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October 15, 20058 A# U9 h4 V7 W% ~
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
1 Z) [: |1 ?& ~6 ^; f, |* T1 tUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary" Q4 k5 B! \; A# E5 B N
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas- Z# A( ^8 g8 a# c3 S7 |
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese; g+ u8 q% O4 U2 W n! Q4 J
flag hang from the wall.: p! A3 o0 e2 ]+ Q
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one1 N, e5 l) H1 p! y( b: u
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
1 N6 [, \& Y! T' b# l' [1 Dpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker9 q) h J8 U4 ]( m& ?5 H( B( I
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
2 {2 @2 h5 x* ]: F. Z" nare already choosing it over Spanish.
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" d6 J0 Q. w, U r" X8 Z4 B/ B- C"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal7 P( V+ i) r* E- m7 R# Y
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
$ W* v5 W, O2 V1 t" @5 [offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
# O+ P/ f4 N, X3 q* ?) bschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
! R7 @& f8 A% y N6 |, p0 {to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention2 m" S# h% [: `1 t4 v9 k+ P
one of its most difficult to learn.
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
$ ^9 d( E) b s1 i8 c1 x0 z( s! npublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students% I! N8 L+ m: r1 z g6 R' x( g
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.9 f' ^0 e: n; t) O# V+ z2 E
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of4 i' x$ W; Q; ^2 h3 I
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
9 U7 G- s8 L9 c3 ~2 F- KChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
+ v: w. Q; N5 @improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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$ m; v# k; ~3 Y- _# D' y* {After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
4 q6 V. D6 I# r! [7 eChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
8 d. n' t; N% T, F) [8 lstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
5 \0 b9 ~2 n0 M Q; Cdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
# J6 u8 c6 G( U0 pcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director/ Q/ i# T4 A7 N& N3 G' x! }) i
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.# Z* O1 s; E4 b R
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, B3 F. o# c0 q9 }
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
/ ? X* s/ T! y$ t# {7 Y; g0 Q! ?Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
6 o* g% [, ]- \, L0 V( g0 vcan."
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* R7 i3 y) y9 F, g8 P/ GThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from. B, }( w0 _0 U
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 106 ^* a5 S5 ^. ] x% y
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
1 E$ D( i5 M3 D N9 PInstitute in Washington./ M! d% S( U: D9 X6 \
3 k( ^; J* v! t7 B* w"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages* L4 Y2 q& S: o l4 ]! Y
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr." H, K# q9 K* e/ j& i
McGinnis said.3 o! D- y( j* r! h
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical; J0 B' b4 j D/ }# F1 f
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
- z- O* A' l1 `! a. Y) Nready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a) v9 n) |# {1 F H; T* X; ]8 _
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."6 w% Z! H% q6 {
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and1 E, K( s3 C+ I# N
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
Z# Y) T, b. Q8 h' H1 n7 g$ xcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of! x* i, t* p- p% N& F5 d- g$ B
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
7 f' t9 b4 h' k/ ^on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public0 R1 a$ b% Y3 g" d" R6 o7 p J
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
7 z( j- U j( t; u( u# Hstudents who are not of Chinese descent.2 ~% z8 Y F2 o- S; z2 x2 P
/ l- ?1 [% f# xMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
" O ^& l# ]6 ]proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
5 R4 d( U& M$ x H, C% Jcompetition.
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! o7 Y, d( [# O1 R0 I"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley6 v* r' C7 ~' X
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly4 \, B" x+ ^. F) y# {
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
: ~+ R F E# _8 Cschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
. ~$ F" X4 h; akindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
$ _7 v/ ^7 S5 Q7 r Swho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
- M. Q' ~* i3 Y7 S. \; |% g, t- Athe school system last year." x) \, K" F# b; K
& \: G* p6 `# E0 F- AThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
$ |% r( \( x" syear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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# g }2 X1 m6 [7 o"They have a great international experience right in their own. E1 r l& q5 ?$ v |9 c
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago J) A& e2 {, M% {7 U, H& l, D
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
% x/ f4 A9 z, b7 D, V/ {help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
$ b4 I7 e& ?+ I1 \, _3 non an equal playing field."
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7 G( [5 G$ V* I) LSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
. q( Q/ q# O& k# x) q* V( dclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
/ [3 l7 |6 K& M' TService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
! T8 E/ ^- n. S+ |/ UChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An8 [& B5 p1 `( M% }# X
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
8 J6 l: v3 \+ g$ PChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the- W0 r& r9 L2 }% ~
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth" M4 r; \8 n# D
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
/ T# H3 B* ^1 P% a' C( m* ydeciding whether to take the class.) o K4 c; D# X8 z2 w6 O* @
4 Q2 d( V5 Q0 {" p"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she: D. c( D: ~7 W/ k: |7 y) M9 S
told her daughter.. X4 k+ o' z; J/ W
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
" H; F1 N" x0 [+ mclass.8 ~2 D u& y) Q9 G8 c
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
# `; w( l7 H$ w5 astudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
0 A' L$ I/ u$ ]+ Q {. t3 S1 k+ ?8 Koccasional frustration.
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6 S1 L! P. Z" _" t9 J# Q/ I0 }"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
3 l3 O9 A: |: @recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.9 @0 N7 x: P# x9 P4 j
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
+ `' s3 w% d! K) itaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
7 P: g9 l8 N/ Z. D3 v* q1 {Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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- u! p) b' X9 n# Z"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
0 M' Q; G0 l0 p6 `7 |$ Dsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn# g8 Q: c9 |8 s3 s5 n6 U, z5 S# H
as many languages as I can."0 y2 A8 N# U# n" d, R7 I/ i* o
+ T4 ]6 D/ Z+ o; p3 r8 H3 Z9 QAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the/ Y; s$ i, ]2 L* p9 g# y
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job- ], S0 U: q }6 R
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
4 t. f5 Z2 r6 Z3 N- rthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program4 g& R- h3 S. ?, z
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each8 O1 Z0 h2 {) |5 [2 t* _2 z& J
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
6 V9 K& N! S& C, Q, ?) Htime from classes like physical education, music and art to make5 Q! U& i; ` n0 d- b" ]
room.
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer0 r K8 u! R, V( x% k5 {: ~
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American2 _$ p# g& ?' e( @( E
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.2 C" q' Y+ o% ~
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
6 U8 v7 \' }; M2 R- ?" G/ ibecause of that missing certification," he said.
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7 ^' N4 _3 F( @% H4 f9 ~The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,4 o7 e2 F" P% k0 Y
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
% Y, y& v p9 B. G3 L' dSociety in New York.% i' A+ z: O8 S o9 m# V/ `9 N. ^
2 M X+ N8 y1 f: m/ o7 _ }Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the! f/ N' @ e5 R+ a
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from7 w: `/ d! J; J
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said. c& ?2 `) R( K* t2 K
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"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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