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October 15, 20057 N1 t8 p7 K! a7 N& b2 C* a
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity9 T" j( k0 ?3 z8 h" y
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the; j$ K [" M2 _2 D4 ?& j1 a
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
+ s% e5 u0 ~) P! O: S rSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas# `; m* v' Z0 [- {
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
1 V2 o0 e1 o' uflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
4 u2 x! Q3 ?9 H6 ?5 x. m2 zanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders+ l$ k1 @9 A6 I1 c% Z+ Y5 J
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
* T0 v+ {3 f; _( N1 K: nboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
! W5 T" I* j3 Q+ b2 t0 J/ z/ \' Sare already choosing it over Spanish.
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3 T x" N$ o8 Y% y0 e0 p"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
* d, y! y8 d2 Cat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
5 M/ f8 I( O! U: {4 ~: f2 X6 K# poffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,' H/ p% t7 I4 s* V
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
! p/ R6 R1 Q j5 O, i) R* d# q2 Eto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention+ P4 Z7 U7 V2 J1 d, }
one of its most difficult to learn.
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2 i( O/ a, V9 D, X: k: B- ~4 bLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
$ F4 Y. Z4 m- o2 Xpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
; z4 A5 \# `9 ^3 S6 Z3 D# C1 istudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
# O) E: u' |: v0 H. MLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
- `& T$ k* R+ a! j: |. e0 H; z1 \Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on# t* s& H5 `( ?# s
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
8 _! y" U; U" L" J+ d# eimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.3 Y1 t- W7 P* U2 B$ H. L
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
+ t/ T7 h$ r0 ^! A3 n2 E8 H( OChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country! h: h( n' Y2 N/ o% ^2 C
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
3 k* y" j& C2 _/ a( B2 q0 F+ ]7 ldevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
" K& _) J( [0 t! zcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
! n# N9 n4 A& [3 l# A* rof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, n4 k& a+ I9 w3 i3 t$ g4 p
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education- k0 `- F3 x- L+ a
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we1 ^# m) d8 _0 y9 P/ O
can." 1 V+ X& D: r6 M3 s
& b( Q9 U0 c' q8 F8 nThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
6 L. G2 }' m1 f% b9 Y/ ?; ielementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
. G+ U; U i2 b: B/ \9 z- [years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
- `3 u6 Z+ {1 X G# B6 A m" Q" [% }Institute in Washington.+ f# |6 m# `$ W5 r1 Z% [
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 n- a7 T3 Z; z. d2 J7 U
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
" A/ @* ]0 x& W4 b4 s \, F& vMcGinnis said.) ~6 z$ \% I @/ }8 t
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical+ F9 G% f. P2 A a4 X8 P& x- F
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
7 [; m. R; z6 X2 o; ^% cready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
6 ]6 P+ N' c+ V; ]- ~! Qchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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~; @& g9 e* J; J$ ^' [# U( I# yUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
% ` U0 W N! @* hsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& O. f% C+ w H. F+ [8 Mcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of( V3 E; y6 E- V) |& q& i0 z
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or' S/ Q% D3 u- u; Q, M
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
. K0 }1 n' h! |+ u( W% @% fschools during the regular school day and primarily serves. i. j3 E& Y2 A1 n3 a0 P
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
+ z; p+ D P) e: dproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the, ~+ G/ L/ V7 G$ Q, |9 T9 p
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley1 B" u8 q! @1 C5 p
said. "There will be Chinese and English."& B5 o5 N K2 M4 U- r! ?1 T
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly# J E5 }0 T" c: t- D: ?
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse u$ S4 K* y7 ^8 K' E' P
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
7 d. c& @. W: f) lkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
* t9 h$ {; A7 z& I/ `$ b% ^who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
8 q. i$ V- B# `# c6 othe school system last year.1 n/ |( y/ L8 K0 Q3 v; A3 }/ d
( p3 p; N7 k6 b: d6 X* @* {. kThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this- y# Q2 K0 l. h9 P8 z. y
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( N+ F$ V9 V- A% Y2 n, E6 p
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
6 I/ u, o [9 c- |( `: m# z/ aChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
% o7 b, ]3 b+ ?5 }5 [help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet" C, q" i3 B/ y" @; E$ f
on an equal playing field."
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7 R. u) L0 U/ [Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese" d" ?+ A7 w( i$ b' |$ |
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
! N; y9 [# G4 q- {8 z0 g: m5 H7 nService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks2 s! t0 V% r7 v5 O2 c4 X7 _
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
4 I0 \: F9 w9 |5 t7 h' aaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
% R3 A( ~' y# J+ v. _# UChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the1 c5 f9 L$ V) ^- Q. H: v
institute says.( c# p( [* ?! T7 A1 e4 T
. E1 \% m6 x* j' y5 `, M; E$ nSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
* C/ {: a1 y% sgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
1 d9 \# o5 N; n& ^deciding whether to take the class.
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- P5 K& n) J& n# W"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she/ q+ {1 j# w+ o, g2 c! v
told her daughter.( s$ o+ ~6 S, I2 Y5 ?
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
, [0 G! \1 U6 d% Z. Mclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
0 A7 A* K+ g5 dstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without) h6 ?( C# ^+ b. a
occasional frustration.8 U" c% V$ f1 o6 M5 b% f) r9 m
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a. `9 P5 K( d9 N5 u1 H/ M
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.) `2 Q- q7 j; m! p& ?/ Q6 D
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
1 q% L/ {9 k1 F( F; T. Ktaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with6 T5 _+ f* J* o0 o7 c* R) V
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul/ e$ S3 n. ^/ c- C. t2 K/ N
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn4 f2 g$ l! \' z& O3 E% d
as many languages as I can."8 m' L }4 U; p+ B
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
* z$ O* n; a2 I9 J, S1 ?- Eskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
9 `- o$ K. a" C- zmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like/ g- p6 K# N- ~- l1 O5 S
that," Ms. Freire said.
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6 {5 g- w: t+ Q* `# {, eMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
9 W- ^$ K# H4 R( uhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
6 o* H, | b2 Dschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
) f5 W* i; n( Z7 a8 G J5 Htime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
# @9 Y g' U. C" G+ M8 Y, o, w5 W* K* aroom." }# G: i% k$ Z* w' P. @. R
% f, }- u$ n# d* |2 xChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
* h: W& G" \4 b3 t! Q' mChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American; E. N, C" r, g' l$ K
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.6 [ R( E4 _2 \: u: g# ]1 k9 r4 N
w% Z' T3 m1 K% g6 _6 Z. W"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified* v2 v/ Y' [' G0 K
because of that missing certification," he said.4 l, c+ W- G E3 }0 o
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,; f: K4 {2 U7 [0 U" @
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
% x, r1 t; e! Z% |7 V# qSociety in New York.
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8 B. m4 |) N; G9 n s: ISix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the7 o/ b+ b- P6 W
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
2 m }, C$ b0 G7 Y* k6 r8 Dthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.! ], R2 B5 ?4 t# y7 c
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our$ Q5 B2 k: B$ Z7 Y
own."2 n, z/ ?6 n0 N8 P
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