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October 15, 20050 Z k, T5 D6 y, O& B2 i, h
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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* C3 |7 D5 M. q: ~* z( NBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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1 { L8 U% d# w$ m# `$ FCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the D0 e' _. @' q* Q0 \! a0 v% O `' j
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary' h& l% j3 q L8 \) V! n) c* @
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas& n3 K' B, t$ u2 B2 h: b1 a( J" P
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese: `8 A$ ]# Y6 K. W- ~
flag hang from the wall.
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4 \* O5 _( |! T; b, GOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
9 Z: ], ]* z" E( r+ lanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
+ y6 e" n& r: d# }" p3 qpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
; T" n) P% ~: ]% N. Vboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
9 @5 j. k# \2 q, iare already choosing it over Spanish.
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0 m% H1 a( [/ v: Z8 W"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
1 I) b1 a) k+ ]! ~1 tat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
# E' H8 K8 j! F, X8 ioffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,$ w1 j5 D1 B3 Y3 @# F
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
" C; c5 q) D K& Q8 Kto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention6 h8 E; K% {5 R0 c. e) h7 i; D s! f
one of its most difficult to learn.3 }. W% p4 a- u- f1 ]) ]# c
9 L/ m7 u( z) v" v# H9 y& V9 eLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to' g1 b9 g3 D8 G- p! \3 Q' M4 C1 h, ]
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
8 [ H9 k. ^# e( }studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.! i# I+ a: {9 _; Q/ A
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of6 s+ R8 z! ^/ V0 V( \
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
7 ~8 C0 {2 s" q) eChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to- |0 F' `- l2 {6 Y
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." f" H/ Z( M* ^( l$ a8 b/ I
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement3 i$ e6 |4 J% |8 @5 f
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country; v; C |) _ m9 X9 v$ X* @, b; \ U
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! ? d2 T2 g2 t* w" J" f
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
- c, z/ a. F8 Icurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
7 ~) n x3 r* E3 A- M; ^: bof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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3 s) n+ C7 R, b- \"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
: l) D6 N* s% s" Z# P8 j, @speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education# M6 k: i1 ~7 a, \9 G# o( O
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
# r' k$ W/ K$ f5 F: Pcan."
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( V* p4 h) P- n4 B1 IThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
* N; s4 y$ N' u3 T* Xelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10( n- u. W& s. {0 I" z" ~
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
+ j: x1 l- J7 a& T$ xInstitute in Washington." o: `; h2 m" E W5 _
$ @" y4 U# B6 u7 |4 c1 j"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
6 I% U# |7 x, [$ raren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 I5 R C" j* X- M( ?
McGinnis said.2 `' b c, N! E' U! n7 x. S
" \6 @) m0 ?& @0 D6 ?3 C3 I"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
6 G+ B5 @' |6 V' A+ ~, h; q* ulongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be) t; y- t$ n( b8 h1 Z
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
$ M9 C+ c+ E) e @! ?challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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" w5 `0 M, m3 i! OUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
! b' {% W+ s+ C" c% Q! H, Psecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
1 Z7 m* m. W( h2 w1 Jcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of) t; \* Q, n+ e1 b
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or! a0 t7 }% @7 n( z+ f) |: `
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
. @# I x; Z/ I% I( b; Q; ~# qschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
7 }8 k* t. v3 a/ cstudents who are not of Chinese descent.9 q" Y9 o, e* q5 X% b0 l
- a* n+ o2 I1 D' nMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said+ ~# C" c- N! u. o
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the0 H! m# T) Z9 a5 U4 G, f: V
competition.
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& c+ j% z; R" O' ~' ]"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley- P/ p {/ h0 K! [# ]
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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' A! ~+ W1 r O$ Y! _9 |6 PFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
$ u0 \9 }7 h( b d, s% gall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse- _9 {: c+ Q: f. A4 [
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
. l; H+ F4 v, } ? z/ E% Q( gkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
: W0 o% ~! O# W8 Qwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
3 o1 |0 O) M# }0 X, h* h0 h0 Bthe school system last year.4 \( L" C7 H& E
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this: J' W: a" {5 }$ s4 b% r% j
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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$ O. ^; U4 [: f' W"They have a great international experience right in their own% u' }3 D) w3 n5 K) b' u
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago3 s+ ~, Z" z9 H* T% t j1 v
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
& p: R1 _& S! x( jhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet- w; c, q; b- [8 ] d
on an equal playing field."
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7 r' |3 A* x- I1 Z$ g5 ~Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese; _$ ?8 S, M' D9 I+ f* J1 M& l
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign1 x. L5 k$ h% q' \5 O5 [
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks* y. I4 Y$ `; z. A2 I
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
) K. C# N! O, ?" Iaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
$ Y6 T5 P+ s4 S4 F- Y, s- ^3 AChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
8 m+ `" P. y3 I* E# b" Vinstitute says.# O l! z$ p% S: w
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
1 T9 V% h! Q" T, K- Ggrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before8 _! x9 W, O( Y: E
deciding whether to take the class.1 S3 T; [# b D- f; B$ u2 Q
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she# U* B/ B( f& r2 D
told her daughter.$ v6 d/ G8 K- \% J z7 D% s. W
( l( q/ j$ ~8 M+ N% l' ^; VSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite' u" r1 d1 _1 w0 t& ?) f
class.
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: b: Y! v) Z. X2 c& UAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
% g9 g- I1 V5 y# _studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
* r* R/ R, h# Hoccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
2 ^! h3 Y" |) S- [* m( trecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.# t2 P+ x g4 U- ]" Q+ V9 ^9 b! k
5 P1 i' o! G; e7 X. j9 F! E, hRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
+ ~6 B3 A* i9 o" j8 Ptaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
+ `; g' d* L7 z# AChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.: p y4 p# D: h$ J
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul/ u( n9 x3 `2 Z/ `/ B
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
4 ?5 ?: f/ k( A6 ~2 G8 fas many languages as I can."
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% R+ M( c8 m( n, g1 F0 {9 e0 PAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
2 r+ Y( j# Z/ t1 a( Hskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job: Q3 M) q7 U& \4 @$ Z% w
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like0 O5 T ]) S# t! f
that," Ms. Freire said.- X9 O& c0 r1 c# Y8 n ?# x
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program! Q" W8 \7 g+ ?) G, N2 x
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
- ]1 m! V8 `- Z4 ?school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
* A1 V! o. m7 Z% v6 Mtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
; O: {# k6 `; e' ~3 O9 J; broom.
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3 j$ r0 U1 I& R, uChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
( R" Y1 A- T+ @; MChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American/ r, u% y- X. ~6 R) E& N5 U& K8 U# C, [
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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; p, U3 B3 k, p% W) K"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
2 F* N1 Z; N, p! S& {/ ^because of that missing certification," he said.) c7 C! s, }+ i' \7 s. Q7 }% y
" g# Z$ X; L! M N; m7 bThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,* w: t2 k& Z1 }- X2 [# t
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia- I1 h# F8 J( U, K/ `& I" _1 q& Q- O) `6 X
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
3 D( L, |% r( {3 \Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
2 G$ T2 ?5 q5 Z F/ Y& l+ `the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said., |* N* A& }6 k* p/ P6 a4 x
5 @6 r2 a, I- ~# i: b6 N' r/ p
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our1 m) G4 q- E0 y3 q
own."6 s" R" W6 l8 T7 f: g; B8 q
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