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October 15, 2005* F( n0 X8 M3 E F4 ^* F
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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; v. W" N/ K3 l. J( D( _" YBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING' [+ `! W p9 [# U) q+ W
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the3 j' g0 J7 M# ^+ n
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
( k, A! z& e6 s: R3 i$ }4 m; GSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
3 D! N. a7 Q! \! W" y: Y( v' M& Hdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
' I' o$ x5 I! q6 F$ L4 Lflag hang from the wall.( x" s8 u/ h& ] i% y1 K
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
* W" ]8 d; O0 v- J: X4 B: G; n2 x# w' wanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
! `- ~$ U3 l3 ]' ~% h7 Fpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
/ N& O# Q) _4 u4 f8 E4 o1 h8 Qboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
T. f, z. w$ n, U1 b# Zare already choosing it over Spanish.* j' C k6 Y( K% n5 o
, }; V6 P" y2 k8 d; q5 N"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
$ K) h4 N/ a% E6 cat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city9 P* z) O) l: u) m0 O
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."7 l4 {3 w( a' W) n6 _
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
( B! ?) u* \' r' Sschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
/ D3 u1 m( M0 A2 Qto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
/ ~3 O: Y2 e7 l2 j& Zone of its most difficult to learn.5 z( u# b4 L7 w/ \3 S
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to+ O0 t6 P& M, Z1 c, Y% d2 R& Q
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
9 ^# G. @( S, m# Mstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.$ K1 n+ V0 |5 N+ l0 p9 T
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of8 B9 T$ ?5 S6 {, g4 d; h
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
6 j6 B0 N- B& xChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to1 N2 j) f; c1 o* f' |6 I0 k* w+ _
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.6 R: X, C4 L+ u/ ^) I8 i& F% V
# y( G) F `- N0 k( oAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
' S L# x; V9 U- x9 QChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
1 n4 y& x' o, ]( `starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
6 b" r2 B& v# D, r( t; i) r( |develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing# o+ d0 \+ U. G/ U% E7 }- f( }
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director; U; c4 p4 F, Q) n% B, _2 S. P. F
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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2 L, u- B. A. q"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
8 p o, F: J9 w: {# \8 yspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education! |4 |2 {% X& @
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we8 }+ ^0 c4 F/ `
can." 6 C; C$ `. ? m8 c$ {5 h7 Q
5 Y; }! R. A5 W I9 t. N9 p' W( eThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from% ~2 G# u- H% B& T* C
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
# c' ?+ _$ N1 G- eyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language6 ~1 a1 g7 l6 B* V( X; ?4 o/ r# C
Institute in Washington.6 R1 W# h4 Q, W+ ^5 ?8 A
$ h/ X) _) c! t9 {8 m8 e4 g; D* b"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages/ J" I/ b! ~" F" b1 ?6 k X4 H9 j
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
! S- M: |. Q% d" T1 hMcGinnis said.
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3 S! V( w& w( ]1 T0 i3 c; G"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
3 {8 g0 |; t' V( F+ Ulongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be/ b! ]9 P8 D9 X0 ]( A
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
; G2 l2 O$ P3 R& v! Y X7 pchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
; u: d1 F8 C2 a: [4 ?secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in8 ~2 U9 J) D1 q% ~8 r
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
# F9 c5 m, h, u/ o* VChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
+ D ^3 o, P0 @: ~on weekends.
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+ p1 w! a+ n+ VThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
: Z( @$ z& u7 g/ J) Lschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
- b. W% G, g$ k) k& C) W4 f, fstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said; W1 v$ @- p, h' t
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
. |! X5 @* ?5 Z6 Y' a0 ^competition.
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]8 j" O Q$ |0 `9 q% m"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
/ I" n8 S) ?6 E6 k' l- _2 tsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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# @) ^: z( X8 q2 b: dFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
6 e+ i x8 ~2 V+ T- zall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse( v+ m- F3 y$ W( G; L/ n2 s
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
- X' u1 v" T4 @5 Z; e+ C n% ^kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
* {8 M3 K0 i4 l! i6 y8 J8 Z" wwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to6 D: ?% `3 c- l9 W
the school system last year. v6 p! @9 @. T, p1 W) v8 y
+ O( g9 G B( w4 T& ?The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this6 V4 m' I1 L& t- c% H
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.$ r# T+ |, F" x+ e3 M, K. v
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"They have a great international experience right in their own
0 h" s2 {1 `! @/ H: P2 R1 eclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
5 H- g8 S1 D9 E; dChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
6 K! N- w K+ p. b# nhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
; o* b+ {' M: t* q! A V7 R5 l n0 von an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
' d( K0 S9 {: j% Rclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
3 n# m6 Y; z9 F- P0 E( {$ F7 LService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks' T, k) w. M/ A
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
6 ]& w# A& [/ ]. j0 R5 t- B3 T7 Waverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in P, C- M% V7 {2 t( D, m
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
? g3 E& N/ y, K2 m( xinstitute says.
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" {+ g% M" D5 U4 q0 Q. d! t, rSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth2 h( ~6 |& C! h5 O& ?% Y; {
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
" V1 `: [. m4 d' W+ _' ydeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
. `) d X9 \! I( [, C. Ctold her daughter.7 r* K% S0 U& ~! d" |
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite$ T. v% O9 p/ a2 a
class.# m) Q1 O& T" r3 I: ]! u9 u: @. T& |0 k9 k
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
* W8 F8 y2 b& E& T8 R. p/ Cstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without7 Z* j7 ?* N2 f2 D N* o
occasional frustration.+ P+ J2 H0 S4 z4 z: h
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a4 {; R: P5 R( f4 O( z2 q0 p6 U4 z
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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; v2 J8 l5 T( D# ^3 {Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he* o9 }; T9 ]) ^; d2 ^4 o
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with7 B8 m/ q" ~* F; m$ F/ A7 l
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.7 p5 B. ?7 [- Z' C$ S3 L2 x; L# E, T
7 H" G% r7 V. \2 S, _3 H5 d1 ^"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# A8 `9 ~5 P' K" l) Usaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
' z: }8 K2 M, R P6 B$ `as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
9 J4 h& u7 X1 c; j3 \, t4 Z% qskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
) o0 X9 c B$ I: j4 ^market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
8 y% w+ W3 f% `' r% A/ \that," Ms. Freire said.( I4 b4 {& F8 z. C0 s0 ]* k. Z
! f* Q' t6 V) Z. R! W# E+ DMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
8 D( ^( M: \& y9 s* _# @here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each; `1 e; m( [' L$ d: D
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking& O w+ k; c) T
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make, q# c+ Q- M: l
room.5 _. u7 q: `( r# h5 ^( Z* w# i$ f
% W% ~5 t1 m8 c4 d0 i4 N9 Y NChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
# G, G* B1 Y9 t& j( b$ Z$ BChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American2 P$ T7 N) C# ^5 S3 h" {
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.( O) a- a" o+ M2 f& o- J! q1 J' N% W
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
. f7 w& V. {1 K! Qbecause of that missing certification," he said.6 }7 U4 i4 v# ?! m6 \: X' ?
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
4 A k( i; V6 F) f; F3 v9 i& Q1 Gsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia" J+ r1 d+ n l1 N+ U
Society in New York.1 M% \: y9 c5 J& e7 E7 ~- k
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the Z, V4 t& D$ H
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from0 x, c; D8 i3 J" b$ q4 F
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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' `' K+ |0 F: A"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our- r% z8 i/ w$ s
own."
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