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October 15, 2005; L$ d, ~4 |! Y& L
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity3 c: F! L1 ?8 T! T8 s4 M$ m
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
7 Z# M9 N8 S. ?* V( B9 r, Z0 D; dUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
8 D$ q E- E* f% j; kSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
' B/ z6 T/ ?' C! ]; v4 ~* Idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese% e; C% Q7 g" I r" [4 F
flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
- g1 O% h2 s4 l3 z7 |$ banother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
- l1 v6 }% y/ ?- A9 u# Qpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
; z5 Z7 X. G6 G" nboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students6 ]( [* q: h( ], e2 D& R. A* K
are already choosing it over Spanish. l" s5 H6 s) T! W6 P
; \9 I6 O; N" P! H" X& B4 w"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal# {" @; x5 f t1 t4 ?% N% k% b% `
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
& B' U9 W2 j( _1 t9 F# goffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in." |3 R; [' G$ v; \+ [
1 N+ w4 u& G. P- D: Y/ |With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,7 Y0 }, k6 _( Q& L- }* V
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
8 c4 |* e6 S) mto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 ^+ x' m7 H, W! |" E; b, F _one of its most difficult to learn.! s+ S6 F% ^4 t5 _$ `1 y; u) v
4 f2 h0 o0 o, a! n2 O8 x: a3 NLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to/ Y) i* e6 ?) m3 h$ ^. _; y0 X- {
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
8 n' r6 r6 J0 J: k6 j% M3 ]4 d. Vstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.) k' ?" G f! s+ M) z6 J+ U1 l
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of' I: ~: i4 ~" e2 s3 K% L& L! H5 u/ y% B
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on3 K4 L U9 B, R9 O- R. g
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to5 R) I q; N- B6 Y# L3 s5 V
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
4 V6 s6 b; o* H$ v, l+ L% EChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country4 f( u7 X4 a2 J) K" j; X& X$ j, Q3 {
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! { t+ h0 W. q3 Y' W4 V! _' L
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
( i$ w6 J' Z q7 G8 icurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
3 d/ {- M; [8 E' F ]/ Vof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.4 |7 R: o' e! ?$ Y
! \# ~+ n1 Z& F m3 O, G"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
9 `6 k: }( d% [0 O; k. P; k1 Wspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education0 S0 }# o6 J# I
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we# t* i' v( A6 Y/ T8 Q2 |
can." , I1 t0 W& D' u# t5 ?
& F1 J5 U8 S- f# ]' a( z3 yThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from5 ]$ y* b% _1 D) l
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
/ x4 B* N l# N3 n' ^9 Byears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language' W+ A. q# K8 n g; e( B. P( ?& L
Institute in Washington.5 Z+ P9 @5 e3 G
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages; W, c. ]# R+ O2 p, e
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
2 f% s4 F3 H; \3 j# r0 ^McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
* v7 i+ O+ |0 Q) K( D/ {$ |longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
1 c$ v% T1 y( F# s7 Z. I1 Hready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a, J" e( j# z4 J1 [
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
8 E; h s: n4 J' h* ]secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) m7 C5 w9 j4 m# ^( {( u0 Pcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
) F& Q4 }0 o$ }5 O* _2 x7 W8 CChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or0 ?. y6 ~4 @2 e1 V6 v
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public. y' k$ x* }. u" l- \
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
5 B. ?; O% O6 s4 E) c* X4 ]# Istudents who are not of Chinese descent.+ X0 \2 q5 ?4 \3 M
( [4 f4 N7 ? y) C2 L1 Y$ xMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said* @4 j) u& X# X( Q, S
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
1 L7 L% {1 G/ }6 G3 y& tcompetition. # _2 I( c5 {4 B& d$ U
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley0 ~% B2 b, Q0 b5 f5 I! {5 ?
said. "There will be Chinese and English."9 k9 e" `0 R2 M& A' I! `
5 G* I) _9 A1 G# d& \From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
) s& q$ L. C" F& D' @all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse% I$ j7 U( J- d# x8 I/ C$ g
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from9 r( ?+ w1 w: n0 t" t' B, d
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
7 U: b! I/ X8 l% {. ~who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
- O3 M( `. c: V" g( bthe school system last year.
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+ ~1 F1 ?. K! S" D0 K3 C! w% D$ FThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this# X z( t5 d% F( G8 i. V# l
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.; R* {7 z' c; z$ } L" D
6 e5 a' W: V* U1 c* G! a"They have a great international experience right in their own
/ I5 o( s2 Y; {) I8 f+ jclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
$ ~- ^9 s5 o2 ?# }Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
3 T$ g0 _1 {' B7 p o$ m6 ]help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet9 Y- A, w2 p% {0 \- C. F
on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
, H" H5 @0 U, J8 y2 H- E6 Oclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
) T, `* \5 m ^9 U% j; wService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks1 j, m h8 o' p+ i. Y. H
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An6 G/ S# e) Y4 F
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in& Z6 D5 V( P: y; M- x; u
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the2 c9 t6 E. G$ k1 e$ y H& z& @
institute says.
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; E3 k- M& y+ e4 W' B* ?# s6 l( CSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth8 x, j$ v$ j. o" S! E* E; d: h
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
- E% `0 |6 Z) [# T; gdeciding whether to take the class.
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- U& i& _* n. W$ X5 b* |"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
2 }8 C |9 m; Mtold her daughter.0 {2 H8 W0 i# O, [; ~/ o2 e* G
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
# p- t8 P5 E% p% Q3 l# ]: o! q1 Q4 ?class.3 _% |2 x% g% y# A5 i
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
$ j) b' ^# ^4 T2 m# dstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
0 P5 j$ j9 d( U- d$ S5 P/ toccasional frustration.
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6 a/ n/ b& V& x# \"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a* u( p: k- L9 i9 O9 V. Q7 p' J$ Y
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 |' R) ~' }1 g% u. G8 Z2 ctaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with2 W" i+ d( U) I d1 C5 N6 S5 s. x( b
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.; S& l. l. B. L4 S( {( F. N
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul- p: n1 [2 a/ D! v5 a1 B' l) x. e
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn8 t$ [ {# V+ a. m$ k- [
as many languages as I can."
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, w, \ X# B p( `6 u7 {' KAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
9 J I. y; c( A) l/ C& r7 lskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
3 n7 j; u- O1 i' {7 _" Bmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like% D5 E. e* }! o: F+ X
that," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
" X8 s/ `; ^' ehere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
7 g' c. V5 U! d- p5 wschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
; u% v0 K! k y3 C+ Utime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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! O2 v- b$ g* bChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer6 x+ {1 G7 |( v; y0 `) b ~
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
c& H/ y, ?2 G5 V1 ]% G* jcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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: a2 o& h8 A. z, P( Y% m3 ~"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
/ u; } I" J/ g1 ~because of that missing certification," he said.' n; M* K K, h! |' N# E; S
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
. m, w; }# H0 F" J3 H8 E, h5 Zsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia( n+ W% T7 g& q) i' z3 m. P
Society in New York." E( m& D+ W- H" G/ w6 \% m+ H8 J
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
1 v _2 Y8 R: p. cChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
0 P, B" ~. }3 [! K& @the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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! u) k$ Q. s; U @! C"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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