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October 15, 2005' r, D# Z( L2 ]" k2 d, `+ o" b% X5 O
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
+ a# l K8 [ e5 g# A( ZUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
?. E" b( w, e0 w0 O; D* |/ w) ~School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
' p6 B* Z( L) u9 idangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese# V5 \0 g# N$ X
flag hang from the wall.. J8 d- t) y% @ ?; q
5 ^$ @% q9 n% M9 gOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one5 M$ p: L3 e* P
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
8 j5 {/ {3 E# C- S/ T8 Lpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker9 t3 n4 o# w* O
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
4 O2 s! {- f8 c" a6 `( aare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& R0 N0 Y/ c0 ^
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
; U# V/ `0 v |8 w. Y7 Xoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."/ u) |( G! ? _8 A( x' ?7 k
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With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,3 ?8 X6 S N' Y: H# J( t7 t
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
, R) n4 \! f% k5 Q1 Dto include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
1 \/ y( b: W) O ~- r- C. U, n; [$ Ione of its most difficult to learn." G J- \/ a j8 n
2 S5 ?7 E P' `4 wLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to8 k) ?2 M9 A) K0 |- Y7 f
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
" t) v% h, [$ t2 ^; K/ L4 k( Z' nstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.- O8 `; s9 g4 S% \
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of2 p7 O. r1 h, t) u5 B6 V; o+ f! T
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on7 V# Q2 H# r/ H/ I
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
: [3 C0 ]& E5 {* himprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee./ N8 m# b7 H! |. J. d4 s
; y# {; p: K2 }- iAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
- G6 F$ D, _3 I( g8 U4 l1 mChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country, H6 u) D7 ]' |# Z* N# x; G2 Q
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
" p, J' E6 _8 T! R, Gdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
" w( i! ^7 o1 [" tcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
$ V' o( Y/ L& |) X' lof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
6 f2 d: A L( p( fspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education: b7 ]% m% Z+ N: z9 P! I- V
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
" [9 L9 a( @% m6 e5 Z7 E! `can." - F" r3 B# h! J
- d, _+ a# N% S7 _The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from2 n& U; S# d: R$ _+ g
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
+ F) L# p& K( w! Y, r- cyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language4 T) a N+ b# P4 X- v
Institute in Washington.
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* g! z3 N0 G3 v. h4 }"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
0 c0 d% [3 P0 I& A( A8 {# J9 iaren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
7 {8 x% r5 I4 H/ Q% W% BMcGinnis said.' n0 d; [* }: o, p. y( E9 t: }
. i6 _# H3 @. s$ S/ P$ ~3 J"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
, ?: g1 W$ v, T0 o# g" flongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
& X! p6 f0 f) B' I6 }ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
. Z; e- {2 y! R& ?challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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5 T) f" S) F; z2 y! }2 I/ \" LUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and# h: d7 {( J `" {3 |4 t
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in/ {4 Y' i; k- V3 G
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
( x5 _+ S6 e& `6 g9 _3 x/ uChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
1 s' t5 F% ^+ q: P/ Yon weekends. o* Q" l, w k9 _2 F
- x" R# j9 x9 T1 p; @The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
" \+ O6 ^" S n5 L5 ischools during the regular school day and primarily serves. Y% h. Y" b9 A& j4 L9 h
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
: j: F# b ~2 A* ~" ^proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the8 J2 X9 h" b+ S0 C0 o
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
- B% M$ O8 o( W/ l" ~said. "There will be Chinese and English."6 F+ S3 N& y# k' {( ^; [6 n
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly; \0 ^9 Q) }3 k6 }$ h1 B) w
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
1 R. j. s) b8 aschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from! b" n' _/ }8 N E
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
$ G' J$ ^2 t4 F: m; v$ Cwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
2 P( W/ z/ t2 E! |6 ethe school system last year.
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5 _0 \, U$ R; R$ ^The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this' }" r: D0 s9 n* x: b/ v/ w5 Y3 V2 D
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+ ^" ?/ ^8 d B' Y: n1 G3 X1 |
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago+ b/ B- X" C9 C3 M) l. E& V3 d5 D
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to4 h/ A! _2 a0 H; T. j
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
( v2 q" N8 d& }9 e Lon an equal playing field."
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& A- H) n/ C0 i7 V2 d, RSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
+ u" i: Z: _2 n. ], l2 H! nclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign- ^5 ^+ l# g% E0 Y* m& Y
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
* z+ G* ?- w3 p) |* [Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An' s; L" K" i0 F4 v D
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
" K K: j9 o* z0 q @7 @% SChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the6 s8 v2 S! c0 _1 q9 U
institute says.
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% `. @/ D. y. G; iSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
% @; x5 V/ G6 [( kgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
- T5 u8 L7 a% x9 Adeciding whether to take the class.
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5 f9 U) P% K5 [+ ~"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
" g; M' v) a8 p" m) _! {, Ktold her daughter." q& c' y% F2 k2 M
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite# C3 A* ? Z$ X. K% Z' m
class.$ h, F* S+ x" h, J- `+ |; W- j5 S
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are% l& Z; o5 S8 S+ ^
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
( p( ^6 ~" O! W' loccasional frustration.3 m( M N0 _) g4 B2 B
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
9 G5 |% R+ B* H- I# Hrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
5 I- l9 l: w4 Ltaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with- V% H9 T" d' t. j" H
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.* m2 [0 `) Q. U3 ?9 J1 f
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
0 \5 M( M( f0 U6 M8 a2 t7 x6 psaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
0 V6 ~3 @& I" q/ Z# Q# nas many languages as I can."
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) m. T4 p" S% |* kAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the/ p6 ?0 X- h4 n0 j5 f* F5 C
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job- s" I* ?7 d1 Q: r4 ^5 j
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
: a- I3 v. K" J* u6 Hthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program% s& J) n$ D. v5 a
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
0 `9 G6 c, ?. _3 \" I9 fschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
$ ?+ ~; z. M c, O7 @time from classes like physical education, music and art to make# a. O. r3 B" S& [0 E! Y6 i
room.# \. f# B: Z7 F/ _- e# G, A
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
# v. K" v# ^+ L [0 q+ ~/ D% wChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
5 b. R" i- Q- Zcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.2 E& F5 k. L: [9 h3 R
% i' F9 q( ^, z$ F# E, h' K"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
2 A% m& _+ N @8 p1 l* K9 _- abecause of that missing certification," he said.7 h$ M8 {' l* Q H& E, ]9 N
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
\" c2 F$ H: G9 D1 K! `( v) Usaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
& K% c. b/ F; n5 \1 s4 _Society in New York.
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- o. f9 b0 }2 USix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
. g7 w& {3 a M0 q2 n% X: h d: _Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from# e1 n) _, v- ]
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.7 G# f& w1 M6 w+ @
9 h7 S" k9 ^ z) t2 g/ t$ C- q9 t"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our5 k' O& q b0 Z% P
own."
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