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October 15, 2005/ d& Q0 B" f ~1 ^6 |4 W
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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! T( F. O0 ?+ \4 [$ j# J+ {By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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( Y4 Z6 S$ Q9 b) ^; ~CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
* Z0 ]/ i9 G5 i4 M L6 Z0 d8 F& \' tUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
0 N+ S" I% n# O9 J/ P R$ K% g. G; QSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
7 c7 P3 p' R0 o+ k4 \dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
2 L8 D7 n; D* ~6 c' `, p3 O0 W) n2 O: gflag hang from the wall./ h4 b% M8 f% Q4 M# B$ r! H
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one* \0 m* W/ z0 F7 V& q9 r
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders! _5 j# ~5 f0 w( }, ~3 I
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
; c' a& T; S+ N2 p1 j( B; M3 Fboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
, w' W2 n( P! d& n+ y1 Z9 bare already choosing it over Spanish.5 Q; N. R, a$ B0 p7 _
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
' {4 K9 T) w V% K+ D# wat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
( I u- e3 z! S0 g8 A6 [6 Joffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,- t0 U8 ]+ Y4 g% a" f
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings6 D0 M+ W$ W$ z: A: k. x8 S+ \
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
! f8 n' f4 U& ?; l7 D7 w, D( Sone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
* H/ z' {) @$ ?9 r& f5 Q7 ppublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students* U1 ~5 a2 @$ T; n7 v* L
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
) _: I/ {0 w7 ELieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of% ?0 Z3 R% t7 ]
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
6 K" l" {$ Z" Q# h) s2 B' O- z+ WChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
( F+ _$ V2 B. ]+ L, m5 D) simprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.1 E, L- ]4 o' r
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
2 _/ B% d6 W7 M5 K' ~; U" g* b2 K# eChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country7 z, e' t+ X) s g2 T- M" d
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
2 b; F# t0 D N8 O) k4 ldevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
& K4 X! g6 o% ~- w+ y' `5 E! Gcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
( E# B5 a. n9 ~& D+ \# X# R/ sof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of+ G+ Z& D, O# E
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education: Q0 v. i; o# s) N$ L" ~( ^( D
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we4 X5 k3 B, W+ n5 D0 G& ]% S$ y1 O
can." % e7 T* C; J8 x# G# \
" D, {- ], r2 XThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
% V9 ^1 J% D% Y5 b! E: v, n2 Pelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
' k) H) \4 C3 ^2 ]8 wyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language- G0 M* y+ m9 ] R7 ?
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
/ Z% Z( U3 ]" }8 x# Q# f& W" F l6 Iaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
$ Z5 N9 P6 J/ u6 M! GMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical: z/ f/ Z7 B! M, P8 W
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
% |2 q! ]* x+ I( n c3 _ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a7 m6 Q& p) O( c" h; c x
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."7 |, T% N+ G# m, G
8 @% d5 T( _' n/ o( {& ?6 p8 JUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
% P3 S7 I2 z9 Q$ {: f5 q& Wsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in: s; g% ]: L* E9 O
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
) t0 n- o( \6 C, D$ yChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
, Q" t% D5 i- l: m0 g( }! `) Bon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
& r. K4 t9 ]: x; E$ p" t5 ^schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
& I6 d M+ g; n+ \3 q# J* ostudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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) B' [' p2 g. aMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
s% P1 n" U) Yproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
- j7 f0 ?0 n5 Q! `competition.
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7 y B( o; L4 o' b5 m$ N"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley5 `3 A9 G/ s0 z* ^+ S' ^( ]+ Q9 v
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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' p( F4 R3 c5 B8 o7 }5 R* wFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
$ _7 S( C. i7 y" w9 ?all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
, T2 X* t% t) S4 `/ Uschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from5 b. u5 w$ a) f& d7 E2 ?$ L3 C! j5 Z5 {" ^
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
! {. x) t6 N8 uwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to o6 O$ Z% v$ N
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this- i* R: O+ f: O
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.2 m$ P6 Y8 Y+ @1 V! B& m' G l( R
* r8 a* [/ O u" v# b"They have a great international experience right in their own4 T. G3 D/ `8 o- X9 n# a
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago% w* A8 ]& V) q" i( X/ P& G
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to! m, m2 O% m" l" v! n. a+ ]
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
6 ]7 K6 d; P' n* a3 ]3 V3 don an equal playing field."1 f9 [. T+ i; r+ `$ F6 i$ v) Q
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
! i/ E3 |, R: k- ?7 k7 Bclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign9 n( T' e) X0 ^
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
: j8 A( T7 a K! L. s% xChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
9 L: ?7 ~$ W8 \, Q1 s! v# Aaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
|+ b# S; X# J5 V' N' R" oChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
i" W( @1 j ?5 Rinstitute says.6 T; j# U/ q7 A. S M, d
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth7 u, n$ Z! n5 W
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before- g2 T6 a! m) k1 |5 p
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she. p. r0 Q# @' C7 Z& J6 g/ b7 Z
told her daughter.1 u; t! t: G2 X9 } H. y
% }& C$ Y5 n* C2 @Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
! e) ~" C: g, ~/ {+ M$ Eclass.! Z2 f. [9 F' p3 J
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
, p9 y d6 D7 I {$ v ?2 K( ]studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without' x: s& }9 \7 `7 Q7 b
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a$ b$ U" c4 `6 V! W
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.9 X9 ]4 ]6 ~) T. d; o9 m
' _* }7 K. ~& P2 [Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he$ h! K: T7 b. o5 y, K" ~
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
" d" o! b+ E8 [7 V4 u5 h- oChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works." {. B, P0 ~ g9 d
6 _* V1 O- U' I$ S"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
b% `: c( K9 n% d$ |said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
! D4 d {. ]. Y- [9 M; kas many languages as I can."& T3 O4 t ~3 ?2 `. w
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
8 c3 ~' x; J; Hskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
6 A& m* K1 q: K6 h9 V- ?" ?market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like6 {" Y$ Q. D, l q
that," Ms. Freire said.- ]7 S$ {+ e, h7 G
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program" _# I4 _+ X- a1 I
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
' q# m# R6 _) eschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking+ _: o" C5 w" P2 B
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make: r7 j8 j8 ]: n: g
room." M$ T: O% M9 D2 I9 G
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
) }" F# n# H" q5 D( CChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American1 ^3 Z6 m/ \1 J
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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3 \% I/ C; d3 j2 f$ ?; R"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified) v" J9 V8 f2 _# Y) r0 x
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
$ B$ @! V3 Z( p9 J" y) qsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia# I) L" X2 R" k4 p1 |) X. s& M
Society in New York.) v2 A$ ^+ m; h' v5 }
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the3 K2 f: U9 j- {4 d, R; r
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
( t1 R& P" H& U) { ^the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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