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October 15, 20056 {/ @* N2 I z0 `; t
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING( {6 y' k& Z5 h9 _! \4 J
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the- E6 @: w1 d0 j
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary" D+ c0 p+ b% @- q/ J
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas: u" h0 g3 y6 P2 ?% U7 x
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
?- ^$ j' x( }6 `2 p7 zflag hang from the wall.- [9 S S- N9 C( R
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
) F% t' t! Z3 J* ]3 `another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders' d( Y; v5 V4 C! u. ~
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
$ b' V% g% m/ y0 K% ^) c L8 y) zboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students" M# E/ U8 c: H" f1 t" W+ M8 L
are already choosing it over Spanish.' c$ v% E* I7 R( |
/ P5 Z, D! W$ t- f8 ]7 H: \, L- h"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
/ \5 z; r' C3 z* R+ Tat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city7 g2 {% g" Q- ?8 h& a1 t; r
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."* Q# Q0 n, s/ [# \; r. k
, Q4 g# Z1 x# }' F3 H. qWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,+ z0 k, X" l* ^8 @& ?% f; }# t5 H
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings; Z) r& U, q% N' c K0 t
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
0 F7 H1 r3 D1 R* A; q3 Jone of its most difficult to learn.! B' Z+ e" B9 b: G+ h! p
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
9 U5 v! {3 N# Y# M$ R5 N9 P" spublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
7 Q) ~6 K# O6 {8 ^6 |6 U Sstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
# f. T0 [5 y1 C2 T6 S! ~Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of* L8 ]; \9 H+ l: `& J- h
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
. }2 Z3 l9 |1 f# pChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to$ H0 Z! Q( |4 T: n
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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7 _" h/ q3 A/ c7 e2 {After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
( T' L& k% L: {Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
8 c' l# K$ S7 J" cstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to* `0 u& @; u% {" D( G3 B1 @
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing% K, I! J# |* V: c+ i
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director9 G; j) |; I9 U8 @7 [
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.8 ^% e5 _% y) \- X
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
0 q: B+ _" c/ E" P, c& J5 qspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education2 z& ?) e* p. j0 a+ t* U) U$ N3 a8 t
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
! B8 f2 c; r" o ucan."
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' m3 [/ z: P. b6 |( _: [3 s# aThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
. Z0 ?: S$ w& V3 z. Q+ Helementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 106 _7 F u5 K( I) }- B
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language. t& Z: E" y' x* j7 _/ ^/ A
Institute in Washington.
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; i/ N: j$ t6 \"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
6 o" T8 k9 B0 `( A5 f/ ?aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.' E0 H2 b @% b# A' c5 F4 k
McGinnis said.
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2 r8 R0 z k8 v- |"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
% Z- w* K! Z& j2 R% y& h1 ]$ hlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
) X+ g F! }) Q" b6 X, w, gready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a' f+ `! n6 P2 c5 \( c
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."! n. l2 B+ L x* M P
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
& d6 l, C6 E) o+ Q5 V( O7 O5 isecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in' b7 G) L) M6 ^1 U6 @' K
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
" q* ]! v8 A) Y+ j8 YChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or* G3 S1 v9 q' c0 F# k6 y
on weekends.2 B* [" {+ a$ ]( W3 O! i( D
' R2 p3 `+ z6 MThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public0 L- g, f. ^& G
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves. ~ O1 X/ t5 ~* {
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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* Q9 w r+ m9 s" fMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
$ z5 \* l9 o! a1 i' ^8 z* [0 b3 {proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the4 o4 {# f4 P) p' ^( v8 e6 p
competition. % \& ?' `" W9 r1 o7 g
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley# o2 T, }7 M! E! H
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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) u4 i0 e3 u& [9 A. e6 {0 I8 l* ^From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly4 r% V5 a! b6 L, J6 H% J3 n
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
. l) S5 C5 \" E9 {( b) X9 gschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
- X9 ?6 d4 l# Q% v: i' \kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students0 r+ r. S( T8 t+ }- A0 [
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to' ` H/ q4 s+ A$ X4 y6 c' a
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
c8 i1 T( z: O$ ]$ D; E, Iyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.% g5 u# z% W' `) m. j: x
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"They have a great international experience right in their own' L p0 Z* J) c0 x6 Q! T" y
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
0 x+ g8 { p% p( _- sChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to) g; x8 \/ k9 g5 u
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet+ h2 |6 a/ D9 t& D3 c
on an equal playing field."
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3 r, K1 s! d0 k! N3 d. VSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese6 f) i' G2 ?5 A1 j0 }
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
- `9 S8 c* d1 n8 i3 H2 |+ z IService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
7 x% t3 I A5 Q2 m/ I' J# xChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
: v- \( A/ R( ?8 g0 Naverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
$ g% L( ]! J( lChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the. f) Y) O9 I0 h6 Y) L, P& Z
institute says." ^# Q# d; Z- S) }
- G2 o1 q$ T S/ \% Q* q5 k: ZSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth; v2 F# B" a L+ J& d' s& }
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
# J) W; ^9 C2 c4 M9 A* Q2 udeciding whether to take the class.! _3 _$ R6 P* v9 `7 q$ \) X
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
9 E7 @* g7 }* L" Vtold her daughter.# K3 l( Z1 N" C4 i( e L8 b6 Q) z* n
/ @, X: s. L7 k1 e" ]Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
) u! V1 @1 G! t2 M/ R- {0 s* r* rclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
' K; H8 h; X" w4 z9 v, }1 dstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without1 l4 d* Y9 z- B% J- v+ X) |9 V/ x5 X
occasional frustration.9 q# K% K. a; \, B/ {3 o$ U+ z
/ H; O. k; p' c y"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 u2 e3 e7 y0 _0 i
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.. \3 L' f0 @% f: _
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
( y+ j- o$ x8 B) |' T0 y5 Xtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with" N: U3 [( X6 y5 C
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works. J2 D# m; z% Q! }
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul/ B8 U6 V! j5 ^/ t% g/ x
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
* l. E& m6 k/ k. S6 _1 c- y+ o- T* das many languages as I can."7 u/ h& C9 g3 @) |: ~
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the% v! r/ m$ r& R# j0 q$ u0 H
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
/ ]8 Z6 l8 `" N e+ ~market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like. _8 i: P; O0 `- v: ?4 V: H# f
that," Ms. Freire said.! o8 j' E2 a( K' F: P( D& y4 Y/ d
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program% f' l& y1 l, ]' a5 m$ v$ h- m
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each4 S) J% t, f! W3 U4 O* m
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
' E. s2 Y5 X' x. ^time from classes like physical education, music and art to make' @8 K$ D% ^8 z3 L5 c
room.) v: o7 `4 t# v }) w: S
) I: U& x. f/ x' {% _% r3 KChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer8 {. ^. w' l0 h. L
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American2 u* Y5 h& v8 s' L9 ^0 }
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
2 b8 R1 g8 c8 ~, \, v" u0 Cbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,, g8 a( C! `$ X8 R* z
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia- a7 Y6 @5 y: ~9 e2 \4 B
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
% V2 h5 G6 W! X& H+ _5 LChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
, b4 F' }$ n& ], |& Mthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said. T" p$ J2 |& t( K
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our J+ ~/ B6 W5 L. [
own."5 U# O0 H, I2 U
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