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October 15, 2005; U0 |' ` B* C: p4 C$ f/ E, E
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity$ I+ G8 E( h+ W/ n. c9 n
9 E- {) h. m2 o3 FBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING. A9 V! K! I% P7 e+ D
# a8 X& p! V% d: PCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the! ~9 H4 d1 j4 p7 a: _, [
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
- W, _+ F+ ^5 n2 p" w& FSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ D3 j6 |% T3 D
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese, M! M- T2 d6 J( V8 _" W# i% B
flag hang from the wall.2 m9 p0 [! c: F2 {4 z/ y
; S0 D* G! J3 H' \One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one" \ e7 I( D* P+ M
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
+ b {- ?5 z6 f Z4 Upracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
9 ^/ n* U% m# ]" a# U9 X, i6 cboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
$ G; M/ q7 B6 Oare already choosing it over Spanish.
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8 }2 a7 v+ R6 v2 y"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
2 }0 H( J$ {3 u- _9 ~at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
/ p$ P7 o- h; @# zoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 N: l& K/ z8 jschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* E$ e% v$ @0 V- W7 e2 y5 A
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
; f6 \* Y4 |3 e( S8 mone of its most difficult to learn.0 h+ \, q; J" z1 a3 ~8 k6 `
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
/ }, ]* D' O B; _- Q0 Spublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
8 E4 C7 u. Z" P1 }& ~$ x8 Mstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.6 S6 q a' D2 G" s: t
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of; w& O- P; d' K( O( A
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
# [8 F- B2 K9 H' J K) L# jChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to) j7 j" N* |, ]- O, p
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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* D$ J% p6 i4 M7 a3 Y/ eAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
9 Q+ A* z* B8 N( K1 e6 T; q8 SChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
# [7 P G5 t }) {$ estarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to# V. P/ [- m P, m' p
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
+ u, Q% V( s i# h$ ^curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
0 @0 {4 m7 |) Mof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.% |% }, j% d9 @7 l+ }4 E. i6 \) ?
0 z7 [) w5 P7 _- z- S% B"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
& q- T% Z/ X; R7 Fspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education0 ]( c; Y0 C' y3 G' f* y
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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8 _. U' w4 b6 H9 [The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
( N y8 `! i/ p& t2 Jelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
. \0 k4 k/ R6 k9 C" D; Hyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language. z# }/ B$ J3 m8 C
Institute in Washington.$ R' U. O+ G' ?' c
3 Z0 V" }' F# J# d"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages# b( v6 a' O' Z' A& Z( l
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
7 u- P8 z* D2 I9 M1 [McGinnis said., K: N* B Y" `% e
% |% j3 U' K& H8 Y1 i& b"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical& Z6 E( u# P d; g( Q5 ?- \+ B
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be$ a! |: x% J, B$ X, x
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a* y: E0 \2 |5 e! y; N4 Z6 k) r% }) U+ o
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."; J( e, a! H7 {0 K+ e
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and. R! U& N2 g( @) C
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
- A4 @) U! }: e1 Fcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of( B7 {7 J7 E" \4 f
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
5 d) |$ q! ?& i3 B, non weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
8 H A' N& ]6 i8 l0 x sschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
3 ^: G" V; L' E) c: Q8 C) wstudents who are not of Chinese descent.& l1 X! i7 W0 q! q3 ^
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
) |# x, h5 b9 ?) d; ?* {proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
/ `5 w. E. Q! s0 ], T9 O' Tcompetition.
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2 i# Q9 h! S9 p2 b9 ~"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
# X! g2 j: N, F( D$ Usaid. "There will be Chinese and English."7 E" G+ [# @; ^& Q r6 l
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly. _1 R( S& p$ [; o1 t' e' d+ ~
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
' P: Y, q' O# k4 _9 |7 aschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from0 b( I% ~/ ~6 D# |6 P+ P" T0 S) Q
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
; y% }* t" L! I1 L9 v4 a7 \% ^( ~- }who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to. _$ h( K8 q' G. @9 a5 i; o. f
the school system last year.
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! Z# v. i' t0 W& q2 x3 L0 RThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this7 x! S3 x7 @0 r& k$ [
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
6 r1 H: x% x0 p$ [classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
1 O# J8 j' s5 z; c {" u( c8 eChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to- s# A6 B0 n8 l
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
b" N B/ j" Yon an equal playing field."6 `% U% j0 m8 b/ Z& d3 S/ ?+ {
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
1 F, }! n8 j/ A+ R' n5 ^4 Tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign L& }: S. y! n4 W& h
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
: h7 R# [/ C! kChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
. L2 f, g2 W4 P7 G1 Maverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in8 S8 |1 l+ Y8 \* n- k+ e
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
. l7 @1 N" U* {& F1 S2 xinstitute says.
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# |1 k8 o% p( ?2 M! m$ h% OSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
4 J) H) M0 b( ^grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before6 G; g7 M1 z4 M7 Y+ |% I8 [
deciding whether to take the class./ A/ a, w- {/ A5 d* U/ f( a
$ ^( s U6 E, c Z9 p* m+ { D. d"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she5 B: ~! Q. O# X! K3 x- }
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite7 L, e8 j: Q2 ~- I
class.! P) O4 Q/ A: p
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
$ V5 O3 l4 T2 [9 m% o9 wstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without9 J8 L$ g# \# A
occasional frustration.
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* Q, c; q/ U y
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he4 f0 k* l0 ?2 X, X2 V
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ ]2 s% P% }' b. C6 A
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
5 z! d9 a( R, U9 P$ G+ H& Usaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn$ a6 r( ^& n% @6 @- n
as many languages as I can."
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; s* @4 I# X1 V0 M/ mAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
7 [' B* p/ H! m2 e; L" |6 k/ i% Eskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job9 B1 T5 A9 M' A% h/ ?1 Q7 |
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
]0 B2 t' t9 e* ^* Tthat," Ms. Freire said.( \7 r D" n3 V" ~" c
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
) W: k) L$ Q" j- e9 X" Ahere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
3 @- s" A7 _7 g$ nschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 Y# M7 W- S$ ]: t% ^* R
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make. J+ J! G1 ^" C M# ^# D
room.
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: G! b. d/ M* N# k' h; hChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
: ], y( Z% P0 |) CChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American" [1 |( I; T* o5 q8 g, d: v, ~
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# G5 Y" d9 X" n
because of that missing certification," he said.6 f( u" U: C h& {# g+ S
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,: b0 z. W% C& B* k! [4 t/ n
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
, f: y' w8 P0 b1 |) A5 L1 ISociety in New York. q3 N! t8 u' i# x5 O/ G
$ I7 Q6 e6 W$ J) b8 USix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the. C; v' E% [4 s) c+ [4 g o
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
j @2 d( z/ ?2 n" fthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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* F# w8 L" w3 l) u) o8 q* q; i) f"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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