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October 15, 2005# G7 P6 J" J7 k8 y. A$ E: E0 }
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 the6 o R5 _ M4 w( {) q$ x
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
3 g5 z8 L, {9 T+ q" FSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas( t( V: f& S+ W+ ~* Z9 o$ R
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
+ y i( O5 z/ |: ~0 C3 ^& P) i- cflag hang from the wall.' ?6 h! V5 f3 E
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
, t# p- T& |* N" c0 s9 s! p7 sanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
4 V0 e }1 x# f$ T& H% zpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker1 c# \; W) ]4 J' O
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
! v# G% n ~" |1 c3 m5 q' Bare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
8 w4 @, P& T. p& }9 d1 x+ a; {: tat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city2 r- n# [ c3 F {4 t
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."# n* C7 r/ v: U0 ~
. X. y+ w& e$ L' x" N M! Z' cWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,% v/ E) Z3 i+ J. K" h
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
2 P3 G( O4 R0 ]$ }- U, J. {to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention! U5 M7 `. H- \1 F) b
one of its most difficult to learn.4 k/ E5 s1 ^ j$ K/ @
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to! w9 D) X+ m3 ~3 V
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
3 I3 F. e7 l0 @; r: l9 s1 K- W+ d$ ~studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.7 c! ]; T. S( e" R/ e& o7 Q
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
7 U6 Y: _) R$ t1 c+ g k6 A$ F7 MTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
8 k& T$ N9 f- w* l0 J( n8 N3 _2 tChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
; l! r) E I' Y4 K1 U3 A, L2 E$ oimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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E3 |" {) W j: rAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
- ?3 d5 O- o. `: Z0 d- SChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
, v1 w: A; ? c: A3 Fstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to8 r8 Z Z2 C! \: f2 W U4 O
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
1 ?; [1 {* C$ k+ p: |; I! Jcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director$ J8 [" B+ v: V
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.4 w' G) _. P5 ?$ J0 v' B
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
+ w9 E% G# T% X) T4 Qspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
# `& |/ X0 Y8 O, DConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we3 I& K! h' F) I, E% H |
can." $ @0 H* u7 n- W4 `* t
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
3 X4 i) S E( v1 t7 qelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10( F" v7 w7 G% Z+ W- T! ~3 @
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
! _/ |0 l& b1 DInstitute in Washington.* b: B9 ]; [; P, n& O" g% }
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
* u6 n' l( J4 R H9 Q7 i2 t& O1 baren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.6 N0 b. z9 O. o% X
McGinnis said.9 u0 t+ ^) B* a5 s) i* v. ?
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
) p8 W9 g4 d# V9 @longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
7 a* I: I/ d4 G$ H0 C) O% fready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a q# ?1 E& ]- S
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.") b* v" D( @& ]0 _8 |. ^* d
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
, J( U4 `; f6 Nsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in; f; ?' R1 b/ Q& k W. N/ P/ A
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of! X$ N3 v* A+ u( I( X4 S3 _- e: k
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
- w7 d8 D$ e- ]2 ^' G5 R& v9 fon weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
5 G) ]1 N/ d, r/ J4 a6 Aschools during the regular school day and primarily serves9 V; s3 P+ J6 {( Z( L
students who are not of Chinese descent.. O5 J: ]4 ?5 \4 C. D, Z l# l
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said. m" F0 k; c5 S2 L3 T7 v
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
9 M2 N$ @8 O3 k1 x$ ]competition.
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* r* \2 u; Q" @4 C5 y"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley! f; ^+ m4 B1 }" P
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
# r8 }) m5 p8 d* p! S1 hall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
+ P3 }5 W* S% Z+ r8 Z( ~/ N9 oschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
0 o- t( u; D) h2 w+ }kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
- b" C7 N+ F7 P% A! Awho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
9 ?$ y) m4 ^' F( Athe school system last year.! b' P& @; b7 @2 v, l, e
. z( f4 c% l# LThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this5 d/ i7 G5 P/ q" z: E9 v) P9 u6 m
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 own0 r% M9 s6 n0 N2 F- B3 U e5 _& |4 C
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
1 D+ _* c4 U5 B1 R8 lChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to$ z: k) H; c! F H0 @% b% A7 U
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet1 L C" r0 K8 T' B: ^
on an equal playing field."7 b; y/ w) H% |6 k+ E W
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese0 q: E: l8 l# C4 k9 \
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign3 g/ u% x2 ?- }) ^ I
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
! |+ n O! g& ~7 j3 N* e) nChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* r5 u) k( s* A& ~, H' Haverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
) E' ~7 w$ N$ K! i( ^" { LChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the* J% ?1 k( d( J4 D7 C0 I
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth% c* Q F C1 w. r* S
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before8 T2 h/ o7 s8 _7 @) V$ [1 C/ i* w
deciding whether to take the class.
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, c/ \! B6 }* G# u# y5 c" R7 J"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
% w- Y( [7 H0 k) Z! Dtold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite( Z9 I0 Q" m' `' B' u6 ]: u, |
class.
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2 k5 ?4 M" |$ c! [At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are; {1 [* K1 @9 V9 l* z; e
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
/ @) s4 _3 v" R- a2 Hoccasional frustration.8 e' |1 s6 S. U% Q1 N" a
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
! k* g8 w6 ^5 r/ Q+ q" \" y0 Xrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he7 q$ y4 M" v6 K" T1 x
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with$ ?% }) j# d5 p, o5 Y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul! z. [8 I, c' o. |) }
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn& Y; |0 x2 H3 z
as many languages as I can."$ p6 h" p& U- z* y+ c
( ] K& i1 e# n2 {Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
6 S; W7 T3 r1 t; r/ n2 A' pskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
- D. E" B6 Q/ ]% k) V8 N8 ~& Amarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
2 \/ p+ l" e2 s5 W0 cthat," Ms. Freire said.0 ] \: @; W6 u# M
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program$ m0 e7 O) k/ K( N& |1 z- r
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each: ^, Z- b7 V" B# O! {# k/ z
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
; O& l2 f# I3 e6 _time from classes like physical education, music and art to make- t1 K9 k* P# H A; F+ h
room.3 W6 [$ \' q/ T# t+ E
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer. B: C% H9 N/ a7 _& ?1 U
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American1 ~+ x; y1 t+ r6 Z/ l. w8 ]
college, 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, h, ?1 o6 F! N: j/ {6 k; n
because of that missing certification," he said.2 u: H* Z- G, l' R
G) W; x# r1 I) L t$ P: ZThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,0 @9 B( ?: ?: i
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
: _+ h7 i3 C5 z+ H/ v1 \" ?Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
5 t. e! i6 d7 p8 h0 RChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from' }2 A! r, d8 x9 t; p# u5 D, e3 i
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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9 I1 d. U3 g, m, V% s0 O7 `0 ]"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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