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October 15, 2005; K" u3 B7 x; L% O& j& b
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity: @2 a' w7 K6 }2 H9 H( F
& h1 Q% ]7 o& ~8 ^. tBy GRETCHEN RUETHLING S) o+ i: n( ?$ ~4 o
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the+ O- Z- ]8 {0 N1 o% a& }" Y0 f9 n
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary( k1 F# g. Z/ O i6 S
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
$ Y5 R2 B$ E |& F$ [; Adangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese! l) ^* t- _' p. B& V" b. R2 J5 R( J
flag hang from the wall.) U }7 s7 L' G+ X- ~9 h, W" E
# k2 q1 O0 ?% Q4 M8 }One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
' E0 c( Y {3 G! p7 j1 vanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
" W2 F7 ?, `8 l: E' ?5 E- g: W: \practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ B& p# q8 x6 R
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
) B& W9 o0 i" T* ~0 Xare already choosing it over Spanish.
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal9 b# K5 |7 b( ?$ G4 v
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city& _9 G. n# F, f2 Q5 f
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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( W; Q% b. U \( h- EWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,3 x# u* z5 ~) I* O. b- d4 X
schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings6 f9 {9 m H2 ]8 _
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
8 K$ ^7 ? u n6 g; @one of its most difficult to learn. a2 x' ~# F' k) k' P2 x
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to0 g. Q/ F, L5 d4 ]% ?% i
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students+ v& X8 T6 N/ V2 z
studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.( k2 m% M& y3 _$ w3 a' R
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! i+ X1 p' N+ p3 pTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on" D/ k3 o* O8 ^( `% Q, `4 ?& C
Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to& R4 s \, A& ~% o
improve ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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0 q: ^3 G; X* [! |5 R- CAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement# f$ O+ L# Y# @2 P" |+ p
Chinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country0 e; r/ P2 V8 p6 j
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
& F: p9 Z7 b$ pdevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing1 x# A; R6 a1 } F
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director9 f D1 }" V, r4 Q
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of; W5 D/ F3 w. x0 m
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
* h/ M0 T. x- B3 K! k8 E# T0 IConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we$ t) q3 t% D, V% `( x5 A/ _
can." 3 A# K* r7 s3 ?6 c& X
& V8 |5 n7 o) N; K- C9 {The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from) x3 Z0 U9 @5 o" I( F8 h# i
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
3 B0 t: E9 u: D0 pyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
' [! D( O$ [; D0 x! t+ O8 P ^& o$ ]Institute in Washington.# c' T7 h& b# x5 P6 I4 x
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages7 f* w$ K7 d# `# I
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.& x5 t: t" L {' p7 H" v
McGinnis said.
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. K; [$ W* Y: I1 X9 S"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
8 a- T. x, R) |: Jlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be' R- ~- U/ y z1 T) L
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
) P; m9 ~4 n! `, I8 G$ J: `challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."2 b g1 \( W* j2 J* Q
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and5 h- b! a' |8 R1 N; E z9 z6 Y
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in S+ @1 B, w8 H; V( M8 Q f' v
cities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of) q4 | o" l( e& V3 ^# G
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or: A" y* k+ e% `9 d
on weekends.: T0 g- t& r& ~/ x
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
# U3 j8 z& x9 |6 S' qschools during the regular school day and primarily serves8 |1 u; f: F+ n$ S3 z
students who are not of Chinese descent.
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& e1 f1 O/ Q/ F4 P1 h6 A3 @Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
! F. b* D3 r- E# `# Iproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the
& a- u' @6 M8 S3 mcompetition. " F2 F2 @- ?0 G. x" I# t
& U8 [/ ?! h- d2 f" M" X i
"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley, A7 D, Y7 n1 T8 h+ T. I& e
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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% K& b& m" h1 E4 l1 YFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly" {2 V7 \) Q5 Z5 r7 h& ]% s% t2 K
all-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse% k: M1 h9 ?/ V% N
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from, Z1 r6 I( ^) V1 v
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
" f0 ], L/ m z! E* X" g0 ]1 Z0 owho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
# X' K8 E9 N# J3 Pthe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this8 m3 H7 \ }% j( r3 l9 z( @7 C
year and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.7 f, `* d9 [- I% L1 r7 L% x' J
. @& `* A+ I8 q"They have a great international experience right in their own, _- \, r, K) e5 e; _
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago- C9 ]2 e- w& m. D$ V5 Y
Chinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
' t2 R) E2 @4 i3 p: l" m/ phelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
# T d0 D' ~% y$ z" T' w$ won an equal playing field.": A8 K" l4 V7 C" \! q' X3 |) G
c. L* m9 o: u9 g$ |+ ZSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese3 G0 y& S3 E: d- C9 V
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
$ F* o$ B) v5 m5 K5 H$ \' jService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
$ Z0 l" q( ~9 ]: g$ Z: VChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
* r, o3 z3 I) f: d5 P' S) faverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in
, Q) _& X+ u4 r V7 @/ UChinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
& G' T& w9 v4 B; J2 U* G. ainstitute says.
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+ W3 |; {% J. N; c4 f9 @Sevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth
, Q) U6 ]: |7 \% h' |* vgrader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before. @& F- J; f* \- _6 t4 E
deciding whether to take the class.
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2 n: Y4 v; [* n1 `"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she! E6 l" `2 U T! j6 g% G
told her daughter.
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% ~4 q5 C$ h% b [% mSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite4 b4 p7 \7 {9 n9 g/ o/ K8 I9 c
class.$ H5 ~3 E7 G. R6 b( ]
. p- ?& t$ ?$ J( p+ r9 ]& LAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are$ L) U+ q! X) @+ v$ n
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
. C: Y+ `1 c7 e2 D7 U& i) L1 h" `5 aoccasional frustration.
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! e: i7 g0 ^8 E- \, Y7 X"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
1 t9 @+ d9 p! ?0 U- v& wrecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class. d: e$ S/ E: C
1 X3 x+ d- V6 f6 bRaul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
) _1 A/ Z/ q6 V. w$ _taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with" Z7 I$ T) y5 `4 s
Chinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.0 i- u( E7 T0 H2 O
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
# Y2 U5 o4 w9 o5 q, f6 g' m$ {( asaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
$ J( [. E2 K/ g: [9 E" ~as many languages as I can."3 y) V0 c) [+ P: V0 S( A, s/ o
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
+ W" D7 ]5 C6 u! G8 C% Askills would help her son be a better competitor in the job7 x( \! p0 F Y4 R; r
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
% J( D- K6 k1 fthat," Ms. Freire said.! H4 Z) ~, {4 Z
" r% U: d# E( \$ O. z4 b$ K- AMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program, m. y$ N6 t& U# e$ ]
here offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each& ~ x# y7 L4 x- c2 p
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
7 `+ z8 |) U) O; T) ztime from classes like physical education, music and art to make$ J+ Z& j1 `/ H/ }7 q
room.9 h6 `; }5 g1 e$ P4 R8 F
3 `( M4 N2 k; pChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer
6 T$ M7 ~; s- p$ a( QChinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American7 Q8 e8 p) ?" f7 {
college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.$ f( [! J5 ]1 ^# J$ t/ y, \
" v% a+ R# j, c4 @"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified& I% Y6 D6 C3 e8 T* L6 o
because of that missing certification," he said.: U' w y3 q d$ G+ e- l. c# @
* z) \' p ~: C: Z; W' e& D* fThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,/ U! g2 R7 a V) ]. Y# o, U! `
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
) s+ a( F' ?7 |! b, [Society in New York.7 G$ c6 u& F% P+ C
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the
3 M8 K0 }/ O0 i4 m4 J& U! zChinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
4 T9 `6 I( m; ]; ?) nthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.* w% I" p9 o# j% D K8 a6 _+ s3 @% }
9 R) }/ m: |2 u' d2 F/ X0 C ^"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our3 H& [! n# @5 r: x
own."
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