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October 15, 2005! t: ?' q: D2 i' }0 q$ Q
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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6 V* i/ o* G" k8 _5 m- hCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the. I" r5 Y( \# e, r# }
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
; k5 k# Q) x E) S8 k5 CSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas" f& |- R5 U9 K. {& N2 h
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
# d V. e8 o! S# @, G& C! x7 Rflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
+ E7 a7 [+ S- g9 d0 w0 wanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders9 [. H- @- D& s# G" W+ Y
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ G9 [$ U+ ^* x4 l" z
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
$ ~' `' w: A7 W1 A. Z' X. pare already choosing it over Spanish.2 s* V. }* b! b# a
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
: C+ J- {& y0 Q8 Rat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city$ q& L. o, I& ^4 p7 v- h: Z
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."' k5 B. t/ x( J' E
' q; ~4 R \( I% H0 E' nWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,, z V" y: G# F; l& w
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
% d& a" x8 V- H- r/ B% E) P3 ^to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention9 e: E V2 z( N. n7 O
one of its most difficult to learn.7 [2 a* G, U w2 ]7 R# u! S
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
1 l0 a1 r- K5 T: `8 m3 f g$ ipublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
4 l' y3 g* L8 nstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.1 d% S% e; M4 `) W. N8 Y9 X
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of/ R" D: V7 R9 X- D. x+ f( J$ F, w
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on. o& g7 N6 |' j" f" h6 E
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ o. A- _( \5 M: r- W) a
improve 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
" a3 ]/ j- m; q- | fChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
! g3 r" O" a7 c* Z3 O6 P hstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to6 F1 C' g) q6 W$ O+ K# G3 [
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
% P' m! @6 \% U1 m9 y4 `curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
% o, ]8 q- u( I! Y" R& L, |, R" S6 rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
; T" r0 { G( w, [speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education5 [1 {+ v8 m. C+ v
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we8 [; u$ H2 A* ?8 \
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from' U% c8 X/ e( I
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
% ^6 \0 y; z' ~; o* Q# V Q# pyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language v5 j+ o2 k) b( ?8 e! ?5 y
Institute in Washington.
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& H5 ]1 e- q7 I% z"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 V8 \- b! O S
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
% |/ n a: N1 g; JMcGinnis said.
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/ F4 R4 M9 Z& P, G"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
0 N6 d3 E4 _ q- {8 m. tlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
^! T2 \7 j& V/ {ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a/ I& r' v& b- |1 S1 f4 p
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."0 n! w+ Y# [, u: U* |
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and' S7 \9 ?" {. F* E
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in7 O1 q3 B3 I) {0 [
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of" r9 f. @; ?. l; q+ i9 I
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
s6 \+ h8 o9 T" Y5 W/ u( c/ uon weekends.
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1 a) ^6 W2 j, G9 I& {1 CThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public* @+ Q) K# x. M# {: ~
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
+ @3 W; Q3 `' y+ E8 g: istudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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& A: k/ x8 k! q$ [Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
o' U) [( m o2 V3 L- M5 Dproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
: G x3 x- ~, r( |* Pcompetition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley! X/ C7 J3 M# _' D0 ~/ r3 ~+ w
said. "There will be Chinese and English."! j) ]! a" ?* t, R9 _0 S
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" A. C0 y: |( @& P7 c# ~. F
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse z B% p8 V- Q' t9 q6 ]4 v
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
- \1 Y* I4 R$ F0 @) _kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students/ `4 C" i# x* L$ X3 _
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to" X& n0 w) {% P# T+ m
the school system last year.
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9 D/ I# Q6 f/ ` Y4 R5 U( |The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
- }7 A; M4 x! E: i; ?year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own' G) }$ v# a; J) \2 N6 e/ Z' N5 X
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
- F$ N; B9 G3 q6 k; lChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
& U" M: O5 u6 \5 l3 X+ @help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
1 F5 j' ^# x' }% d# @on an equal playing field."! q8 K! ~$ S% u1 O& ]4 O7 d1 E
e I& t2 l% B7 M& i% `6 YSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese5 }. \0 w/ Z/ S9 B9 v
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
2 I! x3 V4 M1 X3 ^7 ]- iService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks; Z* H% d+ ^3 `7 R/ G i
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
9 m9 U& y1 p" Y9 j5 O3 n" J) X0 ~) Saverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in' o6 ]+ S0 S" D- x8 Y2 y% y
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the) c" \9 T5 d# X8 I! {& W. k
institute says.4 C% ~* L8 ?. S) z* _
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth$ v$ m" n- a) w, N _
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before+ \ A+ d/ F# d: J" n9 q
deciding whether to take the class.% W" C' N. Y9 z7 q- q, F
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( j2 l' D- D9 s( E9 Z0 D4 `
told her daughter.6 e0 I( t" o/ s$ r& l: |
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 |0 @+ h. o. {4 u' [class.8 h( J6 j c$ y. \
6 D' D$ _( ?0 }3 i) kAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
! e4 n f' g/ G1 r( kstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
8 p2 o8 g6 c5 L0 W* Q- U! `occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
0 Z4 g! g3 W- ?0 U' n8 M& w; F7 Precent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.( E: |! |3 X0 ~1 g5 P
1 O) ]' K/ [4 |) |7 M& [- \% U9 iRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
f" ] @6 Y- r# T4 ttaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with4 O# n! ~2 b9 @* a
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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; g& D8 R5 `9 j" U/ c"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul2 o: F" y7 p9 e8 _
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
% }, ]+ i5 u. C/ G5 ^& Ras many languages as I can."3 C- A( G$ i( a) c/ L6 z" R( R- V6 d
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the! r! U! }) u8 z! j( w! T7 x. X
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
9 v# ^$ u8 |+ x( Dmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
; t0 K7 C- @" c8 G: w$ othat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program# q# z: g0 ? E/ i4 \1 Q# D
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each H1 Q6 B# V7 ?+ ]
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking6 R" E: N8 s) ~; l- O& E) h
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
% k: F% F1 H( \1 u Vroom.
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8 {: S3 B$ x( W) gChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
4 c: @, K, q# eChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
: c, F {/ A# Y! o; Vcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
4 z* L* ?7 V! n( @because of that missing certification," he said.9 t- g3 I8 b3 \1 I* A: C; \* ^
0 M5 z8 G8 H" IThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
8 m0 Z/ ]2 p2 A* A9 V8 Ysaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
, H. x% t* i/ c* q& \Society in New York.
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/ Z% G1 E |8 ~/ T, E" e# _Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
$ K- Z- s" S6 k/ KChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
, u; t8 N. ?( [1 H( I8 ` h8 mthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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( m' v+ t* I8 x"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our0 s- H+ V P5 X1 ~9 \# I
own."! }% I/ B4 m" h' c: K* I. ~1 w
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