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October 15, 2005, m# t6 K* F0 y" o: \
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
/ [* R. P0 A7 R# q9 B' I& N) c1 L$ hUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
9 w2 V# U6 A" C! I# USchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
. m6 |, m3 C* S' h" odangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese7 A7 \; {/ {& H s2 I% o
flag hang from the wall.6 x8 d& l& I8 b* [& L3 F2 C& {& h, r
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one/ `; u. ?; D E
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
. W* b4 @ R: ppracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
/ c/ S$ M- l$ L5 Iboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students5 x4 z1 A: g. q H# l" D) U. b& o
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal- K3 Y' x) f8 j' G* f
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
6 _+ c4 L4 H0 M( t. {5 Foffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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4 H: z9 I9 _2 X. s. lWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: j7 g5 E0 j" @1 l- ~# E
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
2 N% h! w# _# ~to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention; O* g7 x, k( x5 B
one of its most difficult to learn.) I" S2 u2 w4 y8 j% a+ y& ?# i/ N
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 s/ x5 @# z5 C. j3 {2 F Q
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
1 h- T D) V+ ~& istudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.0 m& R) D% J+ }" J; d* U
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of6 v& b$ B) x2 t9 B( c. z
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on# x) b( N$ ]! Y3 U2 k* M
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
. Y7 C% n- G$ u4 B/ Kimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.5 h7 m, F3 \6 l& M5 l8 `
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement6 @: o) o7 T* G
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
( l; u6 u2 \" h: j) hstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
$ b- {6 w+ C2 Mdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing- z; y2 e4 x0 m
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
0 c# o8 s9 ]; }9 [6 Z3 g6 f# [of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
# n4 ~) O; |' B c2 T/ s& t, h( K% Ospeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
1 o- k: J! C3 oConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we0 f) @. O0 y7 y% [$ Z
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
7 }0 ~2 L' q. Z5 Z7 G7 X2 c. H4 f3 {elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 101 ]- s8 v* C) V/ Z8 h; ~
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
; G# |6 M0 z+ A1 c* N! cInstitute in Washington.& v% s; s5 ~: A8 B% n$ b" h
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
j: v2 L- i6 E6 ]aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
$ a( c( q- n4 H* jMcGinnis said.8 ]/ x" A) ^0 E5 m: {+ I* N4 N2 k
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical% x- }7 x9 k, ~5 H+ \4 h t4 ~
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 H( k3 J/ S$ I5 R1 d6 aready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
3 g# g( V. I) D. E* \2 echallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."" b2 \$ E( Q- V @) j4 T! e" Y8 j
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
2 B7 @5 p# P1 {7 v- M8 zsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
2 |: B+ x: A( u* n- H- _cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
3 Z# t: K. ~5 r ?% v% |Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or! a5 ]# }2 g0 ~ n: I; g
on weekends.# D5 J1 K3 R4 ^) ]
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public! B3 m4 j& F, z6 S s7 G4 I2 |
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
6 e. U. h: o, n. c+ n4 fstudents who are not of Chinese descent.2 z' Y6 o' S' f" O/ n ^$ Q
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said. W6 Q5 G1 M5 g* e1 b6 g, j
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the# D# M# R6 p. t9 d8 W
competition. - l9 P+ l& r; e
& v0 w8 [, W/ A P6 Q"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
1 ^8 d% d1 U. b3 b* isaid. "There will be Chinese and English."1 A7 \0 O( q5 g2 I5 h$ x
3 c2 W0 u8 N' o- q% `+ H' HFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
- c! M. {' J' _$ kall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
1 t0 V9 E, R0 t4 Ischools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from7 D b5 F) i* d ^& y! T
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
6 F5 E: y3 u, [2 C$ C8 gwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to ^4 V% @: Z2 [; D6 f
the school system last year.$ e) ~# S* g; h' x; n7 ^& `
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
9 N4 @" n+ b4 O, b/ {year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.' F7 I! @2 L, ]2 {3 V* Y8 u
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"They have a great international experience right in their own0 r# ]5 [) X i8 w% K& u
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago K4 k3 S( \" y$ e4 n
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to# u- Y$ ?& @) o4 [7 _2 f U
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet) {' U M% s8 ?& d; P2 I1 c
on an equal playing field."8 l+ a5 F2 i- R, c* Z
" I+ N8 m: F0 }% A f, N5 mSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
; \! H5 [' [# _5 H! R+ `/ u' Hclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
: F) u. p% j$ p, f9 GService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
4 t& @( q" {& ~3 j( p" FChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
" |0 ?! D6 B! y- U3 U# Raverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in# u" `6 k6 e D$ Y+ x' Q* _
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the4 w' t" @0 B) p c3 d
institute says.! k2 t3 A, m4 k5 |1 B: @/ f+ W j) q& e
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth+ O( [3 Q# W: ~1 o* i v$ F
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
5 N" M; ~: d4 Kdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
# e% q) t9 p5 @$ l2 Ztold her daughter.
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# I6 `' p" ~7 HSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite, {1 x' A% z. ?/ j w, W) }" S) K
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
1 J) D: a4 K _$ istudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
" F, }" T7 ]1 i5 z, C1 Qoccasional frustration.
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4 |. ~9 h; n3 z' }4 q"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a( j1 u1 y5 I, d8 y
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.6 Q0 l2 L$ Y; Q9 ^# j
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
( G$ b) v2 V$ _6 ~taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
4 K c6 _" W0 |% w8 S0 ?4 e3 M7 DChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul; Q9 c# N$ M. v8 C: J
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn0 @+ B* U, z/ J! I; B, M
as many languages as I can."4 ]: S6 G4 k% f7 q9 U1 x; s6 k
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
* K0 I x4 A7 t" Eskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
/ q y/ {( R2 x* q1 L5 Z& }* p2 w( Bmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like: z# Y! {3 W( }; Z& s6 O
that," Ms. Freire said.' ~( d% K5 }- Q. P
* W! L; [! u1 ]0 f* UMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program4 X: l! N. }+ f
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
( t& k/ U0 Q- e: O; l; [" Mschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
; d3 }( x, a+ f+ v1 ftime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
* G% Z6 L) ~) W s) |4 [* p+ {& Troom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
3 q+ [5 n3 E% V* H2 Z, l' NChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
9 k! |% v: s9 [2 X o* E( g" ]/ a6 H; ncollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ d. M8 U! N" k2 X H- a5 J
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified6 Y9 x9 Y# T3 f. q6 P
because of that missing certification," he said.; p% t) k0 F$ V; z( |5 }8 X
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
# J( ?9 p- l6 |8 g# D6 V; psaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
# Z8 o8 E7 M9 G4 b; r; C% ~Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
8 W3 Y% K1 \8 S) G$ fChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: [8 ]& O. U$ ^, Z
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/ [' B$ }5 C$ y" R
own."- D: K0 f3 E; S5 Y
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