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October 15, 20050 i6 ~7 \7 x: j: }" x6 E
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity* ?7 x- x5 D5 r- K$ X
& M6 i* ^& m+ Y: x* n1 wBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING) a Q5 O) n* P
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the& `' h Z3 l: s4 i
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary! P5 g! z1 n: x+ P
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas% U4 `" a1 u/ V' J5 k& n2 o) m
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese& }0 Y$ |$ @; H( m6 x: J
flag hang from the wall.9 F- X* x/ _+ G/ Q& O; Z& [. m4 I
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
4 N Z5 o" y B, hanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders" Y8 [6 J- N4 X7 L# C4 a2 j* O) P
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker$ k, J9 D7 h: I Y2 ~8 b4 i9 e, h
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students$ k7 H U3 H: ~! V' Q
are already choosing it over Spanish.+ O5 H# x' q$ `% ?$ p9 e
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal2 l$ q( T q, y7 ?3 Y
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
& d; R+ k/ z6 \/ Poffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in." _/ [4 S+ X; J" a
Z6 O8 e' ~' h5 QWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
) S2 C: B3 {& _1 X. H/ m T* f% xschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings8 I* ]! V. n1 G2 x- H2 q2 b' w' e
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
1 G& h. p2 E6 E( N$ N P' Yone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to5 f! I' G- Y2 m! w$ R4 f$ |! u, U
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
' A, e7 D! F2 D. P) m2 b: B) \studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
1 X5 K: S4 P, d. iLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of5 ~* T7 V% w' }) N: D" b
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
8 K4 I$ j& F# z8 tChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
( e8 U4 p3 k% Q1 p+ f8 A8 _: Iimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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# h1 [1 O4 K/ X! mAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement; y: C0 w* w, Y0 Z7 h
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
S' X5 a5 Y: ?+ ]8 _starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to# m! p" W0 ]% `+ Q( _+ z( l
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing' Q. n) t! x6 x$ ^
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director8 N7 K3 n) T* N X+ E7 i6 u$ @. I
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of8 r8 `* H+ D6 j/ p5 j8 n
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education0 [+ N( X& x+ f5 Y) l/ x
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
" s0 I) {) a/ A+ ]6 N- A4 ccan." ' q9 O, i+ ^% P: L+ e
. H. Y# m2 X8 D, \! nThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from4 A$ O2 r+ I# Z$ u2 s; Q
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10; M8 b$ B) V# a
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language) k! q: S' p1 A6 k+ H
Institute in Washington.4 r$ N9 ~4 D/ [: e/ K" `
' t3 n4 t& ]* I5 l) g. u( J"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages9 _0 | M5 ^* O" X5 [2 h
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr./ |5 \( m) h# q# Q, N7 G& k
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical0 b6 f6 ^3 @4 U5 p& Y
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
4 O% l6 ^9 H3 J* g) W1 w$ X# Uready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a; e7 M" R$ o9 G
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.": D- w% T* _5 r( H9 u- r/ U
* x& d' k' ?# lUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
1 {# x5 q7 a# Isecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
$ {- Z7 {$ P0 F' n; ecities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of* C: V, z2 u$ S/ W& H* F% _
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or4 g9 g$ h- n1 C, V" w r4 ?
on weekends.
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! x9 x$ I: a- y( \The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public& a- `4 C* f" c4 \( J t! N; i
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves0 h9 ]6 `0 q. C9 @' F
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& k( g3 |3 T+ f1 tproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the. E2 x. r1 B/ M2 t" V% l$ `' P: ~
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
$ D$ G. [ e: t2 {said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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$ Z' `0 L* K9 n! Z, m# S& N/ p1 [9 KFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
- ?) Q5 V. }, \0 Tall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
9 ~' [; |' n' H7 j8 ]6 W& X7 sschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
+ M( G/ f$ x- V0 Wkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 D' A* P4 b/ f# J* W7 z# r; }, k& V
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
+ z) W& c5 C1 L; b! kthe school system last year.5 t, T. O+ `. m& D1 h* ]9 l4 e
& Q; ^6 `* E6 a& `2 vThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
% w1 t8 A0 x) m, wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.5 @8 b* |* ~; G9 P
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"They have a great international experience right in their own% ]2 }! r; J# ~4 a
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago) {8 N2 ^/ [# o- {5 u2 a& x+ ]$ c+ k+ o
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
6 Q6 A# ^* s0 E! w* M% Chelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
^2 Q0 K/ ^" V: I; t* V5 aon an equal playing field."
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; h ]9 ~4 B# x! w- `, J6 oSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese4 J5 j6 d% |8 m8 w
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign5 f" v# ?4 b9 @! ?
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
* e* V+ ]9 R4 i: m( t W5 QChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
) }' ^" M' u9 Q$ Q% I- uaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
6 q; l" Q" C) U; ^3 D+ A2 H1 @Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! c4 s4 _7 P& g1 L, f4 ] k" Y
institute says.7 e" r) j% I$ x9 s/ w/ m
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
# O: j$ _) E* x- w% @4 _grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before _! r5 ? I8 z* }$ _
deciding whether to take the class.
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" }; }+ q5 b2 @1 S8 p"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she4 A! d( O& |- O! Y" Z) j- ^' {+ G
told her daughter.- b; a7 L; G+ [& A4 i
% }8 I, ^% J2 S6 `3 a* c' _2 gSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite+ h0 z3 _) _* `
class.7 w5 L0 V/ P4 m# n) ^3 N! |
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
( Y3 k. z$ K$ I2 p* N* v1 r% jstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
, c3 v2 O- s/ Coccasional frustration./ O7 R! W" Q4 `( W/ g& I% _
% J2 L+ H+ [$ J8 L" Q6 f"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a8 y* A- X( ^7 I# B. ]/ @
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.% K6 @0 E0 b3 ~
3 ~ S2 C, g2 ?- q. O; uRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he7 }4 u( Q" k0 X* ~5 G, B* I
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with% S: p7 s) k8 `9 |+ y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
@5 V7 G& |; }& M/ x" `' }said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
( b4 O1 e6 x2 [3 `: R( }8 Sas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
: A% r w& f) f- J& P3 o( D _skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
: Q. {$ L7 @/ v; l; jmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
" W! n0 T1 R$ f/ U, k: B4 Mthat," Ms. Freire said.
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! v. b7 Z. t8 m/ A( S+ P; U; nMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
1 V* h* v$ x+ R( e7 there offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
: @9 c3 \: G3 P B3 oschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking" J" g3 n/ \' {
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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}' W' W+ T% w% S4 N3 B' u$ ZChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer' S) N1 Z4 l- c: w! ~
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American/ a$ S' l" G) x. I+ l+ n! w
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
5 V& ?% h- d' n- f3 ubecause of that missing certification," he said.2 @ e8 T1 m1 j. q3 B
/ n7 ]" ]1 L3 `! v( B) |: c2 T MThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
6 p% T8 g) G5 ^9 T3 U# ]8 M c; Y- O, }said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia! W" c* ]1 {& t- A
Society in New York.1 J: Q% p9 H$ \7 { y# p4 U4 f
' N# c' |; X7 ^1 B- l# WSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
' B% M; \" d: r( W% r2 hChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
' b. @& _4 P0 ]0 n! fthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said., K% h- P% c3 G* ^+ I& A( o
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
8 S) w' u+ ~ I+ c8 R2 B( oown."
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