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October 15, 2005; Y! l$ B2 E4 V% J
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity' h) ?/ t- C+ R1 t0 T
. j$ ^) n, E; M: g GBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING1 m2 a9 c* C/ | @3 {0 Z
j% Q0 E. W: ~7 e( `CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
3 k$ {" S+ L* X6 @United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
K" c1 x- g" t/ } t: A2 a2 f0 N/ VSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
, T/ Q0 [2 B1 @' v- N( |" I) u7 kdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
; E! O; r7 e/ U3 p" P6 W1 T- j0 ?flag hang from the wall.3 R9 ]. m' q4 e3 h
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one7 X" R/ M+ _4 Q. R
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders4 S o ~; ~! S' H* F! Q* S8 t5 ~& o
practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker
( c. u2 _# I* b* [0 Lboards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
/ W8 Q9 G1 v" z" Uare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
, G$ H* [) X6 x3 nat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
# h8 y. s ^; A8 h7 U0 ?& Yoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."8 p: ?+ i! z5 n0 i
$ Q' l7 ]" z& V$ S# P+ ?With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
0 N+ F& j/ ^9 \& A) Y7 z( rschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings6 h4 }: b9 g C F
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention7 J1 T* K2 k4 r6 Z3 _+ D* V" @
one of its most difficult to learn.
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3 ]" {$ K2 ~& p; n% ILast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
* `; H; K8 j+ A( V+ ^# Jpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
; }( z2 m; c, Y/ _# Sstudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.! Q% S# J/ l {) } _0 T$ {" n- F; |/ @
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
/ n, Q* `" b2 QTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on1 z7 `0 i6 o, G+ f/ Q
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to. X. W" V* |- {: _0 |
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.: u% b) q! L4 \3 C2 {) W6 J
+ w+ j5 g/ r5 H7 a% {0 MAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement, n, `& ^( O4 d) N C
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country+ p" [) }) Y/ ~" `
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
+ G; _ @3 J a; j; Q7 F( j$ ~develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing1 B7 y& t# m5 {* p
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
4 n9 a. U) q/ t: F* ]9 Cof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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& S; I/ l( T( p2 @"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of, q' E/ k s$ k8 m: l: q/ L% w" _# E
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
& }% N. r1 E6 i% L5 @' R: nConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we8 d1 W1 [& D+ ?# J
can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from6 J0 s2 ? w: W5 Z; a% z
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10; h0 R$ i; _; v: R% C8 p
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language6 i# s1 Q( h7 J6 e F
Institute in Washington.0 D/ y( }. G$ |$ I1 X) ~
) z) n7 \8 j% U) K& F"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages- j' c/ ?& f6 y* w9 v& l7 g ?
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr./ \ Q& i/ K8 [7 s
McGinnis said.1 ?% R! N6 ]0 v! s" n- W
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
- g" ~. o7 Q9 e# k. ]8 s! }3 elongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
6 u" X- ]5 r! D9 N- eready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
7 x- [2 R) }+ u/ G$ ~5 ^; w/ Achallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."& z9 G; D3 f& h6 e
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and, @, c4 ?9 N3 l# y: X. q3 L
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
$ Q( X$ x. _5 Dcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of- z6 r2 R) I1 f6 Q; M! }: A
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or8 z( a9 N2 |% E& G* z ^
on weekends.! E: d" q* u- w" o9 G! ^
2 B N) a* f" A: [The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
4 n" g8 s( Z9 Rschools during the regular school day and primarily serves2 r% x/ f! v- G4 X
students who are not of Chinese descent.; v* R% ?6 W) Q ^$ l0 M( X
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
% d3 C4 \ H8 d. h/ Fproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the: B; j0 m0 c: V3 G5 |& A3 F7 |
competition.
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1 p- |8 y+ `- ?/ x& J7 t& \"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
1 ?, O7 E2 X6 P% @# ysaid. "There will be Chinese and English.", F3 M3 f4 h' U2 c& b
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
) _3 f) w" `1 l _1 p" k, eall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
6 r( {8 r* \# Z2 `+ R! eschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
/ v- b0 _ z& S T5 L$ Y# ?kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students _3 M1 d, R+ b
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
; A8 \* X2 b3 tthe school system last year.( v3 U) B' t8 {* Y% `' C4 ~
/ ?2 J" L/ \3 @- |& z$ `9 tThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this) W+ k3 I' \+ t n5 ?; J
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year." W4 K9 \. J! h
: x& h- ?% t6 d" i"They have a great international experience right in their own
( y. Y& j, B! c5 z! kclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago, N9 L& L" ?7 l% |
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to A# I: k5 S; |$ Q6 F7 [: N
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
l k1 s8 }& T$ k& gon an equal playing field."1 Y! D+ n2 N7 d2 Y. p/ T
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
- ~6 b9 F) c9 z/ M2 tclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
& u5 v5 { _- F. w. }4 P6 ^# [Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks9 a$ \% r/ @+ j. {2 [8 ~% x
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
( P) l& @/ S4 J3 ^' v$ taverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in( I8 n6 f! u- S& _3 t7 I
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the! x- r, F% Y8 j, A' E' J
institute says.
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* ?( V7 U- V1 M5 G, u" aSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth @+ v( ~% ~/ d* ~6 u6 Q/ ~
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
5 v- G- b; X* _* R( } jdeciding whether to take the class.
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( T& i+ {6 A1 v, |"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she7 d) e0 A5 c' y& ]3 p" }2 D0 t
told her daughter.
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$ f0 u1 g% _* y) @* ~7 n7 ISahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
* D! T/ m4 i9 S1 H' a+ t* kclass.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
4 O" z( L5 S! Q1 k3 G3 ?studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
. g7 i4 ~$ i& z W Y9 Doccasional frustration.
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3 a: _4 j" V- q7 L! s% u. N, P5 E"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a/ ~0 P0 O3 y2 o/ W
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.0 ^% }$ h/ {" S1 K) |0 t' C' W+ `
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he' S! o( X# P p7 d* [: A0 r/ z
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
/ m4 C K# w* } }2 i0 T/ ?$ jChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
. f1 E' f. Z3 V) Z7 esaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
9 e, v/ Q/ j% O! Ras many languages as I can."% B5 E/ |* Q2 b) L$ ] }, g- u
/ {! Z3 u9 e; F: w! ^; C kAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
4 I h( T+ n6 k* P% Oskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job7 p+ t5 g5 n' C9 U
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
# `, ?+ x% T o! x- Rthat," Ms. Freire said.! i, ^ o) g, E: x& u
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
; x" x6 ~6 H$ qhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
; V! j& |9 e+ ~. j: Lschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking, t+ Z$ h0 P* c/ I6 @
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
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- M. K; A/ B6 lChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
4 j- |$ s5 l; i4 x) eChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American) Q* L, s7 e# |8 l* v; S5 f
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.* T) T3 ?0 U" E4 _. H4 e0 Y
! j( Y, }. w) w8 U& Z. u"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
% g9 p2 i+ v5 Z- a. |+ abecause of that missing certification," he said.. O a+ M$ o5 p' a3 Y
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,, y) B5 `2 U6 T) u) M, J4 I" M+ J
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia9 k- E' q w% g) ?7 X
Society in New York.( O+ Q( B2 ^0 `. {
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the1 A! q5 N; ^1 O* M( N+ e
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from' i# R# v1 R' |; { O' K, Z
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.- t8 I7 r% t. a W; @1 e
! i1 D9 l! M1 k"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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