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October 15, 2005* ]1 ~$ e) Z7 {% o- N$ ?5 H$ _4 e
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity1 D- }4 j# W+ B4 i( c
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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$ i$ ]7 w' w; Q7 j9 JCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the0 A0 |1 @- @6 B$ _- k
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary) V. U3 u/ E' C6 O4 O
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
; s- |! N7 g$ h0 h' e8 Ddangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
7 k# [2 @# I! h4 ?; [& c! `flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one& R3 E# m' [1 g" m+ G
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders/ ~, W3 V, U) ?. s; N
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker' H% F" ?5 P1 S: ^- f3 m7 d4 U3 A
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students" e \1 w' w) W: Z0 `: c
are already choosing it over Spanish.; h7 s4 H5 J5 b3 G* K
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal- r [8 o% D/ k0 s9 _' v7 f
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
$ U) h& O# I5 h# K- Foffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."# y' F) z W5 s5 O7 }" c- p
" ^8 }! P+ ^" I; p( N! gWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
: B8 {$ T' b/ ]. l0 ?; M2 I& qschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
- I# x2 J- f" W- Kto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention' i/ [+ `: e) V( E# a
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to1 ~/ v' I& R8 X9 g+ J
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students; s" N) X) N0 x2 j" \& u6 Z3 T
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. H" ?( p! J& P) J
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of/ Q" i) B7 }* H& y+ E$ b* P
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on2 L& s$ A n% Y/ g \" ?
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to9 a" D" n2 h# E( v$ W
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
- X. a0 p i4 W' |5 [7 fChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
# z+ W! I7 E' X' ~& Y# tstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! {+ |9 Q" U; b7 T' Q0 C
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
5 X. `5 @& m" [/ Kcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director; \- G7 s* B y* A
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
. T7 k8 P4 J. Z+ M+ a, \speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education$ K# M3 w6 S( L$ `3 |
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
! Z7 @2 w; E4 T7 V$ j" q* }/ S- xcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from H& M* M: S( R @: @2 w9 o
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 103 |- }* I+ [) |) I4 u1 c
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
9 w* s% v* k$ M3 _2 RInstitute in Washington.% s5 Y6 U& t/ X2 I7 i6 b# ^
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages; Z- s8 b# P% }+ s$ ~
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.; \: G/ H+ q: p4 Y: V4 Q
McGinnis said.1 W7 h2 m0 B5 ?
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical9 L6 K7 d/ P& p, e% a, z3 I" C$ F. w
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
* H/ y/ R4 y* {. n) I3 ?0 Wready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a$ Q( {% w; v' ]- f& k# L
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and' G& y; c0 Y. K; q L/ v
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in1 c' O0 z% r) k" v- S( o L$ ^
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of1 j& r) Z$ q$ k+ D0 b9 d
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
* y% z. J- u; [1 G: qon weekends." p& t) [: V- _) s) h. c- j
' Y0 z: u9 {' B# `5 y# G7 hThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public& r( Z; s# D+ _, M' S
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
- h' @' i7 H8 C N% Nstudents who are not of Chinese descent.: r8 ?8 s! K/ P' }$ R; K: s
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said$ r/ k: c n- n$ h
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
$ h, \( W4 a' H0 ?competition. + Z6 b! Q" X1 u" m1 o
0 J0 B! o R5 J; Y5 t) U+ g0 O9 ["I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
9 p; C. q9 _1 Q7 S+ G% L8 osaid. "There will be Chinese and English."* ~4 h7 F1 D2 ]7 O' @$ J
3 G7 P: X% E+ M' O( l; r1 WFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
# o+ v/ h, `; e' o# F x, \all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
7 q6 X4 C- ^ b& p* O+ I) @schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from: f, H! Y/ N' Y$ K* h# f! y+ ]% q2 M
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
- H- H3 p0 [2 }4 X Y: p5 R8 uwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
4 k; C3 O, I' O# Z% }, ?9 V; ]the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this/ o; [( Z! m6 `% B! z
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.. \, N: }' E6 k3 }, c
) k0 k" p( n( o# G! a* o6 Q"They have a great international experience right in their own) {6 H+ d- V" f0 d8 _5 U" \% }
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago8 B* u8 x. Z: d$ h n9 [$ B
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
8 N" N/ C& L" x7 B4 jhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet" C) i& e, k. S* p: b
on an equal playing field."/ |- p E: Y# ^' d _; j
( ~/ L! o4 v8 T3 i! \2 _% E* e1 ?Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
0 d j" f5 x' J: b6 F: k' uclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
U0 J* f( C1 F7 s+ m+ N% h ]2 lService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks, X; ~' p, z2 K# V
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
. S/ i' p# u. U# raverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
$ `% m+ U+ I: T/ x" sChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the2 z4 {8 s" i3 x$ v/ }, @% O' h
institute says.6 ^4 N$ h# b) W7 q6 J/ G
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
. Y5 m4 e5 c6 \' p% t# ^ Q6 Wgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
! {* V) N1 _6 S" G# Ldeciding whether to take the class.* R* m, q7 N b, [$ v" `5 ^
% k* K i( ^1 ?9 k9 k! F6 f* K"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she* c9 S. A; w; ]. ]: j- ^7 ~
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
* W# `( _6 m/ V4 Rstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
5 l! f. O, W" f F. Ooccasional frustration.
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! R" G* i/ ^9 H"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
$ B. u6 T% i' e( q4 M1 Q: Jrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
6 m1 w1 Z L3 W4 |+ {4 \( Vtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
- e3 M; U0 ^! L# aChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul L" [0 f+ Z2 I% |9 D+ ~
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn4 \! B& d. p. X- F! j7 d& }
as many languages as I can.": F: I" U. y9 n+ h9 N
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
" H* N" x9 ~( i: oskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
t2 m9 z e- vmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like# _7 c# K- F4 V6 A
that," Ms. Freire said.* z1 l* \. I1 h0 T
+ b6 g. ^; K& o3 r/ [Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
- g' p9 k G: @: D" ~# chere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each5 o7 O$ U c# y, s2 Z
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking" F) p# l! Z3 m+ f" e! Y* ~- ]
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
4 j' s2 M* N. u0 X5 ^Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American/ f( y$ ^- T$ ]/ E* G
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said. Q1 A/ B) {) ^9 b
" R0 G) F& N3 C" m"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified& S2 A5 l" ~) S, [. X8 d' Q9 i
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,; y; @( [1 j M8 m
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia# v+ S- d( H! j! n
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the8 \0 m" c- e4 W3 a
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from" [3 h" N: D( G2 A' _& D
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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