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October 15, 2005- k# `# n0 `' f Z% H: L
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity3 j; x1 Q/ M, ~
* x- s( Y3 q8 S7 F! E: k2 ^By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the( v4 `- H4 U1 B8 _0 n. {3 Y! |
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary, c4 g/ r- O& H
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
) w( S6 \- [9 s% O4 q- Mdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
$ Y1 {% }7 k0 W& M9 h$ q/ }3 `7 n# Nflag hang from the wall.5 U& d2 U# W" v' _8 B- H; W
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one7 u2 z" p6 W- k' @
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders) ?2 @4 N$ {; ?0 r
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker& E, K% a3 Z* f% ~, l m: ~/ Z* M
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students8 \3 h7 x, B& f9 Z9 K- W, Z& x
are already choosing it over Spanish.
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) m4 O) e! A) j9 V8 H0 _! j0 ^% i7 ~"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal5 H3 e5 O5 z' t8 e/ A; q
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city) D# f' S9 G7 e$ |: a
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
3 N% I, n- y( L; ^- Vschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings2 `3 k( ]' ]/ u- f# K6 g8 _$ b+ B
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention4 Q0 ?( s X8 @* U
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to) c" V0 N9 @9 d( I% T x
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
* @6 C% y5 ~& G1 E% j9 Y" i; u0 u, N3 Mstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
7 i4 U0 X: ]7 e, Z O) `4 lLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
: A G9 Q% x3 w/ H: t, RTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on" Q- a1 Q3 d* Y0 a; Z, A
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
" [, C7 |2 A: iimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.; Q+ {. n6 B3 S# Q+ b
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
% v0 l! [, s4 _% U% l% U/ `2 HChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country0 L1 s. J1 O! m! B
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to9 @3 X# Z& _8 `% M/ D
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing6 s* _7 G0 Y! G6 k
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director) W) z1 V6 K8 s: [6 \2 j- y0 L
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.0 b, U1 B. ]* [) @# P
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, A; Z+ {& R$ x& ? F$ _% ^
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
/ z! u% e2 O+ c% @( F. fConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
+ d3 k% J% v2 b! {2 M1 W ?can."
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; |6 Y3 j ?2 ~/ tThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
3 S: e) i. N, `/ ]elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10 g4 y( p6 x+ u2 S" H
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language6 F8 E9 g4 e. A
Institute in Washington.4 G4 K/ G8 w' t5 p
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
, H0 r+ r: ^, maren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.# |) a. Z3 W9 n, i
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical$ [% l* g: u& B0 l
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
8 ?7 a3 ~* w6 @1 W/ I: fready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a! b2 L1 Q1 Q8 u2 T" m
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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/ U2 ]* e6 U+ ^0 o- Q1 A, DUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
7 @; {# T/ f: w0 T1 Nsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in k+ v- c* E: S6 [
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
5 `* J3 K$ r6 a# C/ k2 ]Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
( _, X5 b" o* ^9 ^on weekends.- w# y! A1 `5 Q& _' e/ d$ L; |
B- g6 ], k2 g2 d9 TThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
% W# K$ A$ z2 i$ H& P* ?) oschools during the regular school day and primarily serves/ L( |( o, w6 _+ ?- I* u) C4 U
students who are not of Chinese descent.6 C" y- I, z* E: a1 r
" y5 E' Q8 b8 G4 WMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said n7 s4 A: y: [0 t3 V5 W( t
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
" N3 @2 ~( O# l$ I3 Gcompetition. % L$ D5 o, R5 p! ?* c E4 T
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley' j7 s6 q e/ L7 ~4 }
said. "There will be Chinese and English."- @& {1 e% Q7 {" q( H
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly- t: C% e2 {( x; q* u2 Q" B0 x
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse5 J2 C/ X9 \' O: s
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
) y4 \. n/ q* f" w' G; Tkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students' I" n. u! R( p% P& N
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
; H% ?# m4 r8 W: X8 ythe school system last year.
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0 \' [5 |: L+ W4 L$ ?The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
# w4 ?; L4 [% C) T5 ?9 c6 ^year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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* n! d! @1 q7 x' H9 v"They have a great international experience right in their own6 A, ^7 N) C7 \: N; g7 p
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
* j; l8 M) w6 O" S: j& x+ ?Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to% Y8 X' U8 O- m
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet9 f; ~) m$ H! R- \
on an equal playing field.", R5 P3 o% F# t
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
+ G9 R! t3 h& F# K7 w4 V* }$ mclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign9 c" q- h% L( u7 I! S
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
( L2 B7 m; t% V$ N- d% f" O8 i! LChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
/ Z2 [" O* e3 d- {3 Baverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in( q/ G' g1 G/ k* n, o* y
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
3 Y5 e3 ]' V$ j+ Z! u" k# y. jinstitute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth" ?% l4 n! ~, R3 |3 U& `/ m
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
8 M$ o$ j8 E3 A- Adeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she$ X( ]+ q5 i- g {
told her daughter./ r* ~$ G9 S8 Z$ S/ G& ^6 V
& }" q# o, g& L5 d- i' @9 m' BSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
3 F$ R t& @6 Y* d/ Gclass.8 ~. p! A" w! l# ]
0 `% V8 X, b! f. `: e- ~At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
9 h! _- [ ~2 _ D- ^( q" ]. G$ xstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
. S3 ^6 k9 R C+ joccasional frustration.
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; e# w; m( {$ x5 I3 ^"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
" _, e$ N2 j0 w$ ]3 R6 zrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.0 P" \7 _ Z: Y' _- J
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
0 t3 G; |; @8 P8 P7 Ztaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with S3 d& G5 o( S( i$ }* L
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.1 Y$ z$ D( d6 u
3 q) r! D9 d6 c/ Z. Q8 ["Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
4 I2 a Y8 l7 k1 c7 M; ]said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
9 V) J/ L6 N' }as many languages as I can."% `9 | Y4 e1 o+ `$ W3 n k7 D! P
& } G. j. l' P' D3 ^Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
5 @: _9 |7 ?. ~; e0 X Iskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job1 m9 b- v! ~/ W. i; o2 q$ s/ p
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
+ [* {. m# e/ J' z6 b5 |that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program# Z; p5 O7 B9 Z
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each; J- }- j, |1 f& A
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
& b$ K3 A G1 @! S/ i7 U) ~time from classes like physical education, music and art to make, N" h, K) a* _6 z- j* Q
room.: g" Y. M3 y5 G9 B* x
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer8 R1 s- j# k, m
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American8 o& |3 ~1 x% k0 u: v# B5 q. o
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.& G- D& W1 v/ K \1 w' c
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
; n# Z% w2 l/ y/ ?! C0 x7 ]) sbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
& c" {: _8 e: Ssaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia4 X# B$ }$ G0 p- c3 | L d7 x
Society in New York.( y2 }1 [9 B2 Q1 j
2 B: J1 O& j) b; r& K y- q; h! zSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the% g- c3 {- ?1 Y6 W0 O/ _
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from7 \8 s- n8 [2 L' \7 U
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.$ N3 T! x- {7 u7 V/ |0 Y
1 h$ v9 v! F1 X0 |"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
$ ?' q3 p7 n# [4 cown."
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