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October 15, 20058 k6 x2 H7 k q0 @( b a
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity# H1 n& x, h! N) a" z
. T! A1 M8 _% L+ L0 T0 }By GRETCHEN RUETHLING! Z& I% k/ L N
1 t9 M. r" d( F- W- l' zCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the! m/ E' q3 N& V/ c) P' o
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary. ]- j0 I# k# f4 E. [
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
" m8 p R h$ `; i7 odangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
3 X- m, @5 l% q) J2 qflag hang from the wall.
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" f5 S7 j( \- R- UOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one. {9 ?" x4 v6 `% \
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
$ s7 ~" S$ `1 ~: [practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
: b0 [/ `# T+ Bboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students' n* w- u5 J' P( W3 {* S
are already choosing it over Spanish.8 I8 @/ P( |4 e/ D2 H0 ~8 Z
5 M. s$ ?4 c8 P( \ n6 _. d"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* v4 e& {0 f. U8 Pat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
4 _# {$ q9 x4 D, doffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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! C: H2 U1 Q8 w X! ZWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,# O7 ]6 s: m6 |. N2 X' E
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* ^- h+ d4 H6 n9 t! w+ Z% g0 S
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
7 f9 j2 i2 l" t! F0 M# Eone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to! u: ?6 U$ o+ w1 N, N# [; |# v7 f; \
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
( I( ]1 k/ S; z7 w2 j% O7 k' m& Sstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
* `7 u3 T. c3 d% h$ [$ @( GLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of' N# O! l) j% t0 t. B. g
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
) P" N( s! ?* h# m8 G' b( e( r) ^Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
0 k4 c( _) _: o2 z7 Wimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee./ n) H5 j! s! X
5 C) _% f4 Q! I. ]$ pAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
4 d+ ?& h+ e1 dChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
) x3 ?6 n2 K0 G) p! Dstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
- t2 x4 \7 o( J, X: Fdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing) _4 B3 H6 I) r
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
+ W$ d1 Z1 r# r- v/ D4 N0 qof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of0 J9 E! e1 {& U I# @3 Y7 g/ T
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
$ i+ ?$ k# h `$ N3 Y+ rConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we" @0 X1 p4 E% A! }
can."
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8 ~3 a+ {" ?4 p% K" V, y% ZThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
% M6 C8 A2 x; D" O+ A3 Z+ eelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
& ^3 {- F" ?" T3 m8 cyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language, \6 q7 j% x1 `
Institute in Washington.1 N4 H7 V; K+ E' f" g. `
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
4 s5 h# T2 z" b9 [0 Saren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.1 C0 o9 x: a* R
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
! p4 j& O2 S1 X% ulongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be( U6 o& k% w7 R) w) d
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
r6 g# [4 d v0 R4 d2 c* hchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and/ f: ~* F2 L8 z
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) F y' V% X7 @$ T/ V' K* d$ lcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
2 X. o3 w/ {$ O+ Q$ z/ t( G) O% |, GChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
( U* ~' \. p' d @! H9 b/ V8 d) eon weekends.: V) w( S! d: F8 q- U
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
, j0 p) y. f& Q$ P6 Ischools during the regular school day and primarily serves. X3 h4 r: Q5 z' Y4 \- f, @) `
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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7 h/ w/ \& m# _) SMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said4 u( |/ M6 O' i1 ~# L. D
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
- j. E6 e2 P$ n7 s8 z9 ^competition.
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2 i" u! c6 o/ z- b"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
0 B$ O' r8 h9 Osaid. "There will be Chinese and English."5 ^4 g6 i3 c5 o% ^# Q( D8 V' [
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly7 y3 x2 D8 b; D. U' I: b" E- y! H8 E3 y
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse0 s' v1 o. n8 [% T! }, q
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
. u$ q5 _! N+ ]kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
7 f. z9 @9 B* W- k! Z( m# [2 Vwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
2 O U& g6 t/ ?# i& J$ ?' ^the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this! H' ?4 S/ Y" C) o4 C( D
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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. N. L# Q7 z: H+ w3 }# O"They have a great international experience right in their own* g& w4 c& ~ a3 p
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
8 y, I" I3 i/ V% x4 h4 z) t: ?Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
9 \9 E/ {) G5 ^) h; o( C% }5 Nhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet; Z1 @ d# t T9 o5 T
on an equal playing field."5 I" e; d: K4 ?% q) r% \7 f/ M
% g) w2 }' a' S H9 _/ \" w/ GSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese6 D' o2 o8 O, ~
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
, o% W' r' f/ }Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks7 G) Q, V, y9 a0 \2 h" L4 G* ?
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
" D+ T: c8 j. M& Y& {8 R! X$ U* |average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
1 w4 j5 I; a- MChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the; V2 R6 C, A p% w
institute says.+ Z2 `$ L1 l8 z" J4 A
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
9 G, Z9 V+ o4 M: V) @grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before- S; K2 C6 V$ U, a1 v
deciding whether to take the class.7 Q5 [/ T* d& Q2 w4 ]% J: L% w! c' q
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she5 b: k% M `2 s6 e! j
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
3 P* e' E1 k' `2 j) Dclass.
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7 D1 c. U( W7 h" XAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
/ f9 b1 p" [ d9 V# A, X6 ]studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
, |3 S; L, d- F7 n+ t* h3 H4 g! i0 qoccasional frustration.
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$ p! c, l8 a8 ?! u7 w"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
2 o1 { g4 R4 A) orecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.8 U. f1 X/ q* Y# r
' X; w; S9 k' e$ `Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
( k: @0 U* s w- \7 G0 y3 N$ h5 rtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
' v: }* Y6 V8 W/ Q5 Y) w6 p) n RChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works., v" a a: P% P; Z
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
( A U3 w2 {5 e5 \ o! v' Asaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn) X$ Y2 ?0 b2 V$ _
as many languages as I can."/ A& u1 K' Q* A
6 p# W" ?" _# `0 p+ rAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the6 m$ A( }: D0 f6 \
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
H8 \! x9 W( k5 J3 s) o/ k- w# amarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like$ |6 b' I; Q: Y0 a8 d. C% n; L- E5 L, `
that," Ms. Freire said.' M. F7 b! n1 Q7 R0 \' s
. P+ \# b2 ]9 G6 oMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program6 y4 i s3 A0 C7 L1 T5 Z& R
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each9 |1 y8 b4 k. G. G: h( C
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
; r' Z: u( K( X C9 G U) btime from classes like physical education, music and art to make0 r: v: T5 q( ^
room.. C1 u. s4 ]8 g& r) G7 J
/ [8 @' Y7 L& g* q- D7 X6 `* }0 N4 NChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer7 o3 r3 N: u& {1 f0 G0 j0 Y
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
# I; S# J% k/ ]5 o5 Zcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
V% a$ C: x, Q) J, |) s4 J
0 A; k" Z$ X0 W"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
$ k- h" \0 a' B1 xbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States," H% Y4 D' s+ b1 B; I! Q U6 ?; V
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
, Q& U ~' s' E6 A( S+ X5 aSociety in New York.( d* I/ {# l [7 l. S, x6 k y
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the" x; S. { i1 u1 G# F
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from- E( P: x! V' H
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.- p; \# N! {: W( f3 ]- I( H
6 y& j) s7 u/ ~& t, j8 d"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our( g% G* \0 [& ~0 u2 v$ v
own."
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