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October 15, 2005+ Z' b% q5 R3 r& i, n+ {: h
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity7 p" D$ `) o7 F- }" q4 s7 m6 {
, w5 h+ y/ F a z t3 bBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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: v# N* Z$ Z, V" XCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
" R: Y! y: m! s6 d' T( @/ V) A( JUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary+ e$ E" j0 f! z$ `: I8 x4 x
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
: F0 v' D- A' b) q: Mdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
" z' i% k3 U( A* j' j+ V0 }+ P9 Yflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
8 b5 T8 D% V/ P9 P! B, O$ r) Fanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders5 P# E7 v- a9 ?# t7 @4 u0 g
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker( [& l, T- L, \! R/ c
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students* ~, h, ~' B5 D9 h- N8 c+ |
are already choosing it over Spanish.% i$ w- X) D# D
. C6 X0 ? W/ _" _' z"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal9 x; F$ t6 `3 x: [$ c
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
- g% B/ B4 W$ W5 o( joffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: c9 {' u4 U! W
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* g' D, i, v% ~3 m g
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention- G, j! \9 I/ z
one of its most difficult to learn.% G+ Q- A. y5 l3 ]; r, _
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to6 ?5 ?3 b& y W
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
* t2 ?- O: O. z& s* `studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.% D$ e; G( c7 @9 Y
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
# m) c. J" Z- I2 bTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on: n3 l6 @, J# O" A) L" T
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to7 I0 [& w- ]1 O9 D+ a7 b
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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! p4 M2 A6 g+ L9 nAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
9 e7 n- p# ]& w% YChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country3 x7 T+ M, c1 C) @9 X5 M# p, e$ r
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
0 ?+ h; {& A6 Y( q# T" H. v0 ydevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing. j: f- `2 t6 a, W. `4 Z; j4 m! W
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
# f% _ f/ F4 k- n J4 F nof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of# @6 y& O# V8 g0 {
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
) [0 Z; I# n( A' O. v7 @Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we! {( E: q1 ^3 W+ o) V) g! ~
can."
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# {+ {/ E. R* E+ UThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
0 ^2 S' H' N. }3 }+ Selementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10$ }8 U8 p$ d. g' e. J
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language, u1 t) J$ |- C8 X
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages1 k, g1 J& d# h0 h. `
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.2 L) M$ O2 s' }
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
2 x; w" x. P0 R; G# K7 s% _, Llongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
! Y+ v6 W. b7 S3 n5 e. ?) f# nready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
+ H, y1 ?- t: T4 V& D2 Ychallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."+ l: N# Y0 S2 D9 u, ?4 f: T- f2 a( V0 z& q
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and& N$ i; ^4 w6 E' c8 U0 D
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in1 X4 m3 `! }. {7 b, v% x" b6 I) U
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of# n a0 e1 s7 n: M5 u8 X
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
$ z5 e% {5 a! n( ? X. |. Lon weekends.
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6 f0 A: B; B5 z+ `$ ^The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
" x, t7 R# O3 ^. d1 qschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
! _7 ]8 G- Y, B: t, O/ `3 ostudents who are not of Chinese descent.% T" j7 b2 \% x6 ~, v! p/ }3 {
1 g' f7 u5 G0 W. MMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said# g% N" M0 F) W. j
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
# T: ]# G' \# a- @3 f& x G3 ^competition. ! d: H2 x- R1 t% P# _) A; d
8 z" G0 T W. m" m"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley; C* i* h* i" [9 v9 ^
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
& {( e3 j/ D* U1 r; [7 R! uall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
0 g0 R* D0 @5 r, y. s# |schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from8 c, l7 R* x$ X
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
6 P. E. E0 Z- ? z6 rwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
) }, J7 [5 K8 h6 Lthe school system last year.: j, a! R, Z" c+ z7 ~- _# L) T: u% o
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
. k" B; t/ Y# x& @( r$ Yyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.5 A; n% I) c/ w, Q3 j
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
& z! i7 D. e( d6 n) n7 n" R! Uclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
4 I0 \; ^1 i* }4 k x( IChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to5 R: V! V! H* N/ g& g
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
9 O3 r$ i6 x( don an equal playing field."! V( v" D) u% ]) u. _4 X/ D( V
+ Z6 H: |( E9 K- X* V" ^Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese2 J5 c; D& ]8 D! ~, s
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign: k3 T3 g- k1 i5 f1 T
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
2 B0 J1 p& q% @8 v3 f6 d! ?Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
" W4 z. r9 I6 W. v7 ]( m- paverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
9 L/ T+ |- o- ^% S( i6 p. ?Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the0 M. E7 t; q2 y( H+ ^
institute says.% V/ c4 A. B8 I2 l2 b0 {2 k. [5 G1 m
* @( j' M2 F F" O/ o6 C7 FSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth+ _( Y: C! M( u
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before5 L, z7 u0 K9 F q! M
deciding whether to take the class.9 K9 T" ?& E k1 f
3 ]: }0 |; n% _% X/ R0 z- i( M4 R"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she& i1 ^& y) a% _5 _# z
told her daughter.4 Y7 Y, e; s! N7 m. R* a4 F( ]
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite7 n, _; V! z) s" \# l$ |
class. _ F( Y6 U9 L& ?# p# M, f+ p
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are9 Q4 N/ Y- ~1 w5 j, Q
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
% K) [% \: a9 ^# Joccasional frustration.
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$ O. v% `% R( \/ R9 f% r6 Z0 ["Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* _5 X- E* E7 Q( S
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he. m& W1 _( x0 r% p
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
9 z, s. b5 {2 g$ Z# RChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works. v5 \; @! c7 I2 E
) n% _- C7 F( k"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
) q* v/ ]8 r# m( ~4 Asaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn `, b1 I' R2 ?/ o8 G
as many languages as I can.". z) ~# f" ~+ ^: V3 b4 X4 n( i8 W
$ L0 ^" F. k2 g/ ~! LAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
3 B! o p0 V0 Z( l' O1 e* ?7 H1 ]skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job" `* `: e3 R1 |1 p6 O) Z8 R2 k" t
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like( N; w3 l2 l) l4 b O/ y
that," Ms. Freire said.
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2 Q4 |5 A& h) A+ `4 ]0 z9 x" {Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program" K2 h' }2 ^7 X* ?
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each0 e6 ^( H- J1 f8 b
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking6 P/ p3 P: O" G
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
7 o& ?8 [5 k O( Croom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
% b i5 u9 o# }0 F; d6 VChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
$ n$ L# Z [! i3 U1 P" P# qcollege, 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 qualified9 h+ m/ `: f. R f# f
because of that missing certification," he said., ^5 t$ W1 y$ o! q X! a
: c# E" X3 n9 _' E6 C) ^The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
; b& k! i2 w" R. `2 G4 A9 [said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia" Y# T& j- v; t2 g
Society in New York.
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4 I0 E, q! l* f% z4 M- LSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
' H0 [2 y7 a @Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
# I3 S! B( T" `1 d7 e: o3 l% J7 w1 ythe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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