington.. x d/ u. R3 C
" n6 |& e8 N6 I t$ d$ Y"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
( A1 ?. v' B1 m0 B4 j( varen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
0 ?& w: E! l8 e5 x1 i: c5 P! UMcGinnis said.4 m @; l [9 }3 h8 T5 B
' ]6 ] {( E+ |' ^9 G"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
/ X" f3 I0 {6 k' N' ?; f) c( Z& Flongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
8 Y% r: U0 c$ V/ T: w% I6 O qready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
! F3 Z" @! D8 z" X4 c7 R8 Achallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
; _: k. k$ H% Z8 v, @/ n" d% m1 Qsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in1 K, j$ g2 h0 x8 G. b
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of% \1 G7 r( i- s0 {% K7 v
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or* v3 g* `5 O- ^* t( u
on weekends.. m- q" x9 u* V6 b
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public1 C3 ?2 ^: [5 ^; C$ }4 r: y7 ^
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves @. F/ k {/ n
students who are not of Chinese descent.9 H# z) Y& A8 g* z
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said1 A D0 W: g* s+ s( r7 y, _
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
* |7 s. R/ P; P+ Fcompetition. , e1 u% z- L7 ?. `& H3 l4 p# f
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
^7 P: t. ~# s: Dsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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( C) ?: Z+ c P7 l cFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly) d" Q: S# Y* l8 @# P
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse: i: F6 `1 P; Y; c9 k4 ~7 s7 y
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
) g6 R9 Z3 H5 u7 Fkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
6 K& A( y# H7 j- \, d, u' rwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
/ S& V+ N s, h* @+ n4 q% Sthe school system last year.% S2 w3 n) h% _$ |- z+ z
+ F9 t; N8 w) ]4 K: \2 {The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
2 q4 t! A) A* Y+ h$ j9 z( M( Eyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.3 ~0 j9 ]$ M5 r$ Z+ G& W
f. j1 N1 m3 }1 F"They have a great international experience right in their own
. l& a( E& @. n; k$ }classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago: m4 i2 L; j; `- ^
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
" G5 {, ?) D1 I( z2 R: K' u# r; C- ghelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet5 x# |" V' V0 `! P+ n2 q( ^& {
on an equal playing field.") F- ]1 g; p) T# J' }7 g: i+ {
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
9 q; m' c7 ]% i' _classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign- c% ?( J5 |% e8 b3 F: D$ Q1 V
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
% O" f7 g( X; `" fChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
+ f: e" k$ C. {% i) N0 J [average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in' f! m6 t! F0 l r+ B& M) x* t1 |
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
& z( Y. `# n& G" d+ A% u4 yinstitute says.2 m% U- w2 ?, K: N1 M
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth& u* P8 s3 @/ B5 u7 \4 A
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before1 c# ~. j3 ~5 G) I9 N( O* o5 y
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she3 o: p8 l- _ k ~/ C0 `
told her daughter.( u1 u1 t1 H% h2 B8 x5 R$ u6 k
3 p! ^% K8 E% I) u& bSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite' [9 V1 S) b& v. e7 s
class.& \% e/ z: b( T
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are x( }/ @3 V% ^: U2 G N4 |. C& |4 E
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without% n9 Y& k, ], R; R" H
occasional frustration.
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8 d9 N4 `" t7 F% V' c+ e"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* L! v! p( K1 g h0 K
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.9 R5 m2 d |) I' y* D# q
# Q& ?) a8 c: h, e% xRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he/ X; k+ w! `( f1 S
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with8 I2 X% G! N, N5 C. M
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul$ ~" r6 g2 ~3 x
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
% z; t7 m/ E* s8 P3 y% J/ Qas many languages as I can."3 Z) ~2 a. |% W2 c2 y3 n! ^
3 {# ^6 [& D) @% V$ Z+ v5 ?Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the: E5 o4 r+ [' u% W" i! k
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
7 A. S1 h. e+ m Z* zmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like5 N. D1 V ?8 V' V6 c# C6 k, T
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program( j! n: p) Y! q, e4 J$ ~' M
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' `0 S* m S xschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
3 P0 e$ p/ h+ j& C* btime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
2 U: j/ k4 m* T, t$ o' |+ M& eroom.
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: E3 x4 C {/ ?Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
5 z+ T/ b# t3 K3 OChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
4 \3 e- s! ` {; Ocollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.2 |4 D& }; n6 Y6 Z- e
% \/ Z" A/ ] V5 M"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
' m$ k1 @6 I- F9 }; m1 jbecause of that missing certification," he said.- o& Y$ A o9 X* p: k* ^
* K; O: n) H$ i+ A i- J8 i9 qThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
9 ~) m1 p4 n( C3 b Hsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia# D7 p% U3 p3 e! E) D- l
Society in New York.) x& }) @/ E4 g9 R+ X& D
1 E* J! K; v& R8 |, ?0 O0 ?9 oSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
4 f% L, F+ T J+ o, [. NChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
( X) J) T( H/ [/ D0 ^the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our3 c7 s$ x3 c# L
own."
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