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October 15, 20057 P( p$ J. e2 E( h) U
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity" S/ s( a; k- i ?6 Z' r( D
9 ?( y; G' Z+ O# t& FBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the" q p. z. `& ^9 K6 l6 D
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary& E% N @. C" U2 A; O0 t7 ]& L
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
: c; B3 e; U; s& \* ^dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
& Y! R# ]1 W# i0 F5 \flag hang from the wall.
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{: P, c3 @& ^6 @4 z# HOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
6 I% A$ G/ W; c0 e& d# kanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
" J4 S. N3 d; v( C" O: f1 {practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
; _7 j" R! u7 N& bboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students3 h, L. p* q E% D, R& y
are already choosing it over Spanish.0 _& Z, f3 Y' Q
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
7 q) }' _& I$ ^6 X( Qat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
* n7 S* H$ Y# N3 j$ }" Noffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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7 _, [3 G# i: S& D) @+ D1 k' AWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,% C, ^& c2 }# B
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
' S- I" @3 V2 pto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
# O" Q( z- {" N+ R$ bone of its most difficult to learn.4 @8 D& d$ a8 r2 T$ E# ?( r9 e3 T1 h
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to8 Z2 M1 g2 }& O5 C) F1 K; H6 C2 b- p
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students. M- A! ^3 U3 Q- B
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.# V% W3 c$ x, O3 d2 ]- r+ o/ Q
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! \ E/ f5 V3 z+ nTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on. H) _. F2 E) h F7 z
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to0 w# a: a5 H/ b8 C3 [3 E' z6 X' X
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.& Y6 X* G1 }7 H- U; t5 t
4 A0 z, K8 s# c# |3 s/ fAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement$ {, N1 L( x/ s; x
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country* ~7 |0 `; E/ _
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to! t- v6 h2 r* }5 t( Z( b
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
) c l3 j) F, f+ j, Scurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
! P* o r5 |/ V" g- Iof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.9 k* u4 ]3 e' { f2 J$ {# x
& n2 U* l$ e5 O3 \# J: m0 E"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of" A0 g, M- v) p: A
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education- P/ O! ^8 G+ D: g$ M
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we/ d( ?% K$ a0 r; j
can." ) D3 }4 f7 p% \! B: y( @: x$ z
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from8 e- K. E- P, q9 t% c/ a! S/ R
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
* I" g' e" U) M$ G6 fyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language9 ^% q6 S+ i Z0 P; f
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
- S( s" p+ y1 }9 s; Haren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.$ ]7 Y. Q [2 t9 Z4 }
McGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical; n @1 z8 L! D( `! i# Q
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be5 ], [! F. L' J
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a# I+ t7 ]: P* X
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."' o$ L) w* O( Y1 w& n
- Y2 y7 L% q/ X _3 ~- O: zUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and9 H/ ]4 @- d6 X9 F
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in( C" w- L5 z0 B, @' }3 b8 r
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
9 u1 h4 J" }7 e+ X2 i& s5 V+ MChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or* i: o, }3 {) O" Q# N7 R8 o
on weekends.% f0 G/ E0 D5 z$ v. @2 B' w
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
6 R+ j' e# k% N& B2 Nschools during the regular school day and primarily serves, N) C2 K2 j) l. d8 K) d
students who are not of Chinese descent.- v5 \& q( t8 W" a2 Y
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said' ] e& G Q. `; b
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
$ _4 c( i+ W/ S4 Hcompetition. ) g- C6 O$ C) [# d4 z
+ p% p- ]4 N# P7 ]2 l2 N"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley& g* J6 f8 k: R" N
said. "There will be Chinese and English."% k+ y: s. E/ L3 k) F7 J" t
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
* @/ I/ u9 P* jall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse* U5 j0 a- B V7 I5 u
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from2 ]- p3 {/ Q' B8 D# ^
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students: y( V" k3 h9 u: O7 ~; }; K
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to" C$ `% P0 v+ L5 g5 U
the school system last year.
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9 i! b: P3 X, P. PThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this, C. v9 C0 _' \8 a- {! Y w5 u3 k; f
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. x6 L! M# I; ^9 |- N
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago5 z4 s# G1 o8 N6 j) W+ X. C' L2 ^
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
8 `6 Z- ^2 `1 [help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
1 L; x% a1 c% ] Ton an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese: y' a; [! f4 c! E9 _5 M, D
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign' b }) M% G- ]& b6 B+ P
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
) b6 D% e- l' B" T+ k! [; Q" XChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An; r) q% ]' P% o, u0 d$ g8 l/ F' M
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in+ j o* K$ t" q, D' m& K
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
& i6 B- Y% I2 b! ]3 E$ c5 `2 Xinstitute says.! h! w* m* K9 [2 C7 }; c1 k; W7 R
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
) g- K1 S- `* Lgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
6 h% k" T: ~* e4 v' M# I; Adeciding whether to take the class./ r# R* L d7 R- d
$ s/ E: t, z" F& D( ^. o"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
C7 k8 d5 n9 P) J6 H2 D3 B3 y& Etold her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite( P0 k# v) W+ [& Z2 y, }+ R m
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
% O( U/ U8 Y" p; _# ]' tstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without4 d8 ?- n9 F) A8 b( x& x
occasional frustration. W. \6 P- g/ r* s6 Z4 K8 Q4 Q
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a. v3 d" e2 ^( {+ l
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.- N: R1 J9 n& N2 }' M
/ o2 r! z" X5 e7 ?, V2 vRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he; r3 M8 A' \+ t3 U2 L# G
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with* F* N1 I' v, t) j
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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, }, i' u) j7 {3 q" t"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul4 v4 x# z' ~( [# N
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn" v/ X# h! Z, F' v' A* [7 t
as many languages as I can."$ e Y0 c# |, W7 ?1 m9 a4 v
$ ]8 R9 m" `! EAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the8 S3 m4 f; \" h0 ]8 p3 q
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
8 j4 U2 {' q3 N( l$ N% d+ Kmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
4 x! C+ e% d1 u' `0 ?& D/ ?that," Ms. Freire said.5 u* ]$ Z6 s; Q; [: O9 z9 w L; c
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program5 ^# |) J7 y+ n n) V
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
H" m3 F, m6 ?5 h3 c3 K+ C3 V @$ lschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking- K# |4 ]1 o6 a Y
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make; S( E H* A3 ?) M' B( ?% _& D9 @
room.
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/ J5 ?% l5 @* U$ V; r" {, u& eChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer8 y8 ]" V8 j& e \9 s* P% P
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American) v& W' R$ i& Z7 M/ m
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.7 E6 ~. p" Q. _# o5 B
1 f( U$ ~. \8 B" l; L( ^# [2 [2 l"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified9 W" w9 C" X4 ^- x3 P$ M2 h( A
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
% o; |3 i/ Z! Qsaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia9 r5 Y& G* a9 I& J# L
Society in New York.! p9 S- Z) y) g- U0 S; q
4 p2 _7 o; h5 B/ B ]# NSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
3 H" _7 r3 v0 \- k! i0 IChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from: @ ?, A* M. W! X$ m, n# h: i
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.& d4 A/ T; x3 |5 s
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
0 x6 l( h7 _2 z0 H) C/ l. }own."
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