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October 15, 20051 y9 y2 N! l; D; N+ S. k' y
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
3 I2 `3 c9 x- d8 z2 o- k* BUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
) p6 Y- \. j0 c$ ^3 oSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas/ Y5 n0 [1 P3 u- |# I. ~
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
# j y; `/ P0 s; c" Q+ y; _flag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one7 c8 D' R& l4 `8 L/ ^; @
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders u/ M4 O* C( t% e/ k( S) @8 l& P8 Y$ t
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker0 ` J3 d5 N- F$ y. s- c
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
# ]: F' l7 ^4 h, P( \$ ]are already choosing it over Spanish.$ z* x1 P3 a8 [' R6 c# W0 Y% d* ~3 m3 _
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
, v9 |! r0 y# [7 dat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city/ ~: q" n, A' s( G! N! i4 _
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."5 I- E( d5 m9 T5 q. z& b
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,' Z; P8 f0 N1 J. F& V" ?2 ?
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings8 t3 Y) ~ B5 @1 H
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention0 r2 d/ [+ N5 ^2 b% Y9 ]
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
8 m1 D+ B( y' |# r9 Ppublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
$ M9 R0 R0 u# e2 g9 K3 C1 Istudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. k9 ^( O9 f/ K) V8 @7 H% W$ E$ T
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of; @% x- G1 i3 l" @. l
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on4 R$ U- d7 q, n# K/ `8 @
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
, ~- b. U* T9 x' Pimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.# R/ l9 q' e, W# Q
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
1 t2 k) R. [5 {) fChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country+ U$ a1 o' Y, U2 [
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
& y3 @( m4 u" S3 Tdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing6 m$ r) g& T; i/ J2 _
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
' U) E! w& b% K% B6 R! J0 uof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.: X1 `; E8 T) J; o# ?: s
/ s: F4 h: b, c+ p+ H% v"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of# Z, @: h- m9 Z) Q) P( f; D& \" K
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
* V9 Y2 _, B$ H5 V) M$ mConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
; E+ ]- b$ \3 z; ]% J9 scan."
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0 j5 q+ g9 | }4 d* V% [The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
. F- \ n, i( H, o" N/ ]. w2 ]elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
3 ^* F: m1 O6 |' ayears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language# M1 e# J) U1 Z; s( J
Institute in Washington.8 s/ [5 E G" `# q0 ^
5 _; W3 I1 A9 f2 l d. [- s r"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages3 @, t7 S- I+ [# p. ^7 l
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
, R* y/ Z7 b8 m; M- }4 E3 D6 Y$ o) k* bMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
" b% P* I3 \9 Klongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
$ T) w- z) N" E. O fready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a, S! [8 }$ m1 P: e
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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. Q* |; ~" ~! ^% |Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
& L- r% x, u: k4 S9 Qsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
9 J# P$ n7 c6 m' mcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
* b- @& z' x/ G7 Y# k/ Y: h _Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or1 g8 t- @0 h, j; t2 B. `- n& p
on weekends.! w# k, D/ q* C. D. E: X% ~
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
9 u n1 N& g+ C, G! L- }schools during the regular school day and primarily serves1 e1 a$ m1 j7 Q, m. ^ L
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said/ Y) Q3 X0 f# t& s d
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the2 ^; `1 X+ J& i
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
! D+ a& W- f; b, f( ?- J0 }said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
4 Y: C. e" @: [5 wall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse" b5 o% l$ h3 }5 G( I4 M- H; @
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from q* Q! B' l* J1 N8 k5 }. x. ]0 X0 D
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
4 E$ E2 o+ {6 n( Y, \/ fwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to, F! A$ U9 g7 n+ k2 z% ~
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this4 x8 n B3 b" d7 D
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.# u# M* v, M, w
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"They have a great international experience right in their own! Y( H: o6 f/ m+ l) y- W% d: L
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago! n$ Q/ C) P, o! e
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to! x' z8 {! ?0 b5 R# }6 i
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet2 }1 p$ J0 W$ J; _# [8 {. R, f7 ]7 y
on an equal playing field."4 K: ?7 j) m: R9 A. Q1 T$ x
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese) H* i, o, A: {
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
- p! B7 n% u0 E/ a2 |Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks1 s3 Z& K; i9 u( ~- f4 g! @+ ?: [
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
L3 U" d1 I$ b3 E0 o1 n7 t& Javerage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in9 G( u' G3 A0 x3 y! \
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
1 a' A0 D) e3 @* _institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
) k, z! C7 g8 }$ h& [; Hgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
9 f$ d/ r& n7 W. o7 Gdeciding whether to take the class.4 W* A% d& f+ e" b( a2 m
/ P7 k. ~/ u; [$ J" E- z"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she0 J _- c: A" A! e! K
told her daughter.
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; t n [, V, mSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite% d0 T- g! f2 y8 U9 J/ S
class.
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. R8 E& X/ h" U0 MAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are- R* {& {2 O0 p) \0 ?$ q
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
+ g0 O+ P* \- g. S3 Z. aoccasional frustration.- j$ l( s8 J# V
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
0 S7 Q" x) U$ V2 l% g/ j1 J1 ~- jrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.) R& n3 J) @$ X/ q* c5 v. l. C
$ @' [ M E& S; j: NRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he; W$ P% Q& f/ g
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with8 C4 b P: [- h7 P5 p' s
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works." ]7 H/ s6 m8 }7 z& ^ n
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul- N/ M. ^4 A0 n) T1 j
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
! n6 `2 p. Q. E# }* mas many languages as I can."8 q# j% M& F% C/ t/ @9 j
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the/ P+ u) t1 G0 b) m$ c9 v Z
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job T& I- I% d$ s) P2 R
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
' c# m5 d) N3 }5 J* e4 _that," Ms. Freire said.: h0 G( `$ ` o' }, X
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program: E0 F1 F3 x' Y! z( Y& k$ O+ {$ r
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
$ P! f& q% G+ T3 {' u& bschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
) _% T; z3 t- v( T! S+ stime from classes like physical education, music and art to make
# o. [- I# I) ]% b4 L# l7 z2 O4 y mroom.
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) r' M: _7 t! g$ A( [5 ]' _Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer! D! d; J, e) ?# @$ M
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
. U2 o9 b' u: W1 @& o6 z$ [7 qcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.+ s5 a4 |% T4 F( z& I5 D
( F% s- y% ]6 J R7 S9 M"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
/ E+ A4 O+ E0 s" Cbecause of that missing certification," he said.
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7 Z" X+ G& K6 R9 l+ {" KThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,8 q) x7 j3 o" q# v5 q' ]5 x: s+ k
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
* k2 I! j( p3 A! U, g, O r& @0 ESociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the# A0 l7 A4 c Q6 M3 p
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from% \ _# K0 T' v' r+ d0 }
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our. k/ d Q- P' b' Y
own."# h, R% K$ w6 [+ G
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