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October 15, 2005. e I! |6 x. [8 N
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity. i! H4 `% l: r4 q4 k9 ?5 Z! x! u
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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- i! L5 E$ S' r q0 C3 Q( c/ C/ tCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the( g+ Y6 R# k. p$ }+ _* b' F5 `. r) ~
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 d* @2 ^! H$ N: z2 o' @
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas- H$ C8 g. ~5 W5 D4 b
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
" z5 u+ x% f, j7 O0 Xflag hang from the wall.4 ]1 T1 }. X) }. C: e: r
$ S' G9 [% B1 Q+ \! YOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one3 n, f& L- {1 P) j8 u V( c
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders# T6 K# o3 r. \% x8 a7 { P
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker4 E# q1 O, x5 n+ W0 c# }, ?
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students0 \* @6 Y$ q$ a8 J9 {
are already choosing it over Spanish.% a* z/ A' O0 }3 q$ _% I) v
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal; l0 T. O+ ^9 d! h+ Q: c
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! |/ a, U* g$ J; V/ l8 E% z0 ]offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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$ ~/ V; u0 M* C# ?6 ~& uWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
+ a5 W# f1 x. t* Uschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings! s0 b \) ^& Q6 }% i( x" P
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention8 Y, R Q* O% X6 v
one of its most difficult to learn. R4 t9 F* U/ E1 Q ?' f
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ s2 Z, ^( w! g: V" z) k
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
a. d* M* V- Y/ F; q$ T7 Kstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
. c- F/ a. k! w9 n' z. M" A1 wLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of" F) S( N' ~( B. e. K2 ^
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on X4 G' ^& ~. f/ T+ L, z: y
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
" ~( q0 P% K6 u/ ]# e5 vimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.4 ?6 e4 x; ?6 t
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
; H6 d* K ?* L4 iChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
4 ~% r& h3 s( q5 T3 P; |starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
( a, Q# t; r" x. l5 M* `1 Rdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
9 t6 N9 K1 B, K& o& J' Scurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
- z, T: H" E; _) p5 t1 eof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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9 _* J6 a- `( s& w1 q5 ]"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
; {9 K4 { t3 U) Y, {8 q0 @8 N" _' Ispeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
; Q, \" z( f6 C. G7 |, J, Y+ w" TConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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) p4 Z4 o! l( r8 ?8 w+ DThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from/ g0 r. n. ~! _& z
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10/ x% c6 c, ^/ j4 {% y* x
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
6 v1 h4 L$ ]* v6 ]Institute in Washington.) R- ~1 k* u8 N8 e6 S
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
9 G) p! B& p o$ Baren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.. N" p1 x+ X; `$ L% O5 k9 X q# D& b
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical( d. |: Q2 N% B6 h( V8 |
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
; v. J3 t8 K2 l5 D, Bready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a0 q4 Q* m. U' G U8 t2 t& B
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."0 g4 d _( e6 e* h
6 N% C4 A- u8 e' [+ ~" \0 ?Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
8 U% ?$ u _7 k: i% |% gsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in+ W3 `1 M5 ]; a( f9 b, r6 x. N
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of( a0 y e. N6 i7 [, t1 |
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or1 J/ \7 d& I+ {
on weekends.& }2 G' B6 f* E
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
, t' w" j, R& v! \schools during the regular school day and primarily serves# Y1 G8 p& ]& ~
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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, w: R& ^' ^: q2 M; y8 mMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
: B- }) i; ~9 aproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the D+ z" n4 Q1 u. L) h
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
- c1 K( V9 w/ C3 @, Bsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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; H3 M' Z0 m3 c9 JFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly8 |2 ?/ ?3 a# M3 x9 ?' F1 w X5 N$ e. [
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse7 g, O) x& T# r* x" B
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from* w& f# K1 l( c* B
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
, H+ P0 |. i( ]1 Wwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
; T3 J" Q% o; B1 O( U8 }* \# ]the school system last year." n0 y4 u, D6 ^" ~* J6 Z
' h4 }- w4 U. N: Q: Z1 J: h, U+ g- UThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
, g. R* d0 X3 R6 v* W( yyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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$ T( o; o) x: t" `0 d"They have a great international experience right in their own. c D4 a! y% ~
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
5 {, K6 N$ I7 h, v3 M4 B$ wChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* _' X- V0 {! M' \5 ^6 Thelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet5 s9 W) n4 d5 r5 ?. a
on an equal playing field."& w" X# }* y [7 o
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
7 T5 R2 A8 R7 S. h l# Pclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
9 K/ c. S- E6 x* A, [3 LService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
+ \3 u5 o; V- ~$ u" fChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
& i2 T* C& S7 Baverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in5 b0 c2 F+ o: e# v6 ]
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the: ^) m: ~2 n# h A! ^% o) ?7 f
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
% z/ G; M7 @, F, e' S9 Rgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
5 _5 k/ E8 g' i, D* Zdeciding whether to take the class.
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% x5 r) }! S: a' g1 D3 ~' R7 Z"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she1 z: w: V. K( w5 ~) p* z
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
; I ~. ^/ k! S* o- sclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are) {6 B& ^% Q3 l; \% E) H
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
g! ^( K! l# ~! x% roccasional frustration.
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4 j0 v; T/ g! \3 m"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a9 q6 W+ m) j0 t) S8 z% B9 J# O
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.: S# q. K1 `& b9 M' N8 S
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
+ W( {# y7 n' C) W" z7 e' }taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
- s9 b% `) m. _ hChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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9 {% R; K- U( o0 R"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
3 V* ~; v' q2 I; B( @# psaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
- A& T- Z+ }$ {/ ~5 p; x# ^as many languages as I can."0 J+ m5 p( V: a
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
! n; } E: s/ }7 p7 j$ Tskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
5 j, \! S0 t2 W7 M" H' Tmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like: B* Q k8 S$ z
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
' s6 d7 c" W0 H% Ehere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each4 m1 I2 V, o) B9 }
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 h0 B1 [$ Z6 u: F
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
" D( c h9 ^% A0 G Mroom.5 d Q* |# }; V
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
) ?: x& l K+ ZChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
% ?4 J7 y& @% c0 J6 A) o% f5 lcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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) v' K3 T; H8 \"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified, Z7 `8 K, B7 d: J+ i5 `5 z
because of that missing certification," he said.
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6 v$ u3 E, n3 zThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,1 {2 d* n" J, t) m8 W" h
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( k& k* z% z# y
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the3 g E) i. r8 |' S1 k, T
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from* H) V' Z8 J P
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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+ D! L/ z" m. q, Y"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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