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October 15, 2005, a; o0 N) S2 J8 A3 f
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the. a7 _: @$ p F6 S
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary% y) w- L7 q+ V2 L/ J5 g$ K
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas6 z* W! c* W" g4 X
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese3 o! `3 c. }2 R' d
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
6 |* B3 _: M4 l" d8 _9 u4 ]! vanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders; Q$ w4 L6 g6 d0 { M" V' @( b
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker& w' D1 `& b3 i: y3 a, L4 p9 o
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
' ~0 o; n; o% i% f8 w* Zare already choosing it over Spanish.
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/ N, g6 I! f( e3 e"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal6 n0 k( d1 I- w8 v( q- `
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city }/ M5 n3 J1 Y" H
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.": F) w- h; {, K' v
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
/ q$ {; F3 `2 \5 f- E2 _. Jschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings0 Z" x/ u" s" }7 d7 F) E
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
) ~# K0 T9 }. V4 G: ]one of its most difficult to learn.3 U( p# Z; b2 i5 {+ U: F
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to% Y1 @0 }0 |+ T" q# g6 q
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students% ~* |9 Z) _9 M& h
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
* S5 y) @% K4 y4 H8 q! \: ULieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
0 ~5 K# W) n5 E* b. @/ t5 w( ZTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
/ C, K) a& g% h/ w( u( H! b QChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
5 w/ l3 t, u) qimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.0 B3 \( j6 c7 W6 ]" e
! h6 d( s" u& K7 u% LAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
- }6 j& r. l8 v' ZChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country* q. Y) ]; d$ C; F# C- }7 J/ v
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
9 I8 Y" y" E7 [8 J; o! Y3 N2 m- [develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
3 m, Z) u1 @2 j# G6 S8 scurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director7 T0 C5 O4 F; L) Y X+ J# ?& U
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.6 o' Y, h; S1 A' u# n: X- n
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of- J3 D+ c7 @' v( t" O( Y
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
8 p4 e: A7 z: f$ qConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we) L! E6 o: o5 k+ C3 _6 V% p! q0 Y
can."
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% U- M) g: |1 K$ ]- _The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
8 j5 q3 j. D9 Eelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10" l+ J% T) Q: L$ W( g" Y6 i
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language8 i8 T: X0 Z7 O) l+ D
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
- s, M2 K2 E: M! K9 Yaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.$ b* k% h1 ?6 v" D2 |, g0 O6 j7 d
McGinnis said.% s! _# g t* J/ ^6 a/ E
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
/ T3 X; ]+ Q8 e W* Wlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
0 G! n" T8 [! w% L% B$ G6 \4 Dready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
6 n3 W( g8 t, J9 Z, V% b# ~challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."! L }) b( r1 _5 _( @$ j
: [/ D$ }1 y4 u$ XUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
1 I# ?- X7 l6 q" O& m6 ysecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in. R6 W# t) K8 ~: j( t( m
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of! V( ^6 V3 i" o# l* d
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or4 w) }! c* N0 f Y) X
on weekends.! A" ~( l# L3 M3 m0 i0 O2 r! O
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public" y& z/ E/ _ c+ W
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 l. p& L# A1 s( X. _% Vstudents who are not of Chinese descent.* Z0 W5 c+ J! e& }6 V1 |3 N
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said, q: d. }; P& g: T, e
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the4 ^$ i2 s$ a9 z5 J2 G% k9 i" N6 M
competition. 3 \5 F: Y I7 B' c1 t# y
8 j& |( h8 k) ~2 t5 _"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley3 U! L( U: t$ ? b
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly2 L2 D" R; H: y& p4 S3 ^
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse i+ F* ?' w2 X! W' K3 q, `1 A3 P: k
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( R; y R& @# x& Q
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
) y; G( b& E! m. \- ?who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to3 v$ s) w) K9 a& ?. S- F
the school system last year.
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' h9 E- a0 B DThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
% o/ A! X% n+ syear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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5 v4 d5 \* @4 q) @"They have a great international experience right in their own4 L9 S$ @- L R) C% y# h3 ?
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
" z& u5 k6 j4 ~2 D: JChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
8 c' U7 S3 z, R8 bhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet/ }8 O, L7 Y6 F
on an equal playing field."2 O5 b% X$ }: L# C7 W
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
( L& u8 e! K: n% i4 {1 wclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign2 s& [ d' I8 b* c
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
D2 L% F- [9 N5 ]. A( ^Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An# t% q8 d6 U/ M5 u- d2 p- C
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in$ N, X4 `: e) O! n( z
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the7 o+ K8 `( r1 e' n; c8 U
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth6 {& Y. [" G& f, t/ X/ K
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before) l+ U3 k6 A9 Z: J9 b
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
& N/ N' P9 B+ Q; m. T: X9 L- u5 ~told her daughter.
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r0 l$ Z* ~# K0 YSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
, h2 H6 O3 ]; \) {( K6 Hclass.
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?& m7 n' y' P! D" iAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are: P; U* q6 Z+ d3 Z2 Z
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
8 p/ d+ p5 E: s6 c8 Z+ N' D4 `# [occasional frustration.2 K5 i! [! p' t
: o2 N5 P7 u5 x/ a' M"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
4 h, ]0 w" P( A( Z4 J" T, ^& S* S0 Qrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
0 ?% J" M. L# ~4 k8 Ktaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with( _/ t$ v4 W3 d; z
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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N1 y2 l. U$ f% P) T0 f. F) t"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
R9 R) D5 x. z9 asaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
# E! J* D2 R% k- x. [% tas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the9 g( E9 j7 V: D) S# ~) k: n
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job. s( M y6 Q* ~9 A* a7 u
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
; ^, S6 O' W/ i/ gthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
/ g; ~9 B" J: u$ q/ h2 b, D' Uhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each4 s* p* b# Q5 Q2 B5 j. \
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
- M2 E4 x7 V0 Rtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make6 q: d" i, W8 k) Q
room.' ]4 o9 i) |4 R2 W# V
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
! d* e! I# k5 F! I& \ |' wChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American' @+ s. y* i6 y
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.8 N/ e, e, _4 R' d ^/ G
! M6 E2 v& B5 ?2 C& C"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified- K& J* y6 P5 R* s! s! n
because of that missing certification," he said.# ]6 L4 S. r0 Z* A6 ?! d
2 \* V! ~" [+ v9 A2 \) @) FThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
9 h7 {, u; c/ Wsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia5 I, ~; y3 O- P* Q
Society in New York.
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1 w! V7 e* ~5 q0 Y% X- ZSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
1 J" y& l# [1 E$ n& ~7 s4 R, dChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from1 Z T, v7 g+ @$ |" P
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.* m9 p+ T2 m2 d% {: i5 }
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our0 r _" j0 d6 S! N! A3 H( w) R6 G
own."
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