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October 15, 2005& B8 M* n$ |5 D. R$ E
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity) e J/ ]3 U9 \) |) s) w( `
: f8 ^. s8 {9 a( { `6 |By GRETCHEN RUETHLING9 i4 s/ P" q- R6 V2 u4 D5 C" m
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the% y& J k7 r, Z1 w) o, Z3 f* y
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
3 V7 I( G( Z- i* I6 b. lSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas- o+ I6 I7 v( d3 ?' Y$ d
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese$ H/ m8 M9 b3 N
flag hang from the wall.
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% K e& n- d& TOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
* z: @* b( W0 ~$ s5 janother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders0 i8 ^7 Y4 Z/ R( \* ~
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
4 \2 ]% ^# t; Uboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
M" k& D: |0 w F2 x5 R) c0 Bare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal! b' g3 f% z6 h. }6 ^( }, B
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
. b# W1 N1 o+ Z( a8 H) S. ?offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
+ V0 T( T- O) R6 Oschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings2 L* W( a7 f. M$ ?5 T1 w" _6 E& `5 _
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
% G7 [4 y' w5 \! P- T6 g, ^one of its most difficult to learn.
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7 A; }' Q2 E9 ^: KLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to: r& J, f: _" k* [: b
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
0 _3 o; K. K4 ?9 U) u# E3 ustudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.; s' p+ F9 P5 J6 N+ \; v1 \+ o% h
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of- Z" u- I& s5 p% x: b
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on; A/ \% f7 a- s# f6 f, e& N
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to% l5 c* {% ?# c- I: J# Q
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.% p+ k* t% f! ? X( V# G
" J. M9 k" |( ?; ]/ BAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement" F$ u! a& K0 i5 s" U. K
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
, h" |, B c0 D x: p3 d, ustarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
/ V" J3 {9 m8 I$ A+ k) U" g+ E. t2 Zdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
& @3 \& i6 ? scurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
: y3 K. m/ \) H: [8 K, }of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
2 }( E3 @. [% \3 E2 |* W6 u6 X( a; V! Lspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education( e- [5 ^: m8 A* q" L9 a3 ]0 S5 B- V
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we6 ^! M, Q' C" P/ X
can." ( W; ~1 q$ M! i& s& f% I
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from! g% J+ e* t! x! W6 K H
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10; E8 S" f$ j- d' k! ^. K5 |' h3 T
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language4 z9 Y6 b, ]. D
Institute in Washington.5 c+ l* y: v% z3 E+ S( s
# E. a% u" m( E" g1 o5 B"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages: K' a, P! u: m; q4 o( ?3 q( b3 C
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 a+ p. B8 X( o, B6 U/ m: s4 P
McGinnis said., S8 w: C: a6 C9 `! ~+ _) [6 L" W
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical- t* [& M' }- W# i* i6 e) B' s
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
0 `# s/ V4 O; Z, f1 }% iready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
4 X, ^, b" I+ Y: C6 \4 Xchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and; k" j% ]/ i7 x( F R
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in7 \+ G% Q) w, k: N0 f& B& F
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
( h. @7 {( m& E! h3 }& O8 W3 hChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or0 b4 H" O" T- ^% A2 u+ \5 T+ P
on weekends.
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( m4 B( |6 F) q4 g4 MThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public3 E7 n' l) @4 S+ @+ W2 _( |
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves( r+ C( v' v: U7 I
students who are not of Chinese descent.* r# c0 i& p x7 M# a( M
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said$ N4 B9 `* T% h N% J }
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the( F/ \8 c9 v# U
competition. 1 S7 w, z4 u7 V* d
# v9 Z2 o0 W# D# N! Q9 i$ A& U"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
$ T# a4 D- z" r/ h @said. "There will be Chinese and English."$ N% t+ F; x6 Y2 w$ ~
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
$ ^/ {1 B b; ~all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
: u }5 }( @) D" ]6 m3 Dschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from. w- m3 r( v& v3 W/ L/ q
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
) V8 ]( t0 U5 \7 e/ f; nwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to9 k4 h( r" _5 h8 R, b8 J3 m
the school system last year.& E3 \, |( a+ ?& x% o
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this( G6 N0 p8 P1 r0 T. l& v7 Z
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 `' K) O! M5 ]" k! l c
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
& u" i: F8 ]; @/ x8 X9 l$ oChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to6 Q5 }5 R. S8 u) Y. w6 f
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
' I/ |3 I0 P$ non an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese& e9 y9 _) {5 N5 ] ]$ i& u& V
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
3 m- H+ W- F5 }Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks" I( l8 g( _" v$ V) |/ h- P
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
) y) D) z# R# i# u" e, Xaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in8 g7 I; S1 S7 s. D1 c
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
9 f0 M m6 u* S6 H- p0 p$ Binstitute says.1 _8 U5 B8 h, @* s/ Q5 g
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth& N4 }6 Q8 I2 i- Y% X
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
& X- D) l/ ^( g" E6 C0 ]+ Mdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
) P2 H* w$ x! _! H1 Y2 t! Ttold her daughter.- T' e. Z3 r' u
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
/ M) n5 g8 }7 P1 R, n: C c: Oclass.) ?6 _. O L5 N% z' o
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are3 r; ?3 x6 x* H
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without O9 v0 m7 S Z4 ?/ o2 N9 ]
occasional frustration.; m4 N7 B3 ]6 V$ g1 T
7 s0 A0 J- l$ {$ W% N# j( w d* u"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
; s1 C- y$ H( y# x Hrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he5 T. ]& G; ?4 f+ g: R
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with. N( e4 S/ [3 Y; ]* _
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.! y+ e2 \1 d5 C
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
7 P! R' x7 e# S4 p2 `6 ~& fsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
- {$ A/ }" ?) P+ _; U; l% g4 oas many languages as I can."1 j( t% L/ u+ V. n
, ^# ?9 H9 W. d' \4 Y+ V4 \Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the) n, x( @: \3 W( [$ j5 U
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job8 d. L, [; o* b! q0 H' D
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
9 ^" x; q8 |+ j; bthat," Ms. Freire said.
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. z8 r5 h- L+ ^6 VMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program2 F& T+ g( e M# V6 k% I
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each+ @' P; n/ w9 [% G7 ]# S
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
7 @- q7 I4 k* }' z; E* p4 `& Stime from classes like physical education, music and art to make! X$ R# | H9 p& x0 w6 O
room.
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8 w/ u' o& a0 M& ~. }5 OChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
! A6 V* X. W: Z% T5 kChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
& ]9 z* k5 W2 b8 K9 pcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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2 V$ ~$ Z) `' k+ E"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified! A* M+ W; {6 D' K3 C
because of that missing certification," he said.7 J1 W/ n/ w' z3 Z' N! G- |) T
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
! L. O, h1 l% [6 osaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
" g( t: e1 n; A: {" sSociety in New York.- r7 N! S2 a/ F% Z" p0 c
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the9 K" _7 R8 K3 ` a
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
! T+ }- J7 |6 f5 l+ }) p2 m6 y& o% Qthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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1 ?3 D5 e, e. N3 Z"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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