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October 15, 20057 {- t( ^, G2 {* ?5 P, r$ k
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity3 C/ _* @ P2 ?$ Z) |. B
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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( a( Y* I: r) O$ r1 h( a' l$ G# yCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the) }( E8 x0 V7 X; H7 X
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary2 C6 X( o) _6 @7 Q0 H4 T5 ?
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
, ~9 o+ w1 g1 C( ^0 qdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese% R) `& f$ n% u: q( V
flag hang from the wall.! Y$ l; b* ?$ x5 t1 b! w: e& `8 D
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
' @7 @" V! a- c+ n7 k/ t9 U- h7 tanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
: P" B, I4 j: ]- R: {3 w1 I8 ?practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
$ X3 Q1 r/ _# _8 ?: Eboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students* k: f: [$ A. |( {4 I" v" T
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
" [8 c$ T# V/ c% Z3 Dat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city Z3 B9 {1 U; m/ f) J7 R: y& e+ t
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."1 s" J$ m2 @9 N7 R' j8 J D+ Z( w
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,7 i: U+ o7 T$ {3 _0 x
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings9 J. m1 ], d3 e. X5 X
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
Z% g% X* j m1 None of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to; z, L( C6 f+ l! }3 _3 q2 q
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students" X0 Z$ j" a( Q) }3 m6 s$ a
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
- }2 M! f! u6 h% U# h6 ULieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of2 |1 }& ~- }. L
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on# B# l; C% ?. V+ \4 s* S& }+ [' g$ y
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to, A! \% g% k* l7 k2 c
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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% |+ \0 Z" q% N( PAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
9 _6 Z0 w: s1 ^0 pChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country+ [" y7 E( R* p) v
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
/ d9 ~- ^0 l3 l* A; ^/ Xdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing# p9 m# u9 f, }4 g: R- g
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
1 g% O r; q7 G2 t* m+ Kof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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" e6 p, ?% |% H7 l; |& i- O; k5 f"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of5 f/ D# S1 Z; p& f
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
5 U2 i X+ [+ ]4 Y2 oConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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$ T# Z0 |+ n$ s$ p9 [The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from9 m' D# j# }5 y2 }9 u3 Y2 b
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 103 l2 V8 r2 V6 E9 I9 S! T" v
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language3 E9 x/ b; a/ F$ N7 u
Institute in Washington.
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; t; Z8 X, p9 M. T"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
1 C8 G' c. t( h. p6 @9 @# Faren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
" ?" }* t% S! U; R' BMcGinnis said. P% O2 i4 N ]
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
$ s, _: W- y9 U$ c( V7 G8 Klongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 J G. F! f0 {* k2 o6 |3 uready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a9 J3 l" G: X% t- P) Z; ~
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."% _5 K( Y; n5 a# z
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and6 g( u8 v' K* N& f0 Q T" H
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
% ?' v) ~( ^% jcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of; P' ?( L6 |& h$ ~" o+ p
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or0 K0 D5 s u. m& \& g8 x8 z
on weekends.
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* D" L1 z% D2 p# B0 E9 CThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
) Z6 R3 |3 E0 _5 N* ^0 `schools during the regular school day and primarily serves$ P: S) E( A+ U; w# ~
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
( y% y* l; l' V7 s' W- M$ o0 wproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
% I' o0 }/ z B1 Y T4 T3 \- _competition. - g9 h# E7 a8 e
/ q8 T; N$ z a6 F1 h# N"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
2 x& ]8 q7 Y+ |# s% e( m! Tsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."6 a* Y3 U, i4 S2 W) `6 _! ]
4 H, T* q8 S" F* z2 }& fFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly$ a: Y/ }9 H/ D/ \7 p
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
& e' K- M# Y( f% s5 B, Q7 z! dschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
) L j1 z( P8 S# K, skindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students6 Z1 N4 v# y. j, b9 }2 Z0 y
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
, T# A6 Y# N; e% R0 `. ~the school system last year.! G; G/ B0 [8 a( |, E
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
R6 x+ J+ X% g3 H% P: _year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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( |) X$ M/ h' q k4 p"They have a great international experience right in their own
9 R( a: J A& _1 ^classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago2 {- C# u5 z; D% n8 O% X
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to' d! V6 O2 ?) f/ Q1 C& p
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
/ r L6 M$ t7 J7 m, b& Ton an equal playing field."; c1 D: B6 {5 [. w$ M
6 l6 Q* p$ j rSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese; i; _0 u w2 |" U4 T
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign( ~- A5 E- x" c; l
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
; Z8 Q6 A! s/ H$ I9 y+ F! pChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
2 D/ `: L e1 m8 g+ |0 X$ d! Daverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
7 M( S5 z+ v& A$ w; s6 XChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
X0 V" w' o$ Dinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth; g3 H) y) g. F- ]; f
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before/ \0 w! F9 x/ n* |, p
deciding whether to take the class.8 v( V3 `" ?( G0 p# ? a1 @& _
; M1 w( d8 B3 y% v4 H"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she* s# e7 e) F, W
told her daughter.
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4 c9 U- K$ V) p1 o( qSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite0 x4 d* L8 i% j4 F7 U2 O
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are8 T/ w9 Q; I+ h8 d( b+ x
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
) a; F5 r4 o1 x5 H! z! Q2 Xoccasional frustration.( Q7 p* L/ y; L* J! F6 i
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
8 [4 x: N$ v: T8 n$ `& Q1 nrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he0 P* w: \& q+ t* F. V) Y7 K0 F
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
1 [* S" g5 q+ d" RChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.% v" k+ S+ _' r7 O' h& Q* Y+ H( c
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
, m9 q" j" w2 D S5 T6 o4 d3 m/ I: [said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
& S" S' \* ?9 x) m- Uas many languages as I can.") N3 n' }4 Q; p" @* x
' Y8 C# Q) f3 fAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
. F9 Q0 P" w8 ~" m( A: x- q9 [; cskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job) R5 E7 [. v; D% K% _
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
( C5 ^2 p' e0 i& gthat," Ms. Freire said.+ p2 x( m4 I6 x4 B
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program, p1 v! F6 J9 i) J: r
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
" r) [, i8 W1 }4 M* Q" }) r( d. Cschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking4 ~+ E2 ]) ?* @ A9 B
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make$ n9 g, i& V5 F1 B6 r* h
room.
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/ g( H& \, u; v( r2 WChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer8 {. ?0 A1 R: r2 [+ \
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American2 C. P0 K! \0 P7 z% F
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.3 T O/ e; {( K; v% U
* X& t# B$ V9 D3 t- z4 v& `+ A& }"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified) \! p# I% u7 n a% I: s; l1 a
because of that missing certification," he said.2 ~2 Q$ f, [% \& x1 K- `
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
0 v2 m# A9 {6 N; Dsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
) q2 p' W% o3 D5 @8 G* ]Society in New York.# X* Z. v9 d6 A, m' C
- y' H/ E7 W/ NSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
9 t1 h F1 n' [- `5 wChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from6 v: K# O7 G i. F- x* ~
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
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