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October 15, 2005# P; {9 m/ ~8 S3 d3 L, C! I, K; O( Q
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity1 ?0 a* S# I7 d/ M- o" y
. _4 G/ L$ N* h7 ^) s
By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
1 ?1 I6 s' m( } R2 ^/ J8 r3 D& G a% u$ E
CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
- n( j0 H" G; i6 a! {6 iUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary- a1 X3 U! B0 n
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas% A4 `/ |8 g f, R' f0 S1 t
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
. ]) m7 m$ N# Q; n, u% Zflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
9 q0 n( I2 F3 K, |8 panother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders/ V! ], K9 w: W4 I b) p
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
8 H2 B: m' D/ ~7 M/ s8 G- \& {0 Y) C% Tboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students" O: Y- G5 G4 A$ Y( L0 @. Z4 H
are already choosing it over Spanish., x# g, b1 G" h
( q$ ~5 P2 u' c2 M" e: n0 s4 K"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
/ y# q# f0 ~$ j2 }at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city5 c1 s7 A, R2 D4 r% y9 U4 l6 I
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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' l. I. B7 M) f" `With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
3 q- O$ d5 {" }5 [schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
5 G6 ^8 H) p9 U$ N6 E3 Fto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention4 l3 Q* q, m: }: `9 g, m' p5 q6 i
one of its most difficult to learn.3 x, Z! q) U0 T
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
3 F/ @+ R# y1 g/ K0 Y# Npublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students- L1 w% y0 ?; n; s8 t: f
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
4 @* ^- ^/ }1 H" r) ~) G( l' KLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
. u8 N( s/ k* A% }Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
+ {3 R1 ^! e2 T( rChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to7 w0 o. t$ S. Z: m$ Y
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.2 C# k5 ?5 _! Z, U0 }- Z
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
$ x8 B2 Z% Z3 t; uChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
, L8 S3 H' `% m) y2 a* h, a/ ^starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
& y' w0 ~0 i' `1 _' Ydevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing9 A1 O+ E6 K8 H4 r& A# \, N2 H' M
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
- a6 i! B; c5 c2 \0 K/ gof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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2 I# E% y/ w/ O"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
! e) f1 G6 V' p, u9 a7 Bspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education+ b7 O$ q: y1 k
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we' T7 U# B# T; v0 t( m/ V4 E
can." 0 J- _5 \# a$ ` l
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from1 X! [$ R3 Y- w( v8 _. f0 E1 f
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10% R6 _3 Q! d X; X& S, o h
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
/ Y. s- \! u! Z4 t- Y# m F _Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
4 B( M- @1 X' F: e( Garen't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.8 v/ |! s* h/ t0 @
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical4 R* y0 ]$ W+ ?$ A3 t" u! A5 I! @
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
: t$ u% O1 s) i5 K+ ~3 B' ^4 }4 wready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
5 |& Q" z% r& m, D L3 m( t! bchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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1 l4 J/ g9 e5 D. A/ HUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
' a- n0 h2 e0 E# ]1 y. O2 {1 g% Wsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in& c) d7 B8 \3 Q3 n
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
2 e( i. i P, y6 s4 ]1 c$ vChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or6 R0 X9 w$ `/ s+ v: {" s
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
5 g, O2 @$ v9 Wschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
9 @5 I0 r, C; O# D& k; L: B8 w6 v$ vstudents who are not of Chinese descent.9 s3 p5 \" ]& M$ ?2 x. z# p1 Q. B
; x6 i9 a; t+ R/ x" V: mMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said. C5 X# T) j: F8 y
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
7 A" d- h0 J* @6 z+ Wcompetition. ) [ O# J- |& p! `! ]3 Q3 |
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
9 H; S7 u, t7 x$ s v- h9 ~7 Q1 l( Qsaid. "There will be Chinese and English." N; S/ S" {8 E2 }+ }
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly# }' r, b) d, J' I. k y3 V5 }& N
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
/ P+ H+ R' J. ^) K* U o# Yschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
+ ]. M, N: M% d5 O1 |kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
2 `: @1 \( l7 @* h" ^who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
2 x2 O: D5 S& r' sthe school system last year.; ?5 ]; q9 x" K
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this5 u9 F- \% f; ?
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.. o/ V$ d. i" [! x2 m
3 U% R6 v4 Q* A; d# ["They have a great international experience right in their own
, o+ U* Z1 b1 p. R. e4 Y4 n |classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
- x6 Q- u4 @' S o# K" PChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to2 P& ]8 S& @- l m" H+ \& F$ L% N+ H. p
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet, R6 ~; L3 L3 G: p1 _1 C# G
on an equal playing field."* R& }* S( x! r! P. [
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese9 d4 r0 A" @" a# B6 T0 J" W
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
+ ?' L7 m& M3 T* ?0 {Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks2 g, I% r& k+ L$ X
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An1 ]* E- {2 D, Y0 K- I" z: {8 Y
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
" D7 _ |# @- d; D+ @- T" RChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
! l9 f, \0 U$ [. o8 w: W% q9 B& |5 ninstitute says." u9 X) @ |! o2 K' M' F& E
* p# m6 @6 Z: w% y% P. h6 kSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth8 I" ?) x* m" r) G0 T9 V
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
) t( V7 G& }! y. u2 T6 Y& Rdeciding whether to take the class.+ b. \: ?8 x9 n# Y7 l4 a. N4 q/ _1 J5 O
6 | X$ r4 t0 t/ z"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she" G" ?! M6 y, ^. P# ^
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite8 f' X8 N1 ^/ G# M! ]
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are/ K2 d1 z" ?& ~& D: p+ q4 u
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
q7 |- K* F( @' Voccasional frustration.
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8 h, D) u* S+ l2 k- g; N* X2 ?"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a" z% u+ i( a7 |; s- b* B5 ~- g
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
8 c4 V& I. Q1 D% \/ L5 L* f+ etaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
& I* f- {; _* W( |$ r/ mChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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. A0 B7 h1 e. G3 p3 V"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul: G$ N( t; Y( k
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
, V/ N1 B! U. e$ Uas many languages as I can."
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* J; J9 w* d( s8 A9 r, XAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the" @* _# }6 ?9 h/ d W4 Z2 E- h
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
+ b! l0 a9 s3 U* J/ amarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
( K6 M* t- Q1 n& Bthat," Ms. Freire said.
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4 D9 G3 [3 W: l# u2 d- K& c: c# R! ^Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program( R, ]- w* g" ]
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each# m' I( N# _9 f
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking5 \ O. Z% P% V$ c" A/ c
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
* E; X/ Z. q0 T |& k. i, aroom.7 X2 W2 |; m% ~1 p7 W
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
( b3 j- Y$ f6 i' AChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
! g, F( E* K1 z$ _college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.6 ]. g, D8 w3 f0 U$ M* B) h
+ g# ~1 }" `% p$ i* q7 }- F$ z"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified* t* U1 p& q1 ]' o {
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
7 r9 P2 @ a2 ?1 csaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
. Z- h$ S% _+ P. f pSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
# Y4 H9 i1 S8 t+ E3 RChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from) O$ i6 N4 `8 J* W3 E4 x
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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( k G7 |* r& v6 I"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our! Q5 g: ~4 _+ C
own."
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