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October 15, 2005, V8 N/ T! g& g* H# c& I- {
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity+ _3 O3 r p' ~/ J
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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8 g6 i4 a2 G* m2 G% \CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ y4 G, U+ C% L/ o. ^, `9 x
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
7 z7 D( _0 i" ?" _5 mSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ V! W9 Z- i: M- H
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese# B3 T* B6 f# o, v
flag hang from the wall.9 ]' A- _4 }; L: g+ O7 U+ ?1 d
3 k; {: [# w+ K- O! BOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
* b( F- N9 F9 l1 X; c) ^$ Fanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders0 R/ ~; a+ a. k; Z- w! z
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker- _9 S# d; m$ g& G1 `! H# j. }) i
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students/ [# ?# V+ q! f$ n+ H% q, \* y
are already choosing it over Spanish.* V( | H7 F# p0 j2 D
2 F- N3 r+ r* p$ J"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
/ d, [; a) b9 Dat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
$ j, h/ G- v$ Qoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments, R. D% c) W* {+ A% \
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
/ e- d: l% t9 V9 r, a/ @" H1 dto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
* F4 `* R6 A3 d7 ~ o% A. _, lone of its most difficult to learn.& \3 Q4 y7 g# y8 N* ?- F
9 D0 @, ^; A( ~- P8 W9 Q x$ eLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
F* [6 c) {" U1 e6 S1 A: {public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students& t. i+ |, }) b8 N+ @$ c6 w8 U
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
4 `, ?1 m! s: DLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of, [ F Y$ i m; c, k" J
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
2 L8 c4 u, u. LChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
8 y6 \# u4 i" I4 mimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.' M5 I, M c, [5 }, m7 T) P' T
- ~( b1 j# X3 g3 N2 G3 K' uAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement+ s) K1 L5 W" f! o% G
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
% B1 e; g) s6 B: r; t2 j- y: d! {" mstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to' z' k4 J# b$ ~+ D9 E' t9 i7 o; ~" ?9 f+ x
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing: Y) ]+ Q0 m2 c6 N$ |7 \
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
5 F/ S2 K n0 S% Iof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.* t2 _5 W' \" k6 [) {0 R- a5 C% `) @
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of( g# T* t+ N9 K1 R) d; S& V% g
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education( ]' V& f, f' h( a$ |* S" S# F
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
% A. a0 G' t B. e: f% Ocan." 8 _' W- R7 @; i( S, q
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
$ }, u! v! w, d3 x4 p3 Nelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
- r; a9 C$ x- }; @ P+ Lyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
* G# V6 ~/ A# F5 ]- f: D4 lInstitute in Washington.0 d8 B W% E% e8 a% n
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
) Z/ L8 m6 Y0 w0 J9 A& v, ~2 ]aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
( D4 |) O" U% U" m$ T4 V2 H5 j( x; ^9 r/ lMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical' ]0 u4 {" ]- \; z2 i" j
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be8 `! t, d Z o N
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a* ~3 m( E. S$ V+ n6 D2 L/ e c) X
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do.": e) C/ E, t1 z1 s2 K1 U- |4 v
7 X/ w" \; }1 I2 |8 L( _4 h/ ^Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and3 Q0 B5 {* |; f( @
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in9 `9 z% J' f) X& P' u% K' o: N" x
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of& J3 T4 \! q6 i O' w; R, m: ?
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
7 a: A2 G# z- ?! N0 {& Qon weekends.* L6 N. k9 V4 h; v C
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
( f: L6 l# N9 O1 k) s, K |8 o8 fschools during the regular school day and primarily serves3 O9 v" D9 t! r# x7 G. O9 B. P! a
students who are not of Chinese descent.% }3 w8 T5 L* c" X
5 U! Y" x" ~- F( h. q: M0 f. OMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said4 n8 a- a6 b8 j( n
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
& S+ ^$ J0 [# }2 P3 } ncompetition. 6 v+ E5 r2 B0 v- t1 h
6 P0 h+ y0 B2 P9 w1 j7 [) }% X"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley& l! U4 G: W/ R# Y
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly3 m* \) |2 Y* Z4 d2 E* S
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse& B( T, E9 c% M
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
% b! d# S; s! a' r% t2 I8 r* _+ Pkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
, K( m* ^9 |& ~who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to) Q0 K# t: y3 a
the school system last year.# F. f1 v2 M$ ~5 D! H
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
* t7 e4 {+ @; Q ` eyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year." h, W5 v- P0 D6 N
* z9 \0 z- O8 E% |" n: v"They have a great international experience right in their own
9 _4 D* h6 e5 y, A, F! j' G3 v* \classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
|; O0 n% e+ r+ ?. _! a, E5 RChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to; @- t4 b- M; h! Y) v/ G. K5 G
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
M( C+ k5 N7 c) q; `on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
; m& e+ m1 R2 {$ e" T6 f& p3 Gclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
2 Q3 x3 K% f7 \3 v, EService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks% R( E c) p# _3 J
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An0 u) b* | u/ P% t" j/ g
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in- c Z. |" @+ y3 g$ d; C( u7 t8 F A
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
6 Y8 z) j- f6 }institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth! {5 O+ l5 ]; G3 t% `0 q
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before. h/ c( }5 o' {! y
deciding whether to take the class.) {' D6 P" N5 [! d; D: ~
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
8 [$ h' B: U! M! u# [told her daughter.8 {; B) }* R' I0 O4 A% M( l
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
% a% p* b6 v6 S* E$ J" o5 `& Q1 mclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are) D+ F' T+ M( l0 ~0 l# d& @& Y# ?6 [
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
# [) \* f0 l! P1 b0 @5 Noccasional frustration.( v: c! u) [$ P% G; H$ G
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a' n3 {% z7 s0 g+ C) n* m
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.# C( {, _8 |, Q9 g
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he$ ~/ C+ H1 e" K! J W6 D
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
' u; v3 @9 z2 qChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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5 l, W8 Q1 `$ {. l5 c% E: r"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul+ K% W: Z# A$ L9 q& _7 n2 G
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn2 Y: c5 U% a" I- U5 n
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
$ P M2 i5 L" n& tskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
7 n) n$ I# J: c! g* j' wmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
5 u1 v) X/ p3 u1 }1 W; g/ ^( ethat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
( c7 ~: x8 }4 l! `here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each# |+ B' l1 ^/ i& I6 D* j; d; |2 z. v
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking; K/ q/ S& o% ^( [" C
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
2 b! a6 M+ ^4 q" m' P5 Vroom.
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2 n: s4 a1 e' W6 u1 [7 MChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer# b W4 l5 N, b- ?8 j
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
7 \1 e' q% A/ {9 C: n. ecollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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; b2 Y+ }0 J+ Z- L"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
6 A# q8 V, g2 |6 m2 r% Lbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,1 `' ?! m: a' y
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
3 n; z8 s: m. \8 J/ ySociety in New York.$ {- m+ J1 l0 X3 W: h% |- j4 x
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the" h( k4 w( m) I4 c7 i0 K7 R- j
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
`$ ~7 |7 }+ B4 g/ o& y* @the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.9 ^; J* K. e. D( l' q/ N5 _( Z
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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