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October 15, 20053 k2 P D$ v9 z% t
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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, |3 l+ n% Q. j6 n: [) T3 S# c) BBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING0 I$ P5 B: W/ G. A( D, i1 Q) i2 i
: t {! [# X( G O3 F9 y% |' d( MCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the/ B8 g# H$ V( ]; O& o5 s
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary0 i5 E7 [3 {* X" \/ H
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas4 K2 D- e- ?# G% S( H3 H1 O
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese& G& m3 a4 d3 X) S& c! p" z
flag hang from the wall.9 C7 L. ?, ?0 P( w
2 ]3 p+ M3 S E) E6 x- h0 q& kOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
1 Q6 a) B- V( h( X( danother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
P) P8 V8 ]; a4 M# u: upracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker5 D) x5 g* `. K7 h
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
8 _1 i" Z' E' }& N7 j+ |are already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal' ~) U9 ?: h" I0 g9 p4 P; @
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
# T' B1 H9 @5 n' U: w9 Coffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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$ s' i6 D4 ?, ` B6 wWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
' q- _. z) j- u% X+ f: I. Jschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings1 F( A% b" I# _; R8 ]. I
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention8 S! x# ]# s1 V* B% l; M8 ~* o! G. O
one of its most difficult to learn.
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$ c! h* h h% ]) PLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to- H; K# B. M0 A6 i! }
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
' w# |3 {: V/ D7 lstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
' d" a3 J* s: h. x" [# J2 _9 c% `' }Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
. z: k$ \* R: V- pTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
1 g4 x, t. m$ }Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
; w; S- M# M7 ~7 Jimprove 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" U; ]0 P( q2 Z7 v1 r2 {- X, Z
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
" E; |: G" b, m9 }starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
$ m) j% a' ?. c, a `develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
. p! _: e4 w+ j/ k; R( Ecurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
* V! ~, h- L; O0 [5 Lof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
Y1 ^( D+ l8 ]( x. e: l* Gspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education9 a; a/ D3 ~* ]9 F! L$ f' }
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
* q! l; G* p+ n2 Rcan."
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E2 n" o6 ^% n4 h4 V$ ^, N5 t! sThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
' ?6 r4 ^! }2 y; t0 V0 O! p: qelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 105 B) i% r& O1 J
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language3 P& ~! k4 s$ r$ ~
Institute in Washington.
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- y+ m) J0 k3 L2 y1 P"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages+ C; O! k- U( O
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.! h3 P: S# U9 J! @5 Q
McGinnis said.
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$ G6 J$ |$ |9 {3 C- |"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
+ ^- s5 K7 ~* ]longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be0 e& C( {; [ T+ p* L; o
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a" p# `* U( s0 R( m) u2 x
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
( e- g G7 d* wsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in. F7 Z& N- l ~: N, i7 K; @! E
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of! h: P# h# R% G! i, A/ P, `& `) a
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
/ _, {; K4 I" ton weekends.1 e: X$ B/ k9 r) C L' L
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public! v+ S D& ]9 o) V( p' ]6 \
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves0 Q: ~1 ^; u8 S
students who are not of Chinese descent.. D; U/ z: \1 d, o# e0 p
2 w' F$ B$ C; EMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
& M) X' i; `$ e% C5 }/ _) U$ {) Nproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the' t- S. J. e5 y) V) t8 g# [' j6 q
competition. 8 S5 F+ W. A) ` f% ~
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
6 n# M2 t8 E. z# s. c6 Fsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
. `* Q# T8 e# Q) g9 K4 call-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse \" O1 m5 |7 t; M# y0 ]
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
" I* l2 o* `; s( D' W' }kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
* W+ G9 v/ Z+ g( I( T: swho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
. k; E7 g' k6 O- E3 Qthe school system last year.+ Y" U& o' T! k5 Y- N
0 }+ o2 o& y1 L. A7 GThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
+ c( r% u8 w$ i6 wyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.% Q5 K: C) I- R7 }0 p
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
! s0 _) h5 e* [2 rclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
2 B% f9 l0 J4 a5 P4 h3 ~Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to) J" w& v, [. k
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
% X* D" W) t7 J2 g9 [on an equal playing field."
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/ U; V s: o+ N+ [Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese8 t' e' Z& \, T" G1 x/ H2 |
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign1 }1 B+ T" v' w) n6 {7 h+ P! L/ i$ s
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
0 ~" _0 r$ W& q6 OChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An5 {" a7 |) s: P+ _- o/ s( u
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
7 u6 o8 {) A& `5 i- MChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the" d) ~+ ^1 E) J" y# N' [" m5 P* K8 A
institute says.7 [1 b6 J1 J, m- v# O) f2 I1 G, _$ b
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth3 l7 D# l5 r, |( X
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before4 t! t1 v3 y0 T% w3 E
deciding whether to take the class.+ a) Z( {8 _, {$ M
1 z" a- j( @* G5 }" _, N5 o/ O. M4 [% M& |"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
0 ]7 [0 E: y) \told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 U9 p5 G4 a( n. R$ T- |( P- lclass.
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, [1 N# T! J. s( X" @- j. s6 AAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are: e& E) A9 ]5 W; E. o
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without- V x2 ?* X( b r. I' \0 v/ A" g
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
+ c# \ c; R1 o3 Irecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.% Q$ }4 S: i" G9 } v0 R% }
# T; J9 T2 A4 a, P' x% uRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he- k) J* }0 |, U) U8 z
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with& ~' ~7 ~8 u9 i& P8 r" f7 G5 A7 S
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.1 ?" c" G5 u% c- \
4 \# l! U b+ |' h2 `" _) {"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
2 L* C1 K& X& G: `4 u0 u! _" xsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
$ D, ~* t! `/ w8 N0 k2 yas many languages as I can."+ z; \6 s+ Z9 E! W+ f- s
4 y1 L: a7 C) D4 b* {2 WAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the" z8 f6 G# m* T- L" ]
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job; H& n- r5 b' o$ X$ ?# o
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like' ?; h9 M- |# R! j: C8 H3 ]$ t
that," Ms. Freire said.3 H. m# v; T6 D! M$ N
. E% l8 P3 X1 ]' g0 i3 LMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
" o. p+ g9 q+ {& p% e! ]# Bhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
+ @2 O* V$ W8 [& \school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
. p3 W, }4 R1 m$ \1 qtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
' i: \0 H x( F9 H( P0 groom.
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" I% H& x' O) w$ k0 @' k# O- q& C$ ]& RChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
j5 E3 b! a) x5 P" W- oChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
" w+ a; q1 l7 Z/ W0 w. mcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.9 T: q- Y% p: R+ M
3 P- @. @: w( g% R"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified: G/ z7 F/ g& D6 w8 K
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,& p$ F) z3 }" S2 v/ D' H
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
8 j6 W: G _# Y, ?# _7 R/ C7 xSociety in New York., U; {! h ]* y+ @
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
; c% X4 k6 c7 t- u0 l9 B; H! ^Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
3 R' q% i! t' m3 ?6 F* p# W9 ythe 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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