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October 15, 2005& G2 W8 ^5 C& O8 y% I
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity1 A, O0 T! \( P4 P% I* O0 ?
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING: F! S& d$ n C
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the9 ]9 A4 }0 [. ^! G3 y' M
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary# x% ?8 o; k( j1 E
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
* W3 L" M# t4 c1 _7 x' e" kdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese; t k, T: h& K0 q6 d, o
flag hang from the wall.9 ?2 x, N: ]( m, S8 R
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one, m$ K1 ]! v7 z; d5 I& t% H
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
* m2 ^7 u) A5 @3 V( ~practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
* d* L. k. l1 b3 ]boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
! U) F) @) A+ |0 v) i) s' w2 zare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal6 k* @) g* I) k7 `
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city; ?& T8 j5 S; N; C/ u @
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."/ g2 j3 D$ v. D9 h( g
K6 \/ Z3 v; h, aWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
1 ^ @- p# l, X1 M) k1 gschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* _. [: j7 Z, k n8 ~( q6 f
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention- D6 \' U, c' T' a' ]' B
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to$ b/ q& X/ |3 v
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students0 ~; j6 g( P! y' o N6 `6 l$ I7 `. K
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
; s) }$ y6 N) @/ W7 f& b7 [Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
; V4 d5 `: D/ r k B6 bTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
& W' {% K- M8 A+ LChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
9 e9 N- s; J5 Cimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.6 a) l' O1 {$ o$ b: z7 z! \
. c p) q* D. T9 [5 V' y2 ]: Q; WAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement" }' s5 p5 k/ |, h
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
8 V0 M: u& A4 E0 A- `2 fstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to$ Z/ o8 G8 U; b9 s$ i6 p
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
, A- _& n3 G# ]! W$ l lcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
9 o) q. ^( s" R/ f) {; [( I; qof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.' O; ^, Q. q' u% s
9 R" D+ q* y6 }' g9 I4 u4 U"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
8 \* O8 @$ ]; s- \$ Pspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
! l$ K3 d7 L% H' xConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
) ^6 D7 P$ h1 {/ velementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
, ^" Q2 S) Y: l5 N! L* Y! Wyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
3 q! q% M0 `( B9 d* |1 `Institute in Washington.. j' n' f! m$ J; b, L8 H; ?: J
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages4 @( Z& h0 d0 h. c" F
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
Y( l# D/ d* I1 eMcGinnis said.4 W$ O" e4 ~1 o& n1 {+ Z/ F! @2 y2 l
! i$ n" U4 G7 E* t' n0 O/ u: K"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
9 @9 |7 h- U% D" Tlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
% w& g, Y/ c' A3 Yready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
* u) W, ^# G" H* bchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" y- r! F c3 [9 ?
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and( o6 Y/ B* I' P- P, S- b
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
1 k* K. C. z4 qcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of- S+ Z: v/ h3 b; a$ H" |2 ~
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or: _( e1 q' w* c# o& U( J/ S
on weekends.: A4 Z4 |3 d6 \ i/ ]
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
1 S6 h+ S5 G D( p: w7 q _7 H0 Gschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
4 D+ L. Q; p2 y: t0 t' L2 K' Astudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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! D G; Z7 P* o7 GMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
! | O; D# z; ]1 ?# ?! zproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
: z3 q6 j' H1 i' G' y" O' |: ocompetition.
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8 N* \/ j: B! o% r! N"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley& a& ~# E9 S- u3 O" M" a
said. "There will be Chinese and English."( I0 P7 m0 n( P( P9 S8 b% N
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
& D: x$ f) _2 B+ r/ @all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
- P" n% g& O6 R0 c u# Gschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
# d3 o' U1 M' C9 _6 E r' Q tkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
' E! x" q, c& [! z1 ]who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
$ P* ~: b! |7 O- ?/ Qthe school system last year.& K- Q) } `/ ~) v2 H% ]- |
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
' N- d2 f' w6 x5 X" b% p& gyear 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 j( n1 q2 `$ h: r$ J# N G
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago2 l/ k' m, U; n( Z: |/ }
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
* s9 t9 d3 h! G( P' f: Hhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
' ?( P+ r% j$ W) L8 S% zon an equal playing field."
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# z- f0 d$ L& B/ ~Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
7 @8 b6 ]3 l& w2 N+ _classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ ~6 Z, P" G1 U. W5 N6 UService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks; p, ?9 l9 m: P- p
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* V# Q2 x5 o. \' m; J" ^+ i$ e! faverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in1 v9 d6 \0 c6 o; n2 u2 |
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth% T5 @% A0 a! Q; S: m. m0 R; w
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
" d5 O9 g1 T' m% a- b2 |! Odeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
; Z! l! {7 [! X! s5 e& Ktold her daughter.$ K. X6 v9 O3 l: R% l
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
- ?9 m. W9 t* A. V, g+ ~. @class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are- h, u0 x/ ]- E: h
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
+ U3 `1 R! Q+ @. d5 Aoccasional frustration.. s0 C; l8 U5 ]7 V1 `7 U f$ t+ L
5 s* p6 @& R) n0 j: O"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a# T9 v) j# o# K/ X4 a
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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0 q7 ^4 @4 p& W+ @$ H( `7 ^. ZRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
# Q1 F# \ B: E0 `! V7 C @taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with. F' Y( k3 n6 `7 d
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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! y1 ~# ?, F% G& m- ]! y# g"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul' o% `& O' p8 F# h6 }2 V; u0 n
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
2 l# f) ~0 @# fas many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( ]9 q- i/ x( g2 @; H. jskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job* n' u6 c' o6 D2 o
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
5 D& j8 G7 ~: l4 N8 [that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program/ E1 C: ?6 f+ y# w
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
& |, \( r/ g! m1 J! M# Jschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking3 G8 y- c4 \% _0 Q! [( _% W- e+ P, V9 a
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
) T- h& p) h. T4 Xroom.# {3 n, ]4 B) g1 ^# B: [. N6 b
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
# A4 \' e5 Z q* Y; |8 jChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American' j- h3 i! |1 Q
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
0 T6 l0 i& w! r6 M/ ^9 A' R: sbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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4 ?& p7 E2 b' j! C* WThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
* L) F8 y; \% g. R( H4 I6 tsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia. \) D" \; Y& ?# J; l c! ?
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the) q$ r; z# ?1 _% V( o: I2 X
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
. p. I7 u/ ?- |4 R* N7 l, T6 K- p+ tthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.0 C& u- M5 {7 n+ x4 u9 f
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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