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October 15, 2005' K6 |8 ^; r& T9 z Z# m- c8 V
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity1 K! G; j' g; R% O3 U4 B
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING. ?1 U: F8 Q6 E+ X! `" a' E r( q& O
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
9 l/ E2 d' D' I* S5 LUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary' j7 L- j" U. ^: }
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas) P" R; X8 Y `, d
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese2 S; x0 j$ W! Y* I A/ m: {5 i
flag hang from the wall.( {, P, J1 \: z! j$ d
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
, w3 y: c5 x8 s4 zanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
0 |1 y7 f% L2 k0 p& @practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
# }- _2 F4 A" h: |- j2 \boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
3 s5 W) [. {' U. x7 n( zare already choosing it over Spanish.
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# G+ d& A6 {, k"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal. f/ x8 V+ ^; g' j. C3 y
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city4 F; G) ^ k2 f. D# q3 B
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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& T# Q7 B6 v7 q! k; [' ^With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
- R" v" l: @, c; E: G ^! r) H; hschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
. f+ {2 D, q* O" Q2 j, Cto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention" d+ `" m: N" ?, |4 ?
one of its most difficult to learn.
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2 S* `' l0 T/ a+ \2 I/ G2 rLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
4 z+ S6 F! g/ H/ ]( k0 r! ]public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
) `8 T5 d$ c( j9 c: N6 tstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
( Q$ {: T9 }" D' z4 u( `Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
2 Z7 E, ^0 f$ W+ yTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
- L2 L3 x3 _# n& Z4 T9 cChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to9 b1 x/ W* e7 ~$ \; N: E
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.+ N8 _# j3 e/ T7 Y3 h G+ M
: U3 {; ?: k; K2 @ } cAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement) `7 k+ f5 i' L/ E! C. ]7 I4 C/ A9 ]
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country4 {: X& T. q4 Z( G1 \
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
; V7 _9 a' l7 u" p9 ^develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
E3 Y- B( q' c7 Z6 C0 \! dcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& f6 C) k* S6 L+ O8 _of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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- A* Y/ e$ |! _! B) S) E0 A3 i9 g( @"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
u3 J7 j6 t7 A* }7 vspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
/ q- a+ ` r# L+ F' z4 dConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
# A% _* E- G5 W8 C: `/ ^: `1 w3 ocan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from1 N' ^, V, K% C
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
4 E$ ]: n& K$ G/ M$ Ayears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
0 Z* ?% c( h A cInstitute in Washington.
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$ a% s7 G$ C! r"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages; }2 }! p4 Z) C9 m% R; w" M
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr., i' y7 P$ \2 r& P$ P) A& i8 W
McGinnis said.$ [7 q4 n' U# J: `5 s% L
. P( F+ K4 u6 X2 P( h. E! a"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical3 x8 }% J9 x0 M, _; t. x
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be3 J% G) u9 e" T
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
. y( n; H8 h5 u1 mchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and+ f' g$ Y. m( `
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
5 c9 l8 p$ _6 V _cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
, F0 h; c: m2 E2 s, f% \' p$ gChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or- j) G5 t- r: C) }
on weekends./ I$ K1 y( K3 b- l) U9 K
0 I' @1 n0 D: F, u. U; o2 vThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
+ S: `$ e) H1 C r: v6 y( [: Rschools during the regular school day and primarily serves8 w9 _" ?/ S8 a0 ^
students who are not of Chinese descent.2 S# R$ ]" x' |# B9 H
& k/ N# A7 }4 n2 Q) N3 q- k/ cMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
; f6 t0 t1 R, A: [! [proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the# l z% C( J4 N+ }7 u9 R; H
competition. & J6 D6 C- `& N4 X1 K
) Y0 ?+ Z! b& m# b5 Q5 z"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
( q$ @: ?& G" R8 w+ `said. "There will be Chinese and English."3 s9 r' f2 u9 l9 x1 j+ f1 o6 G
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
2 u1 A5 p z, Vall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse. K$ o) | b' a: ~1 i& _8 o
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
9 \- u; \+ p" bkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
7 D+ i' c/ D+ u6 M5 W8 B ]9 @who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to3 h- g% O) ^) ]" K
the school system last year.
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8 p z8 @ b; e! [+ Q8 h1 }The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
! Q/ r1 o# C* t8 s! myear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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# Y- Y# g: V9 \- Y"They have a great international experience right in their own- z; H& C- g' I, G) q& L
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
5 B6 A" {# m$ `5 q& PChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* J+ e; }" F5 ?, Hhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet9 [0 m/ m( C/ x: {3 n
on an equal playing field."
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$ F9 L# R7 E% g: jSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
8 R' J, d5 l& F; F1 j5 ]3 Z! _classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
# h! a) X7 T5 [3 kService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
8 Y( h' m1 Q, L1 r9 kChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* v1 n p$ S7 ^" K5 e, Y/ X8 ?) uaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in7 @: k+ Q6 s/ j0 H2 e7 u& B, O
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the: w8 R. h7 j6 }8 M
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth, V' i( k M% \
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
# n! a4 R; u! P1 U4 R ldeciding whether to take the class.7 i8 Q3 J9 v0 q! {" r
4 X$ J q. a q" ~" T8 S# o& k"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she6 y% w4 Q; ]- L L2 x
told her daughter.) X% h0 X7 i( `0 G. ^
8 l0 n2 _; b$ D YSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite R$ l2 b2 Q1 _4 y, N( d
class.
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+ P! S6 V( j9 e" w2 E/ {At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are# Q# q4 v# q0 b; U O4 l- ]) H( D
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without' E ~- K/ [& r; A0 M) E* \
occasional frustration.4 ?2 U2 _: w6 H) z/ X/ ^0 e: g
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
+ ]9 p+ G6 w. a7 x5 E9 |# j/ Arecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
5 o8 w" I5 M& X( Y S5 utaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with) j9 k9 z1 I: m$ ]
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.& o9 H3 H$ |) D$ C5 E/ }
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
9 q! |+ O; @: K8 D* psaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
- F$ g' h8 Q( z8 S3 D1 ~as many languages as I can."
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5 ~1 a0 s9 d7 d& L7 z" uAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the; _% G6 }) \' R8 ]
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
' ]$ @6 Y5 ?7 f- b" xmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like1 l2 s P; y m& p9 u- U2 q" n8 p
that," Ms. Freire said." p) D1 I" {: P+ a& I+ m
; s3 E, J) {5 ~7 V; RMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
; H1 }' T8 M! Qhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
3 d( n4 f4 e* `! l: @& Hschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking9 O" O! K8 k4 j' g3 I3 o9 c# m2 l/ T
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
8 t; Y0 o' p7 Z9 f: x. aroom./ Z7 g6 c$ w# J6 C$ s
* F5 B6 S0 t, C( RChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer7 `5 N2 H0 }' s( j+ b
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
$ [+ s% l+ F+ @4 k- pcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.2 Y) k- `3 [6 G/ ~; x, ?
" r; j2 N$ ?4 W) R3 j"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
3 B( S4 `( {: p5 X ibecause of that missing certification," he said.
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! N9 n; g7 n, L. B# vThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,1 t5 Y3 J& x8 d* F' V) f" g
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia8 b* \- E6 }! A' x
Society in New York.
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7 H0 x/ U1 s* M7 [) q, @( E" \Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
# S4 i' j8 [( s: x2 CChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
/ p0 A7 y7 P* Mthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said. i: \/ C- P' g7 K7 J# ?3 K; I
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our, A# O. N, \* K5 F. [9 J
own."& u- a& I' h$ T
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