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October 15, 2005& _0 }7 ?8 \: ~1 W: C9 g
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity6 R, F, n7 Q" O# h9 s- Q) E
z: }/ a8 l7 n3 {By GRETCHEN RUETHLING+ H0 V, M a$ S! Z9 m
! x8 w, c, E6 ^/ [* q6 bCHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the, t1 j z+ A1 M& g6 i/ E
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
) Y# _8 i* r" s0 F6 M0 Y% s" g, VSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas
Y0 d0 ]- [ c: n3 E! B7 H- X7 Wdangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
! C7 [- q& V* [! z% Rflag hang from the wall.3 n; y- @8 Z5 |0 g4 v9 R" v; V
' }$ L. J( N+ x% T2 Q& {One recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one, l( a9 F n" q; D. L
another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
$ `, O1 u8 e, e5 f- kpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker1 ~" I0 G( S1 a3 ^/ S
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students6 c1 I: V# `. s+ z8 x
are already choosing it over Spanish.% C/ Y3 B. r4 ?; _' e& m- [
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal
- @: W3 w& V+ q& r' }, u7 [at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city+ g* B: |! g4 O; K
offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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. y: ^" A0 {- U- `With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
$ }: o. y' ~; T# |$ yschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings* `1 L$ s! u7 s! V% q1 @. d
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention0 ~ k. x& _) d) U9 c9 ~4 E
one of its most difficult to learn.
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5 L; G, O+ x" oLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
5 J# o! j. C" o: V' I7 Tpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
. [% x. P" t# \2 Astudying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.
. m6 Z8 l. p5 K. p* x4 wLieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
! _. i0 c4 v& t2 W, Z; C% x FTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
P' Q$ P2 K% I* t* ^Chinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
/ l; Y: t4 Q" W( S Pimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.$ @8 e2 B! K/ X# L. g: u' I' W
2 y7 `/ O- U; s" _6 MAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
8 j7 }$ @7 p' c8 bChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
! [* d1 y! t8 `& i& R, Lstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
, a& f9 N# p3 O$ o' S" I2 Adevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing q0 Y2 s- ]+ B/ n9 ~% s, ]7 e, }
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
% B* _. C( P( Qof the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
( H/ R F% o" I4 @8 tspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education! B- b7 [1 J) ?1 Y/ f% ?& W
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
5 F7 N0 B9 ~3 `. W' wcan."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from4 f3 D4 Q% `+ _9 Q) g$ `) F$ t
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
$ O3 c( ~5 a o8 z1 F$ oyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language
9 d: B) i6 \" b# z1 ~4 R+ c# lInstitute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages' q. z9 {5 n# U+ M% k
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
# G# K/ y6 ^2 ]3 t5 d# z$ cMcGinnis said.
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6 H9 l3 b! G, Q% h j: w g. q: V"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical/ H5 \/ t5 x1 y* z7 }4 V& c& F) Y$ t
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be6 x9 d' X* w% z! Y/ [
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a | C$ r0 @( f
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."* O) ~# @/ x# l9 \; u3 d t
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and6 Y2 l" z( x# l' h1 U
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
9 C' Y- _( X! G! Ecities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of, X% D8 F; C5 L- p6 {
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or8 ]; Y0 [% k. [) j c
on weekends.# D! d2 t9 _( N$ H: M C
+ A' ?$ ~0 K; i/ Q) Y CThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public" ~& B4 s; W, s* {0 d+ c
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves1 B) W6 z/ V7 l F( \
students who are not of Chinese descent.# V$ _4 D: J" `$ h- K- O3 p' m
7 N0 L, I* j3 C5 [8 RMayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
1 t- @ x; E* e; G$ _3 [; Eproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the0 o2 V3 Z Z# h/ j
competition.
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( r# D6 U; L1 D. s* A n"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
h% w, u* n, |5 A; p- K# O" d/ x# gsaid. "There will be Chinese and English."
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) [, N2 n* Q- H- v, L N( jFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
# I! R4 e0 `9 I- V" x( Xall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse2 D C2 M3 _. j
schools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from7 R2 n2 S) J- B: p
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students
( i$ n7 x6 t; s/ zwho are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
) ~+ T, K( C" Athe school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this# N! s& H. a1 d6 M% ?8 n8 y4 ]
year 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
8 D* g* {0 q% [$ w) I6 O6 i6 mclassroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
3 [4 o) j& t, FChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to- c* K; T4 ^# M5 p
help students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet4 O g m" y: [. o, B+ @/ o
on an equal playing field."; ~6 ^$ R/ o H
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese; a: u# r/ M$ `
classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign3 t' B9 j& ]- A
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
: P7 V' _9 T, o9 U% dChinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An$ F5 Y3 S5 t* R( ~/ M# @0 f
average English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in0 w9 s- r4 R) ?* H3 S
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the7 g' n2 j h9 m8 j( a
institute says.
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+ z1 V5 R6 g6 Y2 u; r9 ESevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth; P2 k- x) T1 {2 X: v$ b
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before; T" ~/ N5 c8 i0 H& ~1 Q
deciding whether to take the class.2 i9 F5 u6 j4 Z- O
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she/ V4 ^8 E U; ]4 ]
told her daughter.
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; B8 q$ C8 g) u$ KSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite6 ]& R& a" u' a' U: l9 g- U
class.' H) l& N! M L1 k3 n$ Y
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
. {" h, T) Q$ E! L# S: Tstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without0 u O4 D# h. x/ T& o1 j0 J
occasional frustration.
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$ G& t! G6 t+ T$ K$ r+ p"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a# {1 K6 r9 B9 d3 I8 i
recent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he. z$ p7 N; T! w! A0 Z- a5 C
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
% S, b7 x1 L1 W3 R' ?4 t% T: g/ JChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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% F; x) N$ _3 z, o; C9 x; @"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul
& A9 I+ `. r# S3 E7 Esaid. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn( J+ c' Y; a' ~
as many languages as I can."
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
7 R; o/ a2 [2 bskills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
6 t: E, i, g z) w2 ]market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
, Z+ d' ~/ t' H$ r9 C1 r, Dthat," Ms. Freire said.% o1 d9 l$ e* M0 E+ Y
1 ?1 [$ H$ n! E5 m _0 B, O5 L- EMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
" Q, x* @: d$ P$ L' zhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
8 j7 z$ _4 B# `0 e5 sschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking
% [3 L, M& S, wtime from classes like physical education, music and art to make F, I( A1 [' \( ~* n
room.! B, l& J/ [6 p% b
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer$ j0 T9 Y3 @# {6 C' U. a6 d
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
' {9 T5 n8 p% L: N0 ^9 q+ A! D5 pcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.. l+ J# e0 A$ {' j' x
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"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified8 t9 E5 |% }! e% O- {9 w
because of that missing certification," he said.! J4 _/ ?! u( x" H- y* i9 A3 o
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,1 s( y6 t: \- ~
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia
' m- E3 A( o" c# c+ g HSociety in New York.
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9 ?) C% j% s; g: o5 @0 HSix states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the( l3 l, O- o4 ?$ Z! o- _) r
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from j3 w5 `9 R, k" i+ Y
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.
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* X+ u& A+ V5 L0 i( k d4 U ["Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our7 \9 n( F$ I+ o( y3 `6 }
own."
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