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October 15, 2005* a4 P- j3 X/ \4 p P V7 p
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity" P: v; U. ]3 n0 n2 Y$ D: r/ K
3 N/ V F* F* F+ V/ ? y& ^0 J4 f8 bBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING+ }4 V& t4 C- B8 v$ p$ h
1 g* v7 B; r; Z& C' k( Q( \% nCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
* b- m8 Q$ o4 h: `, _$ N0 kUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary K$ w% L8 T4 a8 i0 A/ n
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas4 O/ Q3 ?1 B4 O5 N& |/ x4 y) T j
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese1 Z- P# o1 z* X6 p
flag hang from the wall.9 u' Q! q! j: g: H
- x, N) A- d& BOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one9 D( g+ H; u9 Z L: c
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
( a8 y! U7 j4 Y ]practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker3 f; Z7 I6 E) F! X2 j1 f
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students# [. p Y! B+ p. G9 {( B
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
; ?: w3 E' J' Sat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city; h% t. }+ q& \0 e
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,% d! A% K$ ^6 |' Q2 f+ }$ c+ O0 m6 Z
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
: ?" \) t3 e; m$ l) T9 hto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
" O2 |& N8 S$ Yone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to% Y; x# j3 l1 {+ O! Z
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
8 u$ l8 S# w" qstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.( c" b6 h, C; n5 g
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of( i# ^8 A, x' q: Z- i( N
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
1 Q7 w- J' A8 O" l: B' {Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
' E# [5 g/ j' q# |+ M! B4 @; ]improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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5 `& N) u4 u% U$ J. P& Z$ m% UAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
0 E( M% _! M' I; E K5 rChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country7 x0 }6 s7 e5 }! \4 P4 u* | W% p
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
; O/ J/ l k I: q1 Cdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing$ X N4 i2 u( x8 x5 h
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
1 b1 f4 ]3 J! ?; s, b# g6 A; ?/ I gof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.9 C$ d! Y" P1 ^6 B3 O2 b
0 r7 j; c1 W0 T; O" b"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of( _5 u1 ?/ s( Q: x6 U1 {8 m8 Z( u
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
% O* `# L; w$ g6 x( \) i/ uConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
9 ]6 K, D5 g9 M1 acan."
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% ^ |) K! K. I' }0 NThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
0 v* S" l( C M" u& P, telementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10 O& x. k1 h9 q" v6 S) s+ L
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
0 i- M# P' a# r9 j6 A* xInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
1 }" X) I1 p" H, ~% {+ M3 w Taren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr." _0 @2 v: `1 y2 V" k* y; k% O* H
McGinnis said." Y6 _8 b( ?1 a
! o6 K. a! q3 a' r/ N! T1 C"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
( |4 y8 f! I% |; N" D/ g( plongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
+ K) j: s {& e6 `ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a) V0 \9 Z- C2 `& j6 ]( B( l
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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5 O- m' J& H; A+ ] dUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
& C9 m$ L0 M9 @) U. Csecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) ]" D% B% V' h, Icities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of; W* P: l/ @: L; T/ _/ j4 Z ^
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
: U4 t1 J" J; ~9 Hon weekends.( o* E7 |' Y* ~6 c
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
# u' H1 z/ T$ \7 f2 [) \- y* _& Qschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
& D/ Z2 w; B- g8 Jstudents who are not of Chinese descent.5 j- x x6 g6 m
/ a: T! H6 h4 f/ ]6 bMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
4 Q3 ^; o. I0 R" S! b2 k+ H! Tproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the* |+ A9 ~; K8 B8 g3 M* y+ @
competition. # a; {" L. \$ \/ j2 ^5 [
% Q6 M. E4 m6 d$ B$ _) j# G"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley+ ~. D* P( k4 M
said. "There will be Chinese and English.": c+ Y+ O+ Y0 C+ l* U, G
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly& [. B6 Q6 @7 T5 L; o! [
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse) A8 o3 I7 }! k, X, v: `2 Q$ [4 |" r- }
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
# I! j8 q w% x1 A m) `kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
! k( W f! O) ]; a' qwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
A, A, [# @5 }the school system last year.( n, N/ W1 d$ r* L# D: W
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
8 |* f3 f( u! @: f7 lyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.- X8 e+ j1 L( `5 H2 g
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
6 z/ O! b% A ~4 G! y% O0 s' Oclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago; O6 a, K# Q0 j$ o B" i3 y+ w6 z
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
: R& M1 ]0 N9 G/ K0 I. l4 c" V( khelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet. \& I9 x) @6 w3 H2 m
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese3 P+ I( x& g4 Q9 |3 F
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
. u2 f8 w! z( Q# m* cService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
; H; h7 F* A7 Y9 Z6 D( R. _Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
7 F$ d- m0 e9 b+ Y* L5 iaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
1 P5 p( H0 e" C5 OChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
+ Y! c1 R2 Y" T1 k* t& oinstitute says.
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3 K- A* V$ s1 }: d' TSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
# s o0 S' |; m# ^( ~- ~ kgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before: ?9 n# B; k% h) @4 P+ M7 v' F
deciding whether to take the class./ @; h: E2 A2 C: ]4 ?( N. J5 _
, E' k+ S0 o7 [2 ?# O9 K2 @7 D k"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
; u' v" E' j! U. k" {told her daughter.; _+ H& P b$ M. R. D2 n# S% J7 ^
: I7 p" h: Y. `9 jSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
2 w, a- o' ~1 ?3 z7 Kclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
* u6 H) f/ w' A' H% zstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
9 `* c# G. X. @- d& moccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
5 F- Y8 R* F0 [( n1 a( Srecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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8 N$ o# [) |* C+ N) sRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he. X+ M, C; p* t, P5 f
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ Y; W$ t: \3 d8 M1 HChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.: u* o2 ^) W0 S6 k) m
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
: T- C' y' V' |: Vsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn8 w. @, g* o8 Z
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
z! ~' L( Z: g5 b* Y+ kskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job+ N9 ~! |- n" x4 W j* [+ o( J
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like* c9 u- E% e* Z: i1 g8 z c
that," Ms. Freire said.
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; |0 P( |* L" k. Y: kMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program5 O* ?5 _* H5 T
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each' h% w6 g' H) r, T ]
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
8 U4 R/ N; q" J4 T! t) C+ otime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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' z9 W$ a* o6 u/ q9 {* tChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
* C M U5 t9 h" J' j8 ]Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American2 D2 w' I$ G* N2 U3 `% ]6 \) X
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.& W& r+ F/ P+ b: A8 D" j
u$ Q! e! B( a, U3 r
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
# w4 S! j- ]1 l" l% ?0 vbecause of that missing certification," he said.- b9 O* n- \) O( R6 |; a
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
# p+ x2 c1 {5 ysaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* f4 u3 v: ]! V4 j
Society in New York.
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$ D* o5 \. D7 ASix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
0 \% e3 |' n! T9 B$ ~8 PChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from( I. l% b [ T; c2 W2 G( b( g
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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/ [ W) v+ Y: z"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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