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October 15, 2005/ F+ v/ Z( Z$ Z
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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; [, E! e7 b% X! Y+ U6 Z; [. qBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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# t. X3 m0 i' p/ QCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the: d( K- ?5 G7 v5 }. f
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
% n8 v/ F7 J* y: E. m0 I; I. pSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
, r$ X( \ Z. q8 l+ hdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese. @5 s* W$ Y5 ^$ P
flag hang from the wall." l d& Y6 i7 g: h* |- ^
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one" v5 @: L9 `' }( d" t* J
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders9 V: Y/ T' w$ E% r9 Y/ ?
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker, `3 |" u! n4 n' `. H, l% X
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
7 C8 B' n) b! i9 s2 o- x( }are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal7 T3 ~9 b6 T u. g6 [. r4 F
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
! y- t) D# d$ t. v2 r1 }; `& Poffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,9 _9 a* Q' f. Q' B8 Z
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings- X H V3 v9 Y& x. J5 b
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
7 m3 o5 l6 L4 N) H9 \# k" Hone of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to& X: U0 e5 K- g0 N$ d) p
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
3 h3 A/ D1 _+ F; r( i- L( @studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
2 G: N- {; H+ i0 pLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of& C' c$ y) ?2 X9 ^
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on* S& w E o C( B
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
Z& L: J0 p# p2 P8 @improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.6 V! ]! k0 N$ T7 q
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement7 x, S- f! k1 \+ b
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
: I) c; ?% t5 d2 x' g( g# Estarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to1 p" M3 p* u [: |
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing. |: t; y8 d! ?5 _9 h
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director8 n p5 s7 u# L" Y& X
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.7 s K# a) j6 ]8 r' H5 }* X' [2 X
+ Z4 e, p+ b8 B5 Y0 w3 T: A6 c5 ?"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of: c+ Y$ N0 N3 c& a
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
4 ^& x) ]0 l5 |Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we. c4 f/ w0 T' y* |( [- @9 M
can." ! q& _) s* n( \/ l; m
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
/ e! }0 R; R. F# G6 ?elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
0 w9 q% _ W$ g$ [; [years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language5 M; z D c+ R/ u. G; |# q! N
Institute in Washington.7 S# s) i: o2 D. d# ^" @
6 N1 ^4 e$ d3 q+ ]"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages" R3 R# N! @1 ^+ [
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
+ v: U6 D6 n: L' R5 nMcGinnis said.
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( b: K. X' G5 ~: ]# v0 w3 ?"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical, \* a [6 L& ~
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be: V% l( m$ x7 w: o L5 Q
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
5 \& Y' |) C8 q4 n6 L% ]challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."& r* |, d* ^/ \& _# ]& U
, \8 Z: c: D/ L4 [! G% |3 gUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
8 [6 D* _9 U3 p. j& z6 ?secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in; Z9 p& X- o& z( i6 c0 f- T
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
! m$ b. V1 h9 j* B) W' PChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or' D) _6 J& v [ r' w w. s
on weekends., [% l4 W$ {: _5 U: \
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public8 O! k6 r8 F% h- N5 g
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves, N- v/ ?& {( p$ K
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
9 I# i+ z- p- Z- @proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the" A1 m- N4 q! B. t
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley! j. X+ H- _4 N, [1 P, Y5 ?) W' ^2 J
said. "There will be Chinese and English.", v: r1 U A( j. Q# n* l4 B, A) c0 ]
" S2 x& i+ f& b# ~6 ZFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
& S2 E: J$ C4 I2 A- b! |0 call-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
" o8 z$ f2 u# u2 Tschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
& ^, B( E: l& N" S+ l Nkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students* n6 p# D; E, J2 U- D/ J
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to( _% h9 k M6 c. i* q8 F# `- p( L0 R U
the school system last year., L9 q9 e* {; S' u2 L& d
+ I& t% c W$ N% ^. ~( G, UThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this2 Z+ l) F; C. \+ B' f4 h
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.- `. Q, _9 z `: _5 p3 c; v1 M
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
2 Y* J' `3 u- u+ R2 uclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
5 u/ [ w8 U+ VChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
' a. C9 L3 N6 A, Vhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
( g1 j9 j# b1 b+ q0 Zon an equal playing field."
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( ~. O6 O/ T5 uSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
5 W" m7 }# J( l, q: k4 Jclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign( S' C* p$ J; u6 x. i/ N
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
|4 Q/ y* P9 ^: T. P4 k. BChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
( Y* V$ B, v! r& F; N/ J: v( waverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in& D" }/ `+ y2 B) B& l
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the+ H7 W3 c: W7 ?& w4 G$ C# c
institute says.
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2 F7 s9 \. ]$ F0 M' gSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth" u8 J K/ h4 X4 q8 g# h; ?! v
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before5 m2 ]0 J# S8 `' T; E) e3 W$ k
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
2 z7 B" k: N1 L7 otold her daughter.) @* _' F8 [ ^' d
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
' i+ e! ?9 C) i+ m( c2 v( Qclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
5 P3 {9 O/ M: p0 ]: Tstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
+ P; O2 K# Q2 z% goccasional frustration.
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" X7 f! [) \0 ^/ h m: e7 _"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a1 M7 p9 ^* X4 n. X) Q
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
( C" H5 ]& y Y( ^3 Staught words to his mother so she could better communicate with1 C$ m0 z: Y" F4 I5 u5 O
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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8 H6 }' `, W. I+ @5 M, A1 X6 ^"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
' d+ \5 h/ L% P, f+ Xsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
+ \7 Q0 i* ^0 v( {as many languages as I can."& ^$ f7 [* C6 @+ W
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
4 M+ k1 _0 l u- p3 ]1 }5 S/ i" Qskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job+ I8 v# v7 B1 | B9 C# y3 \& A& V
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
! k; b ?5 |; C- k% k3 Fthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
. y0 K3 w! s6 H* B: l6 T6 r( I8 where offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each0 V; ~" s* J$ L1 l+ B, s
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking3 T& G) a7 G7 i7 {% h5 C; d
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
6 j3 U9 a2 T1 i3 |' H6 R5 P4 Q7 m5 groom.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer! `, D$ m. k8 s* W9 F
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
% G2 p! g- ?+ P1 ]; \2 w' }1 R; f' N. Ccollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.% X+ }8 O4 j% _' f% y' {1 v
& |' u/ x" ^# w2 U3 i" T0 x: B# m"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
, q, M5 ^9 K) V4 Q* O8 [7 obecause of that missing certification," he said. ?4 k1 g% R+ B* K# F
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
- v# N& x- D: T& k) J7 Vsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia* B7 k4 K4 l% b8 U( u& ~$ @
Society in New York.+ o1 B, } A v+ s
0 p2 P& {7 w# z7 R; s0 ASix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the# b0 J7 z6 F }! J8 }+ E" d
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from7 b7 U* B; ?$ N7 e
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 O: x5 p% P0 D, Z% w& W) m; C6 V3 |, d
own."( X% u' L. X @6 m$ z# N g
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