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October 15, 2005% e4 L* k! u2 p- F ~1 P
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the& q$ w! R6 ~* V: i, d
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
1 R8 k3 P& }) ISchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
$ W: q2 H. b E& K' G0 Vdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese) q/ z: l' X7 u8 v# j# o
flag hang from the wall.4 Z" k- v% L8 Y' R
0 P1 r" Y( l% xOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
, I( a+ H Z: E! Canother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders Y, s( R* ~3 j. D1 y) A- A
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker8 |- y; X b* T" ^; l. x
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students3 |* a' T$ a, @+ D% a! k" j( K
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal m1 f7 W l$ \! {$ w/ ~; l
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
" P2 }( w3 ] z8 z, F$ Uoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."9 y* _6 H! p. Y ^5 V0 J! o
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,1 H3 Z$ l5 G0 j( V
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings4 q, a; W8 v u y
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
5 |) A* R/ g3 F5 U! Hone of its most difficult to learn.; ^6 P) @( W: |2 Z7 I- s8 D5 l
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
. p) R& N7 A. x" Hpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students$ o7 w% J' u' Y" F
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I." Q% ?/ R1 `4 R5 Z9 q: ]1 K( M
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
" c- _% F; X' XTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
$ z% m! j6 d1 w6 a+ G# fChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
+ S+ H' T: D3 h. Oimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.7 @' P) C# _8 f! w6 P/ f. E
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
& k0 s9 e* Y1 n" w: l0 FChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
3 E, \# b2 C: W; C( X: C4 Gstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to0 U* _. P, Q$ d5 E) A s
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
) Q" V" \; s& Z kcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
$ r+ [- s. Z$ wof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.3 k+ X! E& A3 d2 s9 H6 b
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
! S3 H$ a' C2 L+ o2 c4 ~- { Tspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education. A" X7 a L7 W! i6 ~3 }8 v1 @
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we. G8 z+ L" F* ^
can."
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" p$ G6 b6 W6 P0 mThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
- ~; ?% h* d( i6 D7 \elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
b' l8 ?/ B3 Fyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language6 q# ^$ p4 }9 |- n$ `
Institute in Washington.# t r4 t* u: [; {' J
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* N# n+ ?6 |) g/ @/ `; t
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.) X- q0 H$ g ]& N; O: [
McGinnis said., k/ [" M' R' T w# v3 f
x) }" z* u0 T: T
"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical* `: t2 I3 a& ?/ a) w4 b& B1 q* W
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be* ~$ f" D( @5 Y! _0 H5 r7 \$ ~& }
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
3 ]) P3 U6 [. V5 z6 dchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."/ w! y" H& ?2 b5 E0 G' e" t
8 T8 R% C5 q6 c1 y. q+ T; x7 UUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and" p5 W4 S; Y/ |. a# T/ k
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in' c2 {0 e$ I7 ^! D- A- {
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
' H/ K( w* e+ HChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
" A2 m$ ~% S1 b# r' C/ Q U5 Oon weekends./ J$ c6 [; }/ D
# w) Y' H6 z; B# g$ p4 _- X2 oThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
' X9 C' g7 t6 ^. Wschools during the regular school day and primarily serves0 t' q. @' ^2 P# |& o5 e
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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7 Z# [' g) I7 v# t2 ~2 dMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said, I$ H1 k) G6 Y; |& C# \# X
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the! w+ ~$ \% P: y" N- v7 v! ~
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
3 k( e( I" X/ m& xsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" A% M: S6 _6 ~: ?( f0 F6 f
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
/ n1 M$ W" b: {' Y9 Eschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from6 x" R7 c& W0 ^# P+ y/ Y
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
) G- H" c& u: A4 K7 `# Z5 p3 @/ Q6 Gwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
& h) o+ q) k/ k) K2 i( Ithe school system last year.
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# c9 p0 Y) R/ R9 ^The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this. o2 ]; T3 Q4 M* `
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 own0 \- n+ E% G4 @. d1 K
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago2 @8 F: ]$ `, J7 p( c, t$ |4 X2 i3 d
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to) F! H# l' }+ c9 t( i( ] W
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
8 a O2 U" ?! \/ f) B3 A- Non an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
# J4 F Q9 c: q5 h6 V3 Qclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign6 h* \; d" X5 _4 M/ k0 f# a
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
9 u9 w6 h* {+ g/ T4 r, h' BChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
' q p8 n( E6 Taverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in5 p* `) y: U9 \
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the$ \* o C5 v* p# X4 l+ o7 ?( u
institute says.9 L3 {4 m& c2 a1 h* F
Z1 |; \4 F4 |; a# ?Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth8 J3 f2 N k- V, j
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before. l' T" Y7 a! ~4 I+ B
deciding whether to take the class.
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" @/ U; S+ v# v S# C"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
) [9 |9 |! s D3 }told her daughter.
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6 ]- }& j8 I# U2 G, \) @Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite& |- l1 g2 p2 W5 k9 O* h; Q
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are: @! w1 k0 E+ _. @$ b: U% a
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without- z4 `3 I" b" x4 n: [! X. n
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
) k0 i$ @" q s0 m7 krecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.4 R' ^/ l ?4 Z, w0 \$ m( ~
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he: F: x% A0 P. C1 I5 K$ S
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
: c/ }0 _* ]( F t0 b4 \9 p j' VChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.7 w( k, y# ]2 l0 ?) h, }- M
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# V. n/ Z4 l6 lsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
6 S5 M' Z5 q$ Z& Das many languages as I can."! P0 l- ~6 |& P/ _/ C6 t# Q
" n7 ]0 ?) m3 k' ?9 o- D" \
Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the) [. D A7 V a8 u5 W/ n
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job4 Y# }' N& x$ m
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
4 W% Y+ r$ F% m* Z1 d6 N2 m0 wthat," Ms. Freire said.) k* K9 J7 D7 s
V& N. d6 `7 W# z1 {0 R: @Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program( o: m9 \: F+ C: A) J
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each) u4 p1 ^$ B6 b' A
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 I8 x" Z9 N5 J. H% e7 x
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
7 y! T- }+ n% \, G5 D3 h7 I6 hroom.
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* {! ~8 L, W- r4 U; xChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
' R' y- n$ F. r' [- z1 A' Z- @Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
8 O0 Y0 K4 E o. O' {* Z+ O, fcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.; R+ ~2 J% p8 E+ t7 T. l Z
, }' k* u. ~% B$ L1 R6 E
"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified8 K5 {; J) G4 p# m
because of that missing certification," he said.2 O* Z3 U; ^% C% ~
6 I$ G0 Z. L; ]! WThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
; Z# e4 |/ f/ fsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
/ ]" m' A J$ u, J: Y9 z" LSociety in New York.
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6 u7 P9 N4 o+ b/ {! J9 fSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
, \: v2 ?$ ? ^7 PChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
8 N2 P% v7 {- s) tthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.9 I+ t/ ], \& |) v
+ U) k4 Z9 W7 Y: N u3 f
"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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