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October 15, 2005$ E7 f5 [4 B( |3 a u. N
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
6 u8 [( ]: d8 n( \9 u& UUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
, J* D% u3 d0 @+ G E. [: V6 GSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
2 m9 V) p$ I# ^8 p$ R( Mdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese; p3 e# W3 H# | _( h: n* [
flag hang from the wall.
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+ O5 t8 W- E( U; T- j. R# XOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one& p! J$ ~$ v3 J, z/ l
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders5 o3 |. l0 B0 w! z8 H! ?) S9 b
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ a! x6 C. j( ?$ d+ e& b
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students J* V( }, U9 ^
are already choosing it over Spanish.& Z( s2 ~, z7 U+ K
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal8 B: s3 E# t, y3 w3 ^% Q9 n- G
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city. `5 q2 r" z. b+ `1 x
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 t+ D1 c2 ^7 E9 V" |# V
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
3 x5 \9 L4 F/ zschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
" ^/ [- n* z1 J5 k& [- W( ^8 Ato include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention" I- c) ~* z9 j r5 o
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to" w# h7 ?5 [+ L. S
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
- _* m5 e$ T! \4 {! I$ W. @/ H Ystudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
0 z2 Y$ u# t- k# L: s4 k* wLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
7 P7 ]7 E7 I2 R2 yTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
; F9 V9 D8 l: _0 g4 uChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to6 @4 z+ |8 G7 R# b& A. K
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.& W) i& e3 c9 @1 v$ _
* w2 m" d' ~" X/ t% }7 cAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement, J; U+ p, \) D& N8 {8 r
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
0 A* m0 w. T$ y- M/ r4 k3 [starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
/ ]3 \2 {3 g; b3 d' `1 Rdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
2 ^: g! Z; O$ C# `% W) jcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
: @$ C8 [! e3 L9 wof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
: L3 c- x6 ~6 r4 M" M, Dspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education6 s# }, y( V) o& W5 b
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
8 r- `: ^+ Z t8 _can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
+ R( m; U. W! {. G0 jelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
1 Q3 x5 u1 t* [) y' P- qyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
) |' n$ o$ a% E B8 s1 XInstitute in Washington.
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4 \8 d, U1 N# g. L"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages3 i! D! O$ y, _/ z- ]
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.6 [9 p t0 K) F
McGinnis said. A' c# @; R* w
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
+ u$ l s( y, ?: G' N% ]# x* g5 |: `+ {longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be5 ~' T/ S0 M' t+ `
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a3 ]% R1 w. j/ P
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."( [" w4 l1 p0 E, A5 d
" n e8 n2 [4 QUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and. j! Y8 Q4 j0 d# g$ J' N) n
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in k$ e4 U+ T. p- Y# u3 Q
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
2 k$ z" o% E/ |1 V& ^. oChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
8 s1 G4 O; z) l# V" Mon weekends.( \! i- k4 \& j
( @$ N* D+ J; J3 q9 O9 kThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public1 {: l; X% B- b% r
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves4 h f* f6 F; C0 J& H) L( O
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said M5 \2 p) N2 C8 L4 @1 j# b! K
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the/ G4 u9 {0 J' u. Z5 w
competition.
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* Y6 w% ~0 e/ L2 T( G"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley9 d6 U f4 J8 I' G' O Q
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
0 `, H$ A0 l0 g* D. Oall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
6 O1 Y" k& B" ~% m; kschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from. R. a" D; m( y* N+ e
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
9 l7 C" ?# R F7 a: X1 ]6 jwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
& N0 x$ B9 m; U- D8 H/ Tthe school system last year.
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1 Z) S* K0 e% a1 F; c0 X4 g* bThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this' [0 t2 O v& S s0 D; c
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, p+ }7 j8 D4 E8 `5 F
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
2 o2 i- C7 A2 g1 j' kChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to, {& p( j5 w9 x. R7 r' a1 s
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet+ x/ w6 G: A. B6 |. o, e* a
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese' `0 g; b, ]* m/ y) T; M% m
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
: h6 n" ~7 {! ?; K- f% N. }6 MService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
$ S, l' h/ M* d: _8 I4 ?Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
9 ^- L7 F9 j$ D8 @, Iaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
3 G. `8 |6 H' d. z1 s! {' EChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the3 g' ?4 t r) V. h& H
institute says.$ E: ]/ K0 w. I# a3 p2 G$ H8 C* O B' z
+ d1 D! Y) C! J5 pSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth+ ?) C$ J7 f* z4 R! ?2 W1 G1 `8 k
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
6 N2 Y2 ^- l' Adeciding whether to take the class.
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2 r( u0 N3 T% V, {2 S3 c1 Q"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
' u* t' y0 ~6 F, B) l) A: htold her daughter.# t v' e& P7 d$ h
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
! t2 a) X W3 kclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are1 Z# T z) W! Q5 ]
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
1 k9 h- r" @1 Z. K6 N7 qoccasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
$ V/ k" G$ n" k/ xrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.9 o. P, x- M# t& q. t8 C2 a" h
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he2 _3 A* S! J `3 b
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ r+ F1 m7 m. o) u' M3 c8 U
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul) f* ~+ ]! X; a$ [5 o
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
0 i! [9 M7 R L% r- i3 }as many languages as I can."' `* z, g# z2 P2 B5 f
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the& ]7 H1 @2 g" r
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
; ?: s6 K! j7 c3 J& u, C1 U8 Cmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like) q1 b) D2 E- G4 j6 f0 y7 k1 S
that," Ms. Freire said.
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" w/ v+ U0 H x' z. \' @Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program, q; ~; z! z0 O, f! {
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each$ w0 Y# w4 H4 o1 V: V
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 }. V- d" E5 C6 n8 n0 D
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make: J3 _* f9 x0 A( n! M% x, w5 ?1 I
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
8 X% R5 \8 S& CChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American7 Q5 |& j% z! r8 E0 W: K K
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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! O4 b5 G: u' L+ b n"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
: L- \+ a# G& p$ ]: Tbecause of that missing certification," he said.; ` I. v" c3 w- I# T e( i
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,2 l, q# J- r$ Z- o, v( N
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia. N0 k c4 ^$ B' I- U, P
Society in New York.+ c! u! u% W6 ^& Z
5 e5 S6 ?/ k% d& g [# f4 qSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the2 s h# Y- d" {
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from" A8 z, f/ v6 g6 d. C
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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