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October 15, 20052 \" ?6 D! G' M4 e# z$ W
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING+ G7 K( b# Q1 N9 q5 r, ~) s
+ P# o4 b. E- A* |" q% ~
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
/ X: M4 J- ?4 f5 `0 Z4 aUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary+ g/ }3 Y2 K; j+ _$ C G
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas- B `3 V1 \: a& c) u( g: l/ u
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
* m4 n$ p/ P0 g& U" L: y9 x$ Sflag hang from the wall.
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, t) P. T2 I2 v) B' h/ NOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
0 l, S( V5 _0 H- z, R$ f/ lanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
- r# V2 z/ C0 U$ a" b9 \; \practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker; V2 [9 M. Z, j( |5 X' y; t
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students! b1 y8 j" P7 L @
are already choosing it over Spanish.% d9 F' e* p& k/ f# v
9 d# f. c2 v3 u9 O"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal6 ?2 W" f' V5 Z) Z Q# c7 C( s/ R
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! E( U* D' \3 d( Z8 C& Z" Coffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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, a* A8 a: R6 c( W: yWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
+ J+ p. |3 g j2 a* t5 Kschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
/ F. I! Y; U% T8 `4 ^& ^) I* Ato include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
. |4 a' Y% G5 ^9 P3 w5 Fone of its most difficult to learn.& r- \# X! d, p; Y/ f/ |
! N! _0 z4 j/ a! h3 W* l, h& }$ PLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ P, H5 I1 [ T7 _
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
0 X! M1 U5 D2 o$ Jstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.( O0 j. W# Q7 Z
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
, e+ J7 U* _: mTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
+ x# j) @8 h, b- ^; J) YChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
! C7 }- E! @, v) L0 cimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.* X8 l& ?2 T0 _& N# B
: c: E: U0 ?0 Y6 J3 M5 UAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
3 W9 y( n: O8 k$ g% R( X3 ZChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country2 _! p+ k/ P6 j, Q& Q
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to7 z) Z/ r, B+ d1 n9 B# l# D
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
0 d* F! x- I* A; j% [5 C7 z2 Ocurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
9 R1 S0 q0 ~2 x+ Z/ \7 ?9 Pof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
* d3 ?4 T# }4 r nspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education7 x3 q( I' `- Y3 o* e+ v$ _- Z; R% ]* j
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we k9 _3 S6 i3 |9 g
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
3 n( j- F q0 H- C/ b# m& Felementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10# l) @% r1 l& Q3 u) n& b# Y+ C: i0 d) u
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
7 O7 _2 \& ` V. R9 lInstitute in Washington.' B/ R- t1 E9 @# y; J! q* g+ [1 M
3 a8 l. a0 ]) Z% u"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
) E: j0 @: c3 laren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.0 r2 `5 S; Z: E. a) {3 B, j
McGinnis said.+ R' J; ~ G$ B% Y/ M' i* h
1 {$ P$ Q, k+ A$ F7 ^. X6 \2 O"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
) ]" J) W7 y1 k9 E' ilongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be4 h0 x1 ]- {( f6 o- l$ i
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a6 D) j) D- i5 [! M* O3 e2 p
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.". R0 J+ y4 r! Q% ]" G9 R$ u3 C* f
2 H. e7 p$ J1 N4 u% LUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and0 i- D# ?0 Q# O8 e# M$ N, E; [) a
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
0 ^% S2 _- t4 h, z* c& V7 O: Ucities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of8 h% R. @5 ^- j- Z7 q
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
9 o- ]+ r% M* W* eon weekends.7 B5 \) i9 I' F; |; l$ q
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public% b5 z$ m/ c5 B
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves, P2 Y" c5 V+ v1 W1 s
students who are not of Chinese descent.6 J% N( }9 }6 w( o, @) c
& p+ ]- |+ i4 [8 nMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said& p# D! S' e, C0 R4 h9 d: i/ P
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
6 J, d( m8 I9 G# z: B) k0 Z7 v1 Zcompetition.
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% e" K; B0 Q- N& q' N"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
7 N# ?1 w0 j- N; B* T- {& Xsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."5 [$ w; {$ B. R5 s- N
W& k4 A' I( } LFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
7 H3 m& n0 {! O: G/ R& c3 f1 fall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
( y# k7 p5 u% zschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from x8 ?4 D2 f, P0 @
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
: u1 t7 Z, s& X: ?% e6 y5 p* o5 Gwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
. u% l; g" c& s0 ~3 v4 Bthe school system last year.. r8 Q; V, z$ N! F. J
( A/ p' k z/ W C( i1 E5 `/ MThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this! g4 U" _# V: y4 v
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year." W! Q; p0 W3 I& k! K' t2 C( _
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
" E/ ]* e6 f1 Y; ?( x& xclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
2 @3 j+ Z( B# G' KChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
) T: }5 U) M; s3 u9 A5 B9 o7 ihelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet9 i1 _2 f1 V- u" m
on an equal playing field."( g9 t* {3 A3 R( y! |
r% \! G* P) Z. Y) D# \Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
" Y2 A5 X0 f+ Q6 Oclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
! F3 L, T$ e9 C) x' s. {% A9 L, XService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks; D4 ^8 w U; ]; q z0 i
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
6 T8 c; U$ s4 M3 y- n! s, maverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
" |! [) `' [0 Y7 [Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
5 J, N* Z# o" k/ a: A% t6 X) R- p$ }# }institute says.5 A' o0 B8 m9 l: f
2 |( [6 g8 h; R" @Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth" @3 m l/ t- f1 ?
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before0 U% K+ n* Q/ P2 Z( ?- c
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she& r5 V) l% e) u# F
told her daughter.; P( i/ k; R4 C% E- N7 O
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 Z- R- x: V2 t9 k: d$ wclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are) E( r1 s9 S, i" P# i
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without- b/ ^2 c$ R0 H* x9 C
occasional frustration.
3 k" k) ^; h# x) I7 M& g. _
0 o4 \: J5 K! W/ {"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
" e# [1 @: p+ J0 zrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.1 R! ~) Y6 f3 |2 L( q l" H% N
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he9 B" L4 a6 _: t. Z Y, B% N- W
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with3 ~' T4 {: Q0 Z0 I5 ~& C$ X
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.( v7 {( F8 l! J0 \1 n
$ ?/ F t8 Y: M7 v2 z0 J"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul5 p, c6 H. M5 T) U' a9 P5 X1 ~- f
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
" z; M( D M0 H& J; R* Nas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the p( q$ m: }. h9 ]+ f, y0 D
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
" L( Q. T5 X: @- bmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
! F' l9 ~, s2 Pthat," Ms. Freire said.% N& \5 P5 @; U
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
: h3 M/ h5 s# x- _* Where offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each5 s) l7 X" e9 G& q- }* D# f) |
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking) V/ L4 A- @3 U4 p9 Y
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
E5 `2 h$ `9 M Broom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer0 ]9 n8 a- x+ l9 o
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American1 U( G' t$ {: x- g
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.# b- o/ [! s ?
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
) l! l( ?( k. \; G+ Q3 ~5 Obecause of that missing certification," he said.* z- {% N8 U$ e( `3 h5 O9 P
+ H# B' y! n6 m" i B# iThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
, l+ a/ M9 A- S# _* \# j4 U Esaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia; p: ^# \ x- w& G; N
Society in New York.2 `9 L. t: `+ E* @& ?8 O! V
$ p/ Q* z1 p0 S4 C3 ZSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the$ _( ~5 N6 N" M0 j( i8 K) v
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
5 @1 `8 s, A# ]$ }* O1 Athe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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1 Y/ Z- _ M) q: M# n! j/ @% v& `"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our- G; ?; W: J4 P: q# \
own."4 m; V8 J G4 k% t- z
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