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October 15, 2005' n6 x7 J+ h1 H$ R
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity! ~% v. c+ `8 Q% V2 R
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING- v" V1 i2 H1 T8 ?; g }" |' K( [
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- N. b1 ^# o+ p+ X4 w7 ~$ B) }. GUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
5 K- L$ |6 u* A2 X6 o5 Z: w$ iSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
h4 j& i* A/ p( ^dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
/ K+ o9 ?( M0 N8 Fflag hang from the wall.: f: a9 ?1 w) I
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
! B9 z! R& o6 W8 hanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders/ w' X+ V8 R0 w, X* [
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker2 M Y; W3 V: E+ F( `: G, a
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
8 r* Z J- {" c- H7 Aare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal: }4 ~, J( I+ K1 `7 u! ~
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city$ I( H% y0 {) r
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in.") |4 l& |$ [9 E3 L2 V: F
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' M6 B. }# K: G6 A, [schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings2 z( `6 ]9 l7 s
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
' ` y3 n, A# E- w6 V! Vone of its most difficult to learn.& M* v. y1 h+ i% Z# C9 M# E3 y5 H
# J+ [! W" c: eLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to1 {2 T6 ?% ^3 v; S1 j
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students2 s }* e, Y( C- y* Q; o
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
$ M N" |# Z, J! j- k0 n; j% uLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of4 Y6 x5 R5 X3 O) g
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
/ f. h7 _6 ^- p1 I, H3 E$ s; y, dChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to# r+ M5 @+ x: O4 s
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.' X) x5 A% ~7 Q' C, d$ }
) C1 a. m4 T- P! E( MAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement9 s! i) N o' x! i. W1 x
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country- v- l0 x" R; `0 O |# C
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to$ l, q3 {# F+ _
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing$ U! ^. c/ p! N
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
& h/ H0 k7 H) ^8 W* Nof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.% _, Q _, w. m z- h
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of) }& N0 m$ a& \8 c
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education5 h& v. ~* K N( }/ D t* G
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we- B4 R9 l/ ]' \# l! s
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
, C, J/ b6 h( [elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
% Z" g5 F }) H' k/ K% G- K( Myears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language' I& s$ S" R- H, k. B8 a% [9 H( t b
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages6 L, y' [2 M3 a1 e2 Z- C6 u4 s9 [6 r
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.( H7 {9 C% _! O# a
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
6 z) i9 p' x; F2 Y3 [! h7 ulongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be( s) r1 L' |5 I# g1 |& M
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
9 p, ~0 O$ `$ Kchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."& m: P1 y* d7 q
1 ?' A! ]! }# O6 }" w; {4 |* S, @$ o {Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and5 Z' ~ Z7 t9 L. w j4 U: t
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in0 F. N7 s5 e! l5 P& Y' @2 [, s
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of- e. Z0 R6 K3 G
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
& W( H+ U8 u; h& fon weekends.
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) o$ N3 ~$ }- D1 m# }7 VThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public7 Q3 V8 L! P* K) z+ A
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves4 s) |5 t# c( c$ c Q2 m
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
# B! b0 [# u% b# d- s' y$ q+ n! hproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
. T: J3 V9 ?7 y9 |* xcompetition.
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% s |. h/ S. ?3 T"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
' F4 f& I$ v$ k8 K. l+ Asaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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+ v4 C8 m$ _: ^9 ?8 y7 n, [! OFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
. \- N4 B) I( Q% ]: R& W8 Xall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
1 Q A/ L L' d" n+ Gschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from4 g; }) r5 Y1 Y
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
" j- u) a5 x6 Wwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to) }8 m2 g- D6 c
the school system last year.; C$ x) k Q7 v/ r' C% M* q
; W& d/ [+ i7 f- f: `& L; nThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
% M+ `/ [' u+ q+ _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 own7 W+ o, R# A" ?$ ?
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago: I0 v; r5 \' f; Z& {
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to1 W6 f$ y+ ` T/ [" t k
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet5 v5 d" n3 ^4 d \- g
on an equal playing field."
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, u j' O: {; ~" ]/ t* vSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese' [5 B4 ~9 ~4 s: x
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign2 n# T0 l' X$ d0 S
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks# `" Z& h' t E1 q9 V8 e/ J
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An4 G1 ]& B2 S: I3 s# C" b' X
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in, Y2 v0 E$ A) ~0 q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
# B! z" E6 d6 r2 e! E' Finstitute says.) j1 _: n) s$ a7 ~: z& A5 Z
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth" y4 i- u8 `8 X) _( r& m
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before; d0 F4 u3 J* \6 y& D) j
deciding whether to take the class." q# [3 U9 @* Q* U O
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
* }# O$ Z# C% B4 v [told her daughter.2 u; {' U _" m
1 c7 w' h1 a5 [3 k' J. Q# cSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite5 n, F# I& m4 T, I7 z
class.5 \) x2 r6 t' d3 J' L
: B1 X2 m7 n- A6 k( TAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are/ G. f0 D9 s8 `
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without5 ~) P/ P3 H+ U3 t
occasional frustration.3 B: E# \/ w$ @5 K3 s1 y6 t* C
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 F" R% {) c' F* xrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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9 P7 Q6 E* v* zRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
1 F' T3 ]9 W9 q8 K: V; b0 z- r5 Y) Etaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with5 S' n g! \9 y$ E* Y
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
1 x8 f5 A3 R# d% y: w" ^; hsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn$ m% }) h6 |) x2 s+ ~. \ p
as many languages as I can."0 P- Z$ F. M7 _( M
/ x2 h* w9 Z! p9 j0 y1 }Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
m+ \6 }& A& jskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job. {. {( n8 x! |
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like( f3 f7 k! U! k! w {6 w
that," Ms. Freire said.5 X8 G/ O( H% i; t( O, ]
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
0 f1 T2 N- u: ?; l- J. A. E- D0 }here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
+ U) i ]( w& l- K8 O" l/ Lschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
# U4 r: L$ ?1 z* G `, ltime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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* I' y1 y6 k. a! d3 G( d! ~8 qChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer% T& C) u5 A, c% u8 M1 d) d
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
1 b4 \6 T$ f5 k0 |- Q- Acollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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$ n% `8 p7 M; O5 n& v" n. D) F"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
& ^. M- H3 M1 K/ w+ Zbecause of that missing certification," he said.7 O1 j9 u9 q2 k1 x' k7 l( ^, {
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
% B5 l {4 b+ i5 @, bsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia v( h% n! R4 t t- `/ T, C
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
" _( R2 m8 D# p; NChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from- s4 D6 f4 Z& z; U4 b) [
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said. G. y( {0 A) ` p/ }# W9 Z2 g
$ @9 @! O% W1 T, q5 k"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our1 ~; h, o+ D7 A5 V- T n c6 }
own."0 L8 n1 F! \, S8 M1 f3 K8 U0 ^
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