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October 15, 2005, c0 Q0 O2 B/ Z+ _4 i) l" }
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity/ @& @+ n+ {) O6 I9 w
7 o" v2 L* `4 ~( m, F8 pBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING1 Z a+ d# k! V0 r2 R
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the
9 M) B8 M* s% p t+ o# l# kUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary. e3 \! D! V6 i
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas$ D+ V a8 ?5 g3 X/ L
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese& a: g8 h0 l7 |
flag hang from the wall.6 x7 B) ^) Q- ~+ ~0 t
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one: M& N# U) d4 n& S d) J8 \% R
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
: c. S- v0 v7 z% s6 R& ?practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker- ^) z% k+ H: S
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students5 h8 _6 y0 l/ w9 R$ j
are already choosing it over Spanish.' P* Y! S) U' a! ~% Q
& u9 m# t8 O# W" T8 z, k f"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
4 B+ H4 y+ G5 y2 P0 G# G" tat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city# j& J+ @3 g1 ^3 Y, B- Q
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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3 ~) n0 s1 @, O& U XWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,4 _2 U4 b' _3 D6 U! N/ _# r, O
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
3 N; c9 j: r- K2 i" Z$ `to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
5 T, B% t/ ?" [' l% Sone of its most difficult to learn.! r C2 H0 t' D) J2 A7 o* i
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 E s$ O% ?% R' \+ ^( m
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students1 V' d- A6 m; g
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.2 ~$ c6 X& M4 `9 o( h
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
6 }% W" @; G; F0 |0 cTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
) R" a$ g: s9 I9 K, x0 IChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to: L$ k7 |/ G4 S2 [, d; h. A8 A; V" Q
improve 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
8 k' Q ?) u- P2 o9 YChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
. o8 c9 o1 X% gstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to3 g1 k+ _; \8 J( ^/ `
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
' I1 ]! d8 \' C# E4 q. x! B4 Lcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director0 X/ {9 O6 M; R' g
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.2 G% n( b# M7 A% b! ~8 Z$ A5 J# y/ _
. u, L) N+ z% g/ ^& q"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of4 C! B; M0 Y# L9 O. P a8 S0 [
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
% {4 _7 l i9 h* @, hConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from
+ n4 u+ O' Z! F4 }$ d3 K0 eelementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
( Y5 q. j9 ]( @1 X3 @ j4 Q8 jyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language% r5 y# o8 C X* ^2 Z' }
Institute in Washington.& Q7 K& l8 P! u- f9 Q: ]
7 @' v% T- B2 B( F& I4 E1 S"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
4 ?+ C9 k* b9 S# _aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.( f7 `& z8 M* N( D; R# w9 G
McGinnis said.% T# W- k. Q: L0 y1 K
% [1 s/ {+ p1 ~6 l, C+ i! T"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
- u9 l0 }2 O, U, G6 G$ `1 flongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be
7 ~8 w# Q6 g' _! w8 jready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a+ p+ C1 \ L& w0 L1 M) l" Y9 x9 @9 m
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."3 ^' O5 Z9 I; b( Y" R& H4 O
( R. H( S6 o3 |5 r" UUp to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
) |2 t3 E+ s, S- U" G6 nsecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
: w' N+ q5 G2 T% e& _2 Pcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of) L. J7 k8 Y; W& H
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or& N i1 A0 Z9 T2 q6 @" m6 ]
on weekends.2 S9 c5 u$ |3 B5 P
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
# [0 w0 @0 n9 M. n; hschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
4 g) l2 b4 F1 j, V5 O8 B* m8 M& }$ n) {students who are not of Chinese descent./ j% A7 j/ |( d4 i' }0 _+ L: C
( g+ c9 P* B3 T( g- y0 kMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said7 f( X9 b! e5 Z6 L7 E+ c& U
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the. z& n) M7 O$ B
competition.
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! u4 g: a# v) _8 ?+ e: f6 p+ s"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
; [0 }2 |& A& P* a& jsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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+ ], \* z2 I* U( h/ i3 g6 vFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
8 t9 d7 P5 w9 U, {# H. ]: l9 U) iall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse+ M. [: @. Z# O; d
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from
& K2 \5 k8 s1 n" {) Tkindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students5 ?% v5 Y& H+ h' w
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to1 X7 T+ G, J, U. a9 ]9 l k# h
the school system last year.8 x3 L4 j% r) c1 t3 y. W
n3 _# l6 I# Y8 o6 f9 rThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
5 k% x0 } x! s( o2 S9 E$ x: Ryear 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
2 X6 o8 K. c/ I9 ^* e# i2 h# Nclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago" r: x. P: Z' x7 |& o4 y) |
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to5 u5 C. z! `( y+ g$ X4 q; D7 l- `
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet- m# L x/ J7 s) T, V C
on an equal playing field."9 b5 n4 A( }* a# _
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese6 u1 l2 X7 R$ B$ x; G
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
- e7 t) h2 \% `% j" Z- [Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks7 A9 I+ E2 m, o
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
5 Q8 X$ k! C: b' e( R" b$ _average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
6 w/ S; X: f9 T0 pChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
. M- V! l; T* D$ K. {institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth& M$ O1 g& v! p: u7 w, `4 {
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
: ?+ n! U$ h$ r$ Q, z' tdeciding whether to take the class." {( c# ~, U: {9 M
# {) e( d0 w% x( c% N& x0 D# w2 g0 M2 P"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
( a. ~8 E; Z1 N. P0 rtold her daughter.! [: D( N. K( W
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite) g8 o0 z6 I# q$ F
class./ F& k3 n1 \1 n) c8 j1 l
0 q8 A, k, G( x; ]- lAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
. B" L* c0 k4 f/ y `! |+ M6 B lstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
8 H/ t% X4 {' @occasional frustration.$ Y% {. [# \6 f
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a' ?$ h/ Z9 R; m t$ E& S% d$ ?
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
* h/ ~6 t: V; n/ R& Ftaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with5 y: H h+ `/ B- q/ v3 a
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.. P7 K5 d+ F+ p8 Q4 A1 ~
& k3 ^6 g5 t1 S+ H& g- ~"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
3 y7 ~% U3 i+ n1 @$ X" |. fsaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn$ T5 e; ^+ r. ~. P. h+ ]1 `' K
as many languages as I can."# K; P& ~+ d2 T3 g; b( B% U w' Y
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
: W6 z. h9 s# Z/ V, t4 u. yskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
3 F& o. b' }2 ?- C \. u8 |9 Amarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
- k) j \7 ^% f1 p- _that," Ms. Freire said.# {9 f( H, {5 `4 k: z
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
& X. ^9 u9 \" bhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each$ O( T7 J. X$ T" S* B
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking* `! }) k! r& ]0 _% F
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
7 M+ ~( n1 @$ P5 M3 E2 Froom.: G3 _9 Z8 z" v9 l% W& q
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
6 V1 R0 h7 Z' q: k4 ]/ s- DChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American' i* H+ l" \- _8 @0 ^* ]& H
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said./ u- d& D- c$ M; s" ]# F' @$ U9 E
9 B9 i% H9 H6 D0 F# P9 w; j! c"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
+ ^- ?' ~8 ?6 |! I. q: U1 ybecause of that missing certification," he said.
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+ j/ w0 l1 Z) t) c9 A1 H" XThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
1 Z x ^ ?9 Esaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
$ q3 z/ R& E; bSociety in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the- \) N* y4 y" O' J2 z F% F
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from& ~! L* J `& u# u: |7 S
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.$ ?6 E, U# u9 v4 l, P5 f: t
9 y) M$ ]0 t. O9 ^/ Z: Q, e1 r"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
) E8 }/ A* ]* E2 E) Zown."
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