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October 15, 2005$ | k2 Z" H! a" W9 X' b
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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# f- y# |" Z- i% QCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the0 v& f) W! k' u6 w* Q- a
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
1 N' Y& l. W2 s; C. ]7 ]* qSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
9 ?. V( Y2 r' B5 ?dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
0 g' N0 s' \, c5 Z) Z! s" ?0 yflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one, y* ] O. u0 k, x, ^! V
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders) z( A! |4 M. ~# ~8 c* O, {: ^
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
7 n7 p! S6 O. i0 Y% I% Hboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
7 y \: N7 @% vare already choosing it over Spanish.4 [6 f1 ]% Z& x8 l' b
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
4 I; s$ Z% H$ v7 ^at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city) ^1 h" P Y9 J: Q2 S) z
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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4 y4 S V. j% J& i3 uWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,: r) F, C% i2 A7 h" |) b$ c$ @
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
: |9 u9 K2 M# R# u Q l, bto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
8 _) o* j7 a+ Wone of its most difficult to learn.
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" ^9 ~* j2 ~( s2 [Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
& M! U2 ^/ r5 F, R7 B8 E' C3 _7 |public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
& P6 P& F* S# u. ]7 Lstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.& c0 |0 i+ E( V" x/ A2 q( i& o
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of5 a+ Q/ [( l* ?3 G* m3 G
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
9 M) b4 o+ F% {# f+ ^: @Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
/ w% |5 @$ V) d$ zimprove 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
! [% s# E9 g7 ?& H8 ]$ w0 E. ?( g6 yChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
6 Z; C) V; X5 B* p6 ?5 Z$ Cstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
0 I, Q! v& V* [0 @; \, x( ndevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing+ e- t/ G1 z* S8 j `- N- k0 I6 s& I5 `
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director* A/ n/ @. ]* B* ~
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.8 _( {) K( j. P) c
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
- Y2 B2 h; }: n. \2 R5 M$ T& |& \speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
$ q# p) v8 R- {Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
* ^ T6 z( z4 ?: qcan."
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% Y e$ L0 g3 a1 GThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
9 G) e% }4 b3 G# |2 z" welementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10+ ^. z* W# d: h" O
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
5 X3 c. T$ ?& d+ L/ y( m0 bInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages# e; U7 J G; \' P" e
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
J+ C4 A/ X9 ?' AMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
) D$ M1 H9 l. C. {+ }* n/ tlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
9 K. u5 v# y5 vready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
- s' d/ e% }+ o/ c& Mchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% `7 p9 g) t# u; t5 X) F( p! Y# R# G1 \; t
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
{& d8 g9 |& J; N7 [" ]cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of6 g! c: S. x5 K' J6 N0 i( i$ Q3 [
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
$ N. H; V* L/ t5 Zon weekends.: O- E: b, c' V" I& X& b
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public1 x, e# d' q; j% ~- o6 N d
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
8 a' O& U4 o: g q) }students who are not of Chinese descent.7 L$ `- X4 ]; P6 p; q; i
" G2 c1 h! A! k; i% E+ v* F- A: EMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
; v1 N: i* L, q- X. cproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the& ]) X% N" Y7 o! j5 e
competition.
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" @ t3 J8 i; M. ~9 B"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley0 E$ d/ h* ]) X. S, G+ g' g0 @
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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8 a+ h8 J2 h7 D/ l" LFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
r2 k' h( `1 d$ K) c7 fall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
5 T, p- v& ~8 Kschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
/ w( O' o1 v* ~) ~0 h' _kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
4 J% H9 p: A- K4 X: p7 Dwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to) x+ N6 Y0 s% ^! G/ Q
the school system last year.; i' J3 X# o) ?6 e, ?4 H
1 g9 y8 ~, }: _- H/ q) OThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
+ A( _+ N& a) J7 s- Lyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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9 F, H8 V7 Q/ C2 ~5 X! s"They have a great international experience right in their own
; i. s. ^# e) ]8 b. u+ tclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
: x7 X/ M Q- @Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to( m/ N+ H5 `8 m3 r5 Y. e, ?
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet; a# g$ U' u) Y9 L
on an equal playing field."
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6 {7 ~' o9 R/ f( KSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese# a" L5 \! W+ ]3 [* G
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
5 U" |+ L) T) Z q- j: {Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks3 i- x: A, R h1 u+ V
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
! A$ X# O1 C* R6 w( Javerage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
- w$ d9 I- X9 O: @Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
' l9 B$ R! r# P/ q! ~5 Xinstitute says.2 w7 j' Y/ n: i5 j# o5 O: [
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
. S5 a. w' ]* R: F* Ggrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before. B" P! f6 F$ b
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
1 p, h, q, p( Y) ^told her daughter.
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3 l6 b3 q2 u+ g' g! I4 B: cSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
/ \, a/ X% e+ C, Oclass.
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! F8 P* W! s$ X( M0 _At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
' |: y+ F6 N% `. {studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
. w8 f8 {/ z" G, E7 [% Foccasional frustration.; [6 W9 h6 H* ?6 s5 V
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
$ A8 @) ^) R, d, frecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
& ~+ b- `5 z$ O/ j2 gtaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
% |5 H" _) k [* PChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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* C) ?' y! O0 W; L9 I3 y& }"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
9 V, l1 G; ~2 h" a) e w% S1 Xsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
; L3 x9 }* L2 q& I4 oas many languages as I can."! a! `' v9 j# M' @! M
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
( g/ F5 W% d% M3 Gskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
+ |5 t7 k2 V) |. V1 f( cmarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
' w8 \- i7 F- N5 v E) M0 }4 o/ Mthat," Ms. Freire said.0 B1 J5 A( x% v& x% \( _
* s" q7 o! O# q/ M" b0 U8 @2 u$ d0 e5 sMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
) Y1 Z6 o7 o+ r8 d( R% ~4 Qhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 t% K) r1 C1 M8 y% M
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking5 `) ]1 a3 o: _* K3 [ \
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make. F% s1 n# Z8 h/ L6 g
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer" }7 Q4 R( Y2 S( |: Z
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
4 v9 |1 Z) K2 C$ l! ?6 Lcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.( d) P) d) y6 z2 K n& g* }
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
0 Q" [6 ?% h: @# S8 Mbecause of that missing certification," he said.. s$ P4 V2 L* Z
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States, O5 p; j" ^9 i+ S* o* M
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
, w, R2 _0 U9 A, V* U' sSociety in New York.
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2 V# {8 g( n1 u4 d# oSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the. W* z) }* g& U0 y
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
1 f! e! t$ J! e3 mthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.; x1 D2 j! n* d) B7 N e- v* b
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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