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October 15, 20051 f9 Y0 E5 G1 {* Y, c: G
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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5 S1 A+ J& _( S! v1 C/ ^- WBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING
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; M6 w9 s/ }4 [" V8 @/ JCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, N/ ~% C$ H! U$ Y! w% i
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary- V' f" X, R4 d. a) E
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas- r. ?) B9 q3 L. N- N4 V7 d
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
) G& @2 [ C* D0 ~, E8 L: Vflag hang from the wall.
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One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one$ Q0 R: Z: r* }$ H& ^6 ^
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
$ M" D& N5 M+ P: V1 Spracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker7 _) E/ V" m4 e
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
$ x% }1 x* c: B3 p' Rare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
o! w6 @8 h. o, |" Hat Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city% Q9 w4 @5 o, I$ F3 M. ^
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."5 \2 z. w1 K8 Y$ z
' H x. m1 r( ?4 ~" JWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,$ f7 Q$ k6 I. i& a
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings) M5 I: E M8 P* M
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
- X n' c6 M: ~- J& h' mone of its most difficult to learn.
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! c, t! Z7 O8 M5 d. QLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
% G' c4 J& @! ^- t8 w3 lpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students( R8 m) B S) i6 B* C- n
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
, m4 l0 {* Z: w& h, CLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of! y0 ~# u8 g6 ?
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
6 ?/ c( V7 K3 j+ oChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to1 o0 n% W. W' f5 G: W, I: ]
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee., o8 x0 M; ]0 E3 N( E8 M+ ~
7 C6 o- G/ x, y- f7 E: L9 M9 fAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement8 x' W4 @' b2 |6 e( j0 W" \
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country. \3 M4 M( R4 G5 Z$ d9 g5 {. J
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to R3 l- r% N2 c" ?3 P
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
* \- x) B9 c7 b* U) [ f* `curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director# E& R6 z, _* a2 R6 P
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of" B' T) S8 Z! t; m; z4 t, h) N
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education5 @4 t6 ^4 N2 ~1 A6 t9 B! c2 f% B
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
% R: O. G/ r& S9 x8 _$ x5 hcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from5 ]8 n4 B/ e' C1 V" a: @) Y% e* F
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10* O* Q7 D) T E% X x: K
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language7 J9 i8 G# ~2 w
Institute in Washington.2 \, P6 ?/ C3 E1 g. P0 N6 O7 l
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages
% N* n; h- |8 D9 [aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
6 [, v6 W% q; [2 ]4 yMcGinnis said.
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical/ ~. t2 k+ K K! v
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be0 z0 W4 @" ^) N3 N$ R
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
' p: {5 P7 v2 C0 P- U. y4 }5 Achallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
! H# n" O2 ?0 B8 @+ J Ysecondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in4 h+ K* s1 j; y/ G
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of5 T; X- k8 Z% m% ~5 a7 |: g4 k; ^
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
2 K8 T6 Z8 J9 I& @9 V$ o; |on weekends.' [( T0 r# g+ `! S9 H
0 H( }# K, }/ z; SThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
1 G! T+ x$ Y, X3 R% J2 hschools during the regular school day and primarily serves z0 C1 @$ X2 Z4 g
students who are not of Chinese descent.2 _& `: L/ U: L% s% S
7 w, Z" C7 J; Q2 CMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
7 I- A& l L( \; Yproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the, I/ O: m- Q+ \0 L0 g
competition.
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
$ x* }+ }7 P4 s$ L& {4 g. Hsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
! S) m# {+ p6 z" _: P) c! E& Hall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
5 u& F% C) l: g! mschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from( n; q$ R; N( C$ E0 I' M1 }
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students( E9 ?8 f0 @, f' ?: m5 k6 h, ^) Y* s0 i
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to2 S* |. {6 x$ g) s9 }
the school system last year.
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' m- M: Q% C2 [# D4 q. kThe program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
0 K' Y' `- d% Nyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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, w9 B6 G9 h8 U( r l0 f"They have a great international experience right in their own
( y0 V6 C; q1 O, e5 m" i" }9 uclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago7 u+ M* N% Q. w0 S# O o. i8 w
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to2 F4 K6 \8 c( S' C p" W/ U
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet9 y6 u( \) g% p& C
on an equal playing field." E+ Z1 b; U# {! ?, K" K; h
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese! b* W5 p8 {6 c7 a
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign6 `5 _. _. ?$ @
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
! W2 ~+ C$ [& t# w' m1 V+ B5 wChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
+ @5 a, p9 h- daverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
6 Y% N4 j1 a# k+ g4 \7 k# ^Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the: r1 |0 I i+ ]
institute says.
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Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
; \+ p' q2 Q4 l5 y* P- }7 {grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
; G4 ?1 V# V$ Q5 Tdeciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she& N# T- ]2 _5 n m0 \
told her daughter.& N8 V/ d5 i+ b- |& V, N+ R4 G
; R: q8 E; c( U, S3 l* \/ J% ySahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite! J, S8 k3 c' {5 L- l8 z# \
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are3 P+ e% p9 G1 X$ [- |. f
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without. x+ q8 B! R+ p( R3 {7 L
occasional frustration.) U9 q2 f, ?: `9 Z
! r* |! N- x j1 k }"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a+ T" J% ?: Q% p# Z" A+ u$ m% l
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he# ?, a1 S( v. q! a2 o5 M# l1 S' j4 h/ X5 \
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with/ r5 X# `8 l8 ?6 W j- g A
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.# I+ s; L: [- M1 s" i( O
5 U! t; r t2 W, h6 f, H"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
) L% c0 z5 ]1 k- f5 p6 e7 esaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
; d- v, ]# _1 r: ^0 u2 ]" @1 m# Ras many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
% ?0 p0 a1 C# B- Mskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job( l H. c6 K% q; O2 U- {
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
0 O! y: ~. ? O! [0 Vthat," Ms. Freire said.
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Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
! K" t3 G: s' X8 {# phere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
5 p2 Y3 X% \. S m) Sschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking+ N' m* |. \8 b( P
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make2 n& t& ?! l/ e2 d7 r3 g+ d
room.
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5 x! E# \/ l q" e6 k( h( ?6 @4 PChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
" h- u4 R3 V' M2 b* YChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American5 T, O. W& Y; G' @' r- f G+ q( t
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.' m4 M2 B: f2 p0 I5 }- R2 v
) w( k! j9 l+ ^7 p* t9 O$ ^8 ]"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified
; o6 f- i* r. fbecause of that missing certification," he said.) _9 n) K' |& k3 s
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
2 f5 m$ P$ k6 Ysaid Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
: t0 X6 `1 J1 |1 M5 u. VSociety in New York.
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0 j6 ^* k3 H' aSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the5 R% S! ?8 b; q" t, Z) \5 D
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from4 K* W4 @9 ?4 v, W" `- Q
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.: S$ A1 v# y3 l7 V* c# x( q
' ?/ r1 b' y. ]; U! {7 M5 w; x/ J"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
5 g. @. d$ w( X" D' vown."
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