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October 15, 20051 d, C0 ]. b' t) k0 n% Y
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING( }+ z* x) M7 t( Z
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
J7 T/ Q0 O6 N6 n, a' g! eUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary5 t! F# }" [; t0 q* _% J
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
5 K3 N' z' Q/ |, }3 {3 v; _dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese m6 l3 I. X' z
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one! T- l# q+ _9 [3 N
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
9 x/ d$ d+ N/ T% Opracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker- K$ W- `' r' @' y9 L" o' |
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
7 |# b' {! c- _( Pare already choosing it over Spanish.
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" K. _- _! j% T; \/ @"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
0 b0 N8 R( T) ~2 n. x0 l" `at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
7 I! W" O2 V# G% m$ [( ooffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."0 {7 g7 m* \0 ]1 q7 ^
9 G8 u# h9 M0 r* w% D$ K/ JWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,/ h7 T! u# @8 g, T [2 ]
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings- |; G+ W1 C5 ~$ P" _& P p* N* u
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
* M1 x( u8 M- Hone of its most difficult to learn.$ Z* G1 l: l, c: R- J; m: S6 y9 l( x
* @0 O' M$ ]. P$ @/ ZLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
% A( O c8 b6 s; F0 {public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. {) @8 P. f. N# q# ustudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.8 n7 q1 F( ^: ]$ q; p
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
2 b! Y7 a0 m3 P( p. R4 f7 V. ?2 CTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on+ O" [- Q1 s' o5 O% X6 w/ J
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
$ R6 Q6 ^9 k" V0 D/ h3 m" H5 f6 Cimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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: Z6 N$ h# x! r7 v& AAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement9 d) h6 n5 J: G6 j
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country% W& V1 P3 t, m; t) f
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
5 c- Q% Z, l" ~develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
8 O3 x2 w& e, S! C1 t$ @! o5 @: o% Ccurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director5 B I) x6 F/ s; `. E
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
7 a2 y6 p2 Q& Y5 d+ A& g$ V' G# xspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education3 Z0 E Z, o9 a, K, R* d
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
" b3 K5 z. w5 i+ q4 R6 g$ gcan."
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k+ J+ |$ M2 q$ {5 TThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
1 \" Z. ?; J- U$ }/ belementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
, K7 ?0 J. e: h. ]6 Q# dyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
* q7 s, [/ g* _% [ pInstitute in Washington.0 _1 Q; ^- d+ r
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages) @2 h- }# v! M: j1 N; a6 Z
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.3 p/ Z0 Y8 y8 b+ n) g8 U& r
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
$ t B2 L) D* I( Y. e: w6 T% Glongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be0 {+ c' D# M: Z) j9 z
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a: {- i ]# e1 D/ r
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."$ u+ r6 Y+ |7 O# A [
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
( z4 U" z3 E+ C7 x- O3 }secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
* q5 b% R3 \1 ]5 p0 Zcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of; X* ^2 ^9 R/ ^7 T# D5 h5 G
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
4 N h3 z" c* uon weekends.1 X, K! L. ~1 X6 s1 N& ~0 a6 B8 O
- u: J6 L! s& [3 aThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
: k; ]: {* T, i2 Sschools during the regular school day and primarily serves! s& _9 G' u# }
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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& l3 E ]% c1 r# M2 n2 K# v3 y' P2 HMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
) O4 V v5 x A1 p7 q, Q# Tproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
% F' o. `% P+ F& Q3 s7 v/ Zcompetition. 3 `. H' X% [: L" n7 s$ K
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley% l5 U) g. [: s8 f, N2 |4 S, h
said. "There will be Chinese and English."$ a- o1 f5 q ~
( r" w/ ?* n, Z7 B* B( Y" [" nFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
5 t8 [' P4 s5 E% H. R, m$ q$ a- s0 e* eall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse: }/ E, n. w5 G P
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from' b2 j6 f) [% w/ M9 g/ p" Z
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students5 Y, |. s5 T0 H' w) z/ t! I
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
2 Y5 e8 |3 K, M3 Othe school system last year.
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% s4 K+ B- h9 R, ?. w" OThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this) X; d% H# P0 {3 w/ A
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.6 C$ {: ~/ B4 G
# ~7 n |' n4 N+ w$ |+ @"They have a great international experience right in their own
\) _# z6 i0 r0 U* Qclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
6 j1 W4 T9 d% x+ jChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
! j" c v9 i, ?5 _, N+ P P% ]help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet# A" ^/ F4 q. F3 P4 p/ u6 v) Y
on an equal playing field."
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9 A; O" W* B4 JSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese$ a7 X4 e! {& E$ Y) ^
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
& @ S5 N' B6 y5 D1 B7 lService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks- {/ F' E& o. \/ D
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An6 `) H( Q/ W* ?( }* { O
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
% ~2 w- w$ N( [; z1 W# N dChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the& f9 j: _) ]# [; a4 ~1 t
institute says.
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3 A" B) R4 {% LSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
n" y4 @8 S5 V) e* S( a Jgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before3 [3 e6 i5 \! z+ t, W- _# J
deciding whether to take the class." f P( b/ H( q
5 D6 {0 V8 p/ ] h, j e& c1 ]- f"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
8 r" }- X1 `1 d# u8 [+ c* ~3 Mtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
2 F; K7 c$ p* M7 u2 a% Rclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
+ A- m1 Y; }2 z& G1 gstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without" r/ g/ S( F$ B+ F. Y
occasional frustration.
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# z; X; K3 N/ n' K+ A"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a( A0 q$ b. e0 Z# r& K
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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. a" r9 O9 E4 tRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
8 p6 l1 x1 t1 [$ a0 R$ S2 \taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with0 k$ }' g; D$ J9 e5 k Z
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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# E# o" ]4 h% t; \' H8 Q- H"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
' i% T+ k4 e) S; O- h5 C, Ssaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn( @4 H3 [! [( X9 M3 {
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
# l1 {* F3 v+ e. `/ u+ r1 Fskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
; [7 w7 a1 v4 O: f/ L/ _market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
: Q, P' U% S7 U) A/ mthat," Ms. Freire said.) E+ q2 ~) s0 v; U4 j& Z/ o. D
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program) U! @8 \! e& P9 V+ i1 D- W
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each( y" G4 p8 U5 J5 ]( s
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
3 [! W r$ T3 ]/ Y+ V. H% V* stime from classes like physical education, music and art to make9 x# p( Z9 i: C3 N* d; W* H* X
room.
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0 p# o6 C4 S0 X4 ~& K ~- I- ?& FChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer7 A, k7 `- d/ F5 n! z
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
9 y) |5 I6 B9 U5 a. Xcollege, 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 qualified0 m0 X" l2 E( h; w, ^
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
# K& z! c# D* y2 E$ R$ msaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
" H4 a9 l4 d; E" }6 dSociety in New York.4 _% g L! k- g8 n
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
0 D/ P$ J3 j5 ~* B D: `9 }; pChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
, w5 N' z. v: w: `the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.1 B0 ]2 C4 s4 a; E& a4 R- g
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our: C. A0 b7 w; T
own."+ ~% T7 m$ F+ w* Q% B" K1 _
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