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October 15, 2005# j h3 _- F1 N5 {1 z
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
6 G7 A' Z) }( u& ^3 S/ y) x, ZUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary2 M3 U) q# y0 ?( Y4 e& u2 r
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas3 e2 X6 e. e) P$ s t2 e# j3 L. i
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
1 ~$ h* z. I4 a0 J0 T1 c6 Y' E" F+ jflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one9 n, J! i) G( Z
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
' t' o% N* K* [% n3 _& g/ apracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker; n/ ^8 b* |9 F6 Q) y/ |
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
. `- R0 T/ x, J* r" Kare already choosing it over Spanish.7 n& `' [0 h8 o8 c* D
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
) u- u4 d/ {1 }$ |! w9 z* Rat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
1 j& Y: J* e4 L9 J; Hoffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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7 w4 H" O. o- I" yWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,' Q2 s, V( ?* O- I8 h
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings% i9 B3 \" C) A) M2 F2 c4 U2 O: q& X
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
3 ~' ^8 m! K+ q; x, q& _5 Uone of its most difficult to learn.8 P1 l( U. i0 ]0 D/ ~5 n
1 B4 D1 Z3 k/ _ t9 ZLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to) q2 o( y: i& M. @. @; ^& K
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
) g8 ~) z' L! w/ Q# r" W) l( ^studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I., U0 v0 b8 l2 j( K' P; G0 _
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of- n3 q8 S2 a; O+ i' A
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
4 B" G8 S3 X% }& n1 K, u- yChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to9 [. P: A1 N2 s' X- N3 g9 D
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.# ]9 z6 s4 Y# m: [
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After 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement* ]/ p9 @" r6 e3 D" k/ c
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country! \) i4 r- f. A& i
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to( H7 B" p0 l) o. n7 q
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
1 p5 m6 C5 p6 X7 ?- D7 C! n, Xcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director' ~; [! @7 n- a0 e) s* a
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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N6 } Z1 U( i/ ?2 c"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
3 u5 ^4 `# ?( ~/ Fspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
8 ]5 v! F4 Y, u% _7 Z/ YConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we$ E9 g' f# y* I+ p
can." - N+ W- b2 n1 ~1 W5 C
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from) I- p& q7 E+ P- r; z M
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
6 r( c6 p( G1 _7 ?6 d: oyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
; c1 m0 c" K0 w. I) G6 d [1 RInstitute in Washington.
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- _5 y' F! e4 X% t' a, u9 p"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
0 b# S: L$ }" U5 V% \5 q) @) daren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
* L9 S m% b j$ o' B7 HMcGinnis said.8 J u* r' a# L d! I" v5 F
) s$ N4 [6 Z' {( J K, T"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
; _: X _2 V9 i, D. J* clongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be1 w& `7 @, H* F
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
) K4 c0 ^5 O; O" C- hchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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% n1 F. C9 i. v u: n/ G7 IUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and& ]4 n7 W( }6 S3 F" @
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in: o8 e- T% H* o' D `( K- O
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of9 X; R0 Q* t) X
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or2 S0 } t3 i- n
on weekends.
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
. G, X9 E3 m0 \. Z* E9 x( ?schools during the regular school day and primarily serves
* Y" H% J) e8 D% \5 Ustudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said1 S" I3 V" P6 e% X
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the. L$ H# U! Z0 }
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
2 l, M) n6 I6 B' A+ ^said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly/ W! l6 l( `$ N2 p* W7 X
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse% y( H1 m( n* x/ R9 [
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
4 i4 W2 S2 {% X; ekindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students2 M0 O& @1 T! t% A
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to% V2 T% y4 J K
the school system last year.+ m1 O* d2 U; t$ L- R2 ] h
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
3 d4 K; I3 c# Z, L# d! U9 oyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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( g6 ~8 }( m. y( ]6 u) O"They have a great international experience right in their own
/ U+ z3 {1 I6 \" xclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago9 B4 ?4 I) p6 C! Q X" r: Y
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to/ ~4 C' a# ^0 Z A
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
8 ~; ]! D. s9 E! ~' ]on an equal playing field."
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
0 x6 s4 x: D# y6 Q% qclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
O9 a0 W$ |$ Q( z" w+ oService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks$ a3 j" z) C/ [5 u8 l* @" ~, R
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An; `1 Z' i% F% h) a: `
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in# Z+ Q9 ~/ T% q! u' R2 V1 T
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
) F+ r& a* y/ x' k& `institute says.0 F- k* r; q6 N2 i
4 J: O9 d6 g& `: oSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth: p" K" H; ]( E& c. P& z1 ]' o
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before. ?$ k) Z" @2 A+ m
deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
4 Q) F( p) ?$ |# e. g8 ltold her daughter.
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, v/ G0 _ M) O# B5 tSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite% Q0 `" S8 }7 H, Y
class.9 I' C5 a1 q" s; a
5 U H) r) |5 K- ~At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are8 p5 p; {. ^7 g% w2 k
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
5 [7 l4 m7 ~5 Boccasional frustration.2 y3 [ P7 ~- m6 R) H! ~) a+ R3 l( i
1 v6 @: b# f+ g2 L) s"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
, R1 @7 N# O+ j7 j+ r" grecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.( [( @, S0 e, u" ?9 p
" t) F6 D" }* |3 }% tRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he5 T0 s# G5 @3 X3 d o
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with1 l' q$ n- b9 D1 t5 }
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.5 O% W9 t9 k* e0 J5 w8 I4 \: `
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul; {) F& d+ Z* b ?0 H
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
6 K8 @" N' s' O# c2 u qas many languages as I can."
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+ E8 V( L* [8 tAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
& i& [3 p# j% {skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job0 \4 m$ C0 T6 S) e3 l
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like5 T4 ~- x$ q. f0 w( R5 j
that," Ms. Freire said.4 q6 t* Q8 |0 M; `0 ~8 @
# S/ \) Y5 Z+ N5 `% mMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program0 _1 z/ g, a+ \$ B- S& \5 \
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each/ g! l; r% i+ g" R
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking' g5 E9 V7 ^. f6 d! s n6 s
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make% T0 j- b! G* @3 C1 W' q6 @1 a
room.! I9 p- d/ R; ]4 d' ^* f: U: Y% g
1 J0 J N% b8 s) dChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
/ D T6 a8 `* |9 {: R2 `# Q- F# IChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
h# Y* H7 K0 L* h7 E2 Lcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified" Z ?$ D. s1 M: H! y0 |
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,, o7 G6 a$ i2 i1 j0 s
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
7 A6 X$ s6 B6 e8 f* OSociety in New York.; L+ K6 Y$ a B( c1 n* G) L: I
; u) R% {# ^; |9 B, RSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the, H# p( i% k& \. P9 x6 i
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
' {. [/ E/ ]6 J" ~% Ithe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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* v) V# u4 ~; J ]3 S9 S9 F"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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