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October 15, 20055 H z$ {; b& O% L
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity' i$ L5 j/ }2 o6 v, P, q1 M
3 [5 ] R2 r6 U1 @By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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$ b, D& A# ~* T/ m& [* U/ v" dCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 @, M( n% b& ]$ x2 K6 v; ~* ^United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
' c/ \; P+ c4 s. q1 bSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
# q8 o W- _0 O$ Y! U- Wdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 F4 U- A. {, {) g
flag hang from the wall.
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- J3 n9 b. k u- u: KOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
; I! A2 Z1 u. panother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders! D/ y) }9 m4 S- O; j
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker7 a+ l6 A1 c2 Z
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
9 ~; n! y- l9 W8 c3 f/ O4 F0 r" `are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
' Y& m" Y: J p! u, Q, l% Nat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city3 ^0 g: |5 v- Y7 \8 C6 B
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 G O8 W) H5 }& g% S+ H
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
4 r! G ^7 L: D! {# rschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings& L9 M3 m6 I: C- B) T7 t) l
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention- W% G$ j/ x7 f! d+ a) H* f+ Z9 c
one of its most difficult to learn.1 S( Z- S8 ?+ F0 }
; t% F3 G0 d4 m. ~Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
* j; O8 j, T6 Hpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
: P( N& }5 Q% t- p; X$ Fstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
0 _! J; G/ F6 G$ \$ t aLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
+ ]" n) n: h: u: n3 [5 aTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
) X9 W( ?- I# EChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to: y0 l: N/ m8 r5 ]3 N( d
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
0 A% c+ ^% C4 B! yChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country& ~8 z4 P$ V) }$ K( G$ R' x1 n2 S
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
: H; I L6 {6 x& \develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
' O c; S5 ?7 C) t5 w+ P4 U# ~curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
4 e) P0 x* C+ c9 R& h0 T2 O% }of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.; I6 _* ?; X9 M) q( h) |2 q& b
: h M2 v& C3 T) s) f"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of/ H/ U0 |4 @! U' ~ L7 v6 L; v
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education) J7 t4 G) ?+ l7 V
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we# R# x1 J- A3 O2 p' \" V
can." / s+ g+ i' v. y2 ^1 q e6 B( V! ?
$ i4 {: r" x9 F4 M) c/ CThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
5 \% ~1 m0 C2 [" U6 f! R5 F& _elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
2 j% W! @/ V" K# \5 c3 z4 ~4 [$ Iyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language8 }6 T$ D! H4 |' P* W+ |2 b0 Q7 T
Institute in Washington.
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) I2 U/ P# k# x9 O8 I"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages- [8 ~( ]5 t8 F* z
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.0 x; C1 u+ w8 [: M# n2 w* d& f
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
9 ^' e$ U: J: glongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be* M h# U3 C% E$ F, z
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a3 `5 H6 y8 Z. m+ u
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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" c/ }) M3 _( k4 V; ~4 D3 D7 m6 nUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
4 h, n5 S7 u; G csecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in. o3 _) |- p% ^7 u, E4 k, f8 g
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of; K, n* }+ Z3 Q- K% o( P
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or5 ?9 Q1 a% K7 t$ R: O# g, }/ m
on weekends.1 S M1 t3 D+ {; e" P
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
8 ]. j' U* C3 s! i4 p: oschools during the regular school day and primarily serves A/ ~0 K/ D# T m: G7 B5 q
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
5 {) b, V4 [1 k( ?& dproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
' F% I2 F% X% W3 ycompetition.
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J2 H l0 h! x: d6 c1 e/ C6 k"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
- h1 `% a! c8 ^ L z8 Isaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly/ a, B0 X% \. C6 J4 A& R# j/ w
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
( L9 |9 F: p) j. z, w: lschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
* P+ x) o4 z" f7 w+ x6 c( E8 Wkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
3 j. L p" X/ w. C" R/ F& Nwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
5 D& f, A6 m' m0 v! pthe school system last year.- X' z8 l% k1 \6 ?' g" O$ h( T
% ~+ a6 b: W( E9 QThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this' I/ k# Q* [% j' V" |6 F2 C' O
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.8 `! {8 O; g+ O/ n* ]& \2 g
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"They have a great international experience right in their own: o) L9 C2 p0 P# }" {+ {
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago) \1 n7 x& L9 P8 {; E8 o+ ~2 M
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
" c1 U8 h: K5 ], z" Yhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet5 d# n+ P3 X. H5 h+ u' O+ j! v
on an equal playing field."% [/ r, D* J4 j+ \- W' f; o" u
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
# ?' C7 T4 l y/ jclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign; L# i6 \5 @$ |( ?( }
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks. n6 X3 B( Z6 j# A: |$ R
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
. o5 |. E s7 F. ?/ [+ `0 x& v/ Faverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in* o6 @% n" B/ V" ?
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the V) K0 A% J* n9 R
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
* U' C7 C9 b, H- m4 E4 [grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
# V& \* E: X# {# Y' c2 Ideciding whether to take the class.) {: B0 B/ w9 v) z+ H8 P7 b
" ]+ p2 X5 |. Z$ ^" v- v \"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
* N- c9 v, [7 t Btold her daughter.% \( T& E( [, V6 Y7 k: e+ O% ~* W$ ]
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite% u) |5 ^( u% Y' Z+ L! g7 y7 P" w
class.
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3 U2 P. H! V" ]! k& m8 h8 J1 q" y; L9 p. P8 PAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
8 U# {, D) ]# ~studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without+ z$ h/ F" F( X B/ t- e& S% l3 R- B
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 O- F! a% ]5 @' U# Krecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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7 c; ]5 m0 n* A7 ]0 D) zRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
3 m3 X7 K6 R" R8 Htaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with& e2 x- F9 O3 ~
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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3 P5 Z/ v) ]) K+ j; t. l"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
& I+ O) R( c. U+ H1 I5 l/ _. v) isaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
) T- j# n; y) \7 X( O& B" ?! o& Has many languages as I can."
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) ?6 | w6 \: TAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
; K8 p. `9 a' W: Z' Lskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job" D' J' S4 G* o, ]5 z9 H
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like: {2 i7 l' D4 g0 O `
that," Ms. Freire said.
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" ?3 ^) h5 Y) i/ C& }& H! {5 fMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program3 m! |2 T6 L4 `; Z1 O) ]) {
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each) u8 C* ~# i4 }7 W8 q% j
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
) [3 t' q4 p( v5 `time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
2 H; | N) ]4 w# ^6 i6 P) ]) {; X% lroom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
. ~4 t2 a+ y* Y' \+ M0 [Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
! x8 y; M, z! x& U2 |college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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- C1 |: i; z0 I0 l"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
]/ h7 V7 V0 E) _) Lbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,, w2 ?! ^4 c9 F- \& q3 C; L' h
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia; z5 @9 x( ]0 c( j0 o% \! a
Society in New York.
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+ D4 p, I* t5 y! s, w. y$ |Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the. A1 Z Y. |( j
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
$ h+ S+ g3 _2 U+ d8 nthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
7 S7 c. g0 Q eown."
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