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October 15, 2005) V% L0 m) Z$ _) I3 `2 ]0 E
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity# `2 u [+ Q4 \9 X6 g
0 z6 i) ^2 P7 M8 M( F* \9 |By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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1 Q: _" m# h! e3 t2 j7 [+ ECHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
2 G% Y& ^, U+ C" mUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary( J6 i+ n8 E& V
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
1 U2 ~/ Z$ G7 K, S& ]" ?dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese6 S" J; H& \# t% f( ^. \, z( ~# F
flag hang from the wall.4 g/ |$ W4 _2 b" [& `6 B6 X1 q
- h8 [- H: n: J2 ]2 t$ gOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
$ ^; `. i* o# F0 ]# a3 p3 n1 R+ c& Qanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
0 g" g2 Z# Y/ V( Npracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker( g1 C2 R1 b* C6 k8 [6 `
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
: `8 Q/ L9 ~( ^9 h4 z. k% _3 z% fare already choosing it over Spanish.2 F; r* g3 j. C2 b% R- e F* W
) b$ B2 c3 v+ m' J) L"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
( d9 v2 ^+ v( }: X7 }; Hat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
& E5 O: F% b3 R9 S1 Z Z: {# q4 {offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: i+ f. _9 J+ [# y/ C; t7 S( {6 s6 e6 `
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
( j( {* u: s. i; ]1 _# ~3 qto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention* @7 i: J( i/ `2 D/ c8 v. w+ C
one of its most difficult to learn.) W8 N2 _. `% a! m' [$ K$ @/ m+ y" s
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
9 C. i9 |! w: Spublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
3 b2 I; m8 U% b# [5 z. b- A3 I* ]1 Vstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I./ W4 Y6 r( Z2 g. N! b4 J: x9 S
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
" s# s! \7 {! M; u- S: OTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. D( O; I5 w N: nChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
0 Y: `. i/ x% s/ b* ~5 mimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.5 u O+ i$ }' C8 D* I3 @0 } k
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
% ]! J$ L8 C: OChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country) l' L. U; e6 I1 c {) m
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
, Y; j1 F" H9 M4 q; rdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing# d1 N& X( \; y( W% v
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
$ w7 H3 ], y( {1 u/ ]3 Tof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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- X% E0 ^7 W0 T0 w% {5 ?- s( t"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of) D0 ~$ x, p* Y- J8 F- }: h9 j$ p8 z; R
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
. I6 T' T- L1 b0 |; U8 BConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
: ~. X+ z# y: `8 j1 Ncan." V9 D9 ^9 T) k# B/ _
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
5 V$ f1 Z2 d& ^2 U5 V8 welementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
' f# S- J# q" m' oyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language; O7 n; d( S) G
Institute in Washington.
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$ z9 g- t: R( E. D$ `( w* W"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
5 C# [0 ~! G0 S% f3 x& e$ laren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.# w4 R3 Z S! G! W
McGinnis said.& ~! K7 r" |& u- b9 y5 O4 `
: T2 v5 R6 ~1 g( f; \0 U- D4 P"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
5 Q% c# _" h# T! t& I9 ulongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
6 T* d: q5 o8 I8 E. k# yready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a/ R: m0 S5 ?: x3 K: s
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."8 @" y5 y# h$ t+ g, ^
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and9 A3 l! A9 K0 X4 W' e- K, ]
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
+ |5 y5 V: j0 J( i/ \) }! @; Dcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of% c7 K6 n7 N/ s' g
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or: [5 h/ w+ I8 V( y# ?' _- F
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
; n+ Q2 E. X, z( w+ u& S- Cschools during the regular school day and primarily serves6 E- a+ W6 [6 v1 v6 ]" Y
students who are not of Chinese descent.7 }4 e' t' W1 V. C5 N
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said2 t5 L6 @* x& _2 ?7 M; H
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
$ l$ D. W* O+ X* A4 Y! p8 Jcompetition. - e# ^) M. R" J; t! k
. L( k0 m% }, Z9 P9 W3 r"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
* Z4 U; R# e; x# m% g+ O9 r! Esaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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( ?! C* S- K% v) o% K: Q; P' R5 @From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly0 P- v! O( k5 c
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
# e4 U& f3 i+ @4 p8 `8 wschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
/ {" C3 l$ Y+ ^/ T" G9 u$ K8 Xkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
+ m; S0 ?( f6 M7 ~- A; M/ b) Zwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
5 B. J7 C$ Y; Y0 L1 Gthe school system last year.$ Q( U T; a3 a* `1 `) t
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
3 }: R' ?# L* m ^year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.( v* W3 |* T- \+ B/ ~0 d9 R: Z
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
' _; P/ `$ u D7 W( u& Wclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
3 L" K+ I" ?, }; RChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to4 W0 S, [+ r3 U+ r0 C# ^
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
* i0 G+ u; w" Fon an equal playing field."0 r( @8 w3 O* r1 c' N" q4 Y
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
z1 C4 d$ f( a/ ~5 x; pclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign" H8 R" r9 }5 v4 ~9 K0 k
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks" [4 y( l/ T' @
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
8 c8 | N+ h0 Kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in0 R& v' {/ p3 M% Y4 J8 x4 R9 m" q* Q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the( [; m: f' B8 W/ \. ?$ f0 e5 f
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
) D' f! R2 o, k X' C; P5 c& x: ygrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
7 p; h9 K6 G( Ydeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she( |- h9 N$ c1 g5 ^: w- B
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite/ S) z3 a5 U- N$ q" C& K
class.+ D+ g; Q( }' |; Q6 G0 h% a- F8 e
0 s4 z2 X# j& h7 n% z) \2 |+ QAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are' f$ T& u3 M* J6 p7 r3 W
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
& V; h# |% `0 c) [0 ?4 Y) u' k0 Soccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
/ n# n( G9 |& |) M, M3 D4 { h6 B; brecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.& j+ u5 l7 q# D* |% }+ j
: C3 ~/ F4 I ]- x/ }9 ]Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
9 q$ h+ F$ c3 `3 |4 Ntaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
4 `* j: O3 ^ X$ u, E- ~: [' KChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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- l+ {% d( P# x0 u, n# m: B"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
R1 v" K. l* xsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn7 U' `$ t- W/ n1 Z4 j6 O
as many languages as I can."
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5 n( ^, G7 r* ^ Q* @Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the" v% V( N6 @1 r5 S9 D7 ^9 u
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job7 X2 _8 k; {' ]. n, V4 ?* ^# @5 q
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
0 g. B! o1 p# _3 `that," Ms. Freire said.1 o4 r- w" C, `" c; s
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program4 M; K- C, T H/ v: G
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
$ {; x, n" }4 f1 i; @school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
7 ^; H9 W/ Y: y4 H& _0 X% ~time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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; r% `8 L, X. W4 YChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer3 G5 s/ _% ]1 K% p
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
& X$ n7 k. D) M* ocollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified* K) a- x- B7 J" [* [/ c ?4 y
because of that missing certification," he said.1 v; L. s4 C" H2 }* v
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,+ _6 I$ s, m' }; x% S
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
s% R# f' _* k7 LSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
% K6 C; y+ {1 K7 n6 EChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from) p% }' v k( b; `4 N4 @% a
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.; ]4 G, c: ^% ^9 F" S
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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