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October 15, 20059 D0 Y) B3 ]+ R4 U# }
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING! [+ u- l# G2 W* p' R
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 o+ b, s" @& }. b4 M# c+ a# hUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
8 _; q" Z. f8 K$ S4 ]# }School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas5 d; y5 N6 ?! Q& G
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
& B: C/ J, y! pflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
( H0 _8 v; j, ?; e8 f1 X$ _3 ]/ `another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
% x3 l) m" Y! h. {3 spracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker& G8 x& G% g5 c' ^) ]8 ] j9 I
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
! X D. R( I/ K% o Mare already choosing it over Spanish.1 ^9 l2 I4 e+ [/ p/ t$ y
1 c! m' D$ j. U* {"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal6 T% g8 o6 R! X0 j( }
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city5 a7 ]3 J$ n+ A7 n& W" U
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
+ [ T4 w7 l' @: n, B4 hschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings" Y8 j7 \0 u# {
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
; e: U/ |+ ^" ]) ^one of its most difficult to learn.6 z6 V% b! Q, ?6 S u
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
7 L% `7 I: D2 u0 Rpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students) g9 i% a; K' t5 B' r
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
/ z$ E2 D" D0 P! t Y) A: ULieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
0 |! I+ ^) z: m" J) r2 VTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on& j8 D4 V2 X# T( F6 R
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to2 k' h( i0 k. m* Q6 d
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.. V& y0 p+ w8 c# `4 r1 o
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement. ?1 V, v' k1 R: w$ o5 m
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" q, {; L# D9 @- `7 A
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to9 A2 l% t. h K
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing6 w* E; V% L1 U; Q. [
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
, j" f+ N3 x) Z- P0 Q3 s9 |of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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/ L5 }6 E+ {3 c; A. ]"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
7 ]; D! b* C- z, e' Y4 B0 k/ `" tspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
9 v, G+ l* ~9 k) QConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we$ `( J- q& B7 p G* c
can."
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1 \0 W+ f& Y; R5 x/ zThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
! ]+ ^5 r% d1 j" b4 yelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
% Q: X; l' Y x7 R1 g8 i( _1 r1 w8 ~years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
1 s) ]5 I) A7 NInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
6 B( d+ I, b1 e" U: l V1 @, i5 ^; R' Saren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.4 ?* D8 L0 Q0 o, L8 ?; s$ W, J
McGinnis said.6 g6 Q/ q/ t' _; S7 l% a- w
( Y6 T$ j% c, P"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical# R9 B2 [8 C; u% r' } r9 h, o1 J$ i
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be2 ^! o5 z7 }4 `3 q; d$ r
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
& A, `/ ]( |/ X' t- \challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and+ \+ V; N9 K% z i3 _
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
& W" \% x: ?( \cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of1 @- A' W; n9 v! |
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
& e0 |) P# z- G4 P+ uon weekends.
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7 g* L5 O: u* u9 _The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
3 C0 u% W) S# }. A, e" Kschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
2 a$ ~1 f+ _2 B# zstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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! ]+ q& m! H# S2 `6 a1 j) tMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said/ ], E2 T( i/ y6 c: Y& q5 }
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the' k/ \$ ^ ]. G/ o0 j7 e
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
8 ~3 [3 P6 B5 _* Qsaid. "There will be Chinese and English.". K; Z- g$ p; [4 p& p- t+ m
4 r" ^7 s. o! O6 g5 c: bFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly ] \' H+ h4 A8 z. a0 i3 k
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
; n; H7 Y* }) q/ @" f' Q" w1 q) \schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from2 z' w1 r8 y6 @4 d/ r( Z4 I4 C( N
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students* S7 Q5 ]# U9 M/ w& Q% j" n
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
2 G; f0 [ w# U4 othe school system last year.6 |0 L% s8 j6 w0 D
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this+ _! t/ p% \) H. v* Q. M1 K
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: j& n" Z$ e7 D& }4 Z$ [1 h# j' m3 ^
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago$ N# D8 A" G( y- e2 V' u) k9 I; B5 ]
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
- H, ], r/ i/ f/ l" T/ l" nhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
2 c8 y# i2 h8 U+ G' F# c& ion an equal playing field."0 N8 U3 P; X. O& r9 X/ K& C. ~
' R0 t$ g$ R3 C6 @9 ?3 WSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
+ V) }8 g& D% S- ]classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign; ~; L. ^5 {* m) l, x
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks7 K% C$ y* r g j W [9 ?* K
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An; r0 d4 X, Q" D! b& ^' C, b
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in7 |% ~5 `6 _! _/ s/ ~0 r. S
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
& G7 p5 k7 H9 a& @( Einstitute says.& d2 S% M+ G1 p" b% a* y, J; ?
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth% u1 O1 u3 s7 n( {
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
$ P+ ?8 r# y2 ?. Y' N# O' J- ^deciding whether to take the class.
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- j4 F( @7 ?1 f3 \+ ^* F3 Y"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
# m. ]6 N9 t5 q2 qtold her daughter.
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- q& z% Y- B4 BSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
: B$ p9 [9 K+ U5 S M3 D ~( }class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
& M* J/ j0 I6 V1 \3 X, S) h- s0 ^studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
p+ f- i0 O; u2 I$ e2 Koccasional frustration.. X3 B. D8 m) R% i
! i. T+ o$ R# B% I' j, h7 x3 I"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a% @9 k4 A4 b* O: }5 c/ Q. J
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he- e @5 E. H" E/ R0 b; d/ j& q
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with( L: [% t2 d: o7 ]$ `9 c
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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% O4 a4 i7 o' h9 G"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
( h! `' W" f# q: W7 B# |2 ysaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn- z4 T2 A* f: N l* y2 ?
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the" D1 S+ h! k* K8 w
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
2 c8 y& j7 ?4 @3 g9 Q u, Gmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
& j8 y s1 S Y- Jthat," Ms. Freire said.8 d4 v+ c! ^( E: U$ y
2 G4 d7 c7 F4 B* {% z7 XMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program7 M4 M% L9 C( ~5 i( R) n
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
9 w% @$ T0 N. T: bschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking2 Y& p# @: P: D% v) ~1 _3 ]
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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& E. ?* a; @/ W) W! h" XChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer. T+ W# N# ^* w% m
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
& c: _4 j1 I7 i0 T6 E% Scollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ }4 g6 c! k2 ~# p; R& E
8 e/ M4 R( |% V- K1 Z3 s) l"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
5 K, T) w) K3 t: s% Z& Bbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
+ k' a, x3 {% q, Psaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
1 z% _3 S: ?. r$ wSociety in New York.! {9 i, E$ h9 M7 x u
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
: e& u* Q7 J6 C- K8 mChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from/ n5 ` I8 }* }. ?+ @
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: m- J$ p+ `8 f) X. e
own."
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