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October 15, 20058 s& w, j) I+ X4 ` k! u; G
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
$ s, u& K0 L; m$ n) c6 m( [, tUnited States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary
$ N" L2 n q* D" V# e! ^+ rSchool, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas# H K3 t& a) v
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese
' n& S; \- F7 Q* d: J4 q, iflag hang from the wall.: _, T# n5 B7 u5 d+ a# L
' j3 \5 n3 Q# w, ^! u jOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
2 T% Z" n- m, n+ eanother and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
8 X( c+ L8 c# k! cpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker/ f3 |! Z3 K' m& Q
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students
3 M/ b) P; N+ e" care already choosing it over Spanish. w& j3 b4 S& o, ?% l
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal& @# N; |: ^. @' `
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
- R' V) W g5 O: T. X% m1 l$ N+ Koffering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."
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! t/ o0 h- P% d7 tWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
+ y; \' W; d" u& xschools across the United States are expanding their language offerings. B6 L7 D; f8 a* c o3 Y# h$ d
to include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention2 N, E& j% F* w& ]
one of its most difficult to learn.
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/ u. }5 {3 o2 }; l; v6 U7 E6 t' zLast month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to
( y- C3 [6 D- Y! B) Z4 Q+ s6 vpublic schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
) r* X; K, b# i/ T3 ^studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.. @5 L$ V% o) r8 w2 u
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of/ e* ?; m# V7 b+ ?- y5 U/ E' F
Tennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
" _" k, c9 F* i/ M. l" J& D4 M" tChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to
T# f" n' z. Y! Aimprove ties between the United States and China. The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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7 x1 l# S5 ]& l/ q/ \( g9 JAfter 2,400 schools expressed interest, Advanced Placement
@- g4 B5 K6 H6 r5 O8 ^! D+ uChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country
. s- ~/ Y2 W: m- Vstarting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to5 V+ O5 g( J/ h, D o( s. a" P/ I& {* ~
develop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing. S( b" O, t3 V2 |
curriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director
`6 c* O* j4 |* ^of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.
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E* q9 Y3 j6 `# ^/ p$ f' n"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of4 W# p- Q! ^1 W5 ~6 F6 m
speaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education
' I2 g) @! u* P! DConsulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
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6 u# l0 m/ y$ H& y1 ?3 cThe number of Chinese language programs around the country, from2 E. v7 ?0 a4 {/ l7 t
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10 k9 f1 K# T* O _5 [& v. ~
years, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language* T- K1 X1 C5 P J5 e
Institute in Washington.9 h2 g ~0 K+ x9 q( V
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages- A- H8 S! _1 U! H! Y0 a1 n5 U
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr.
/ z4 m/ Q. J V/ q# X$ L) FMcGinnis said.- X0 @8 f( l1 R: x- G7 O0 v
, t* ?! n2 }0 u! `"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical2 h/ z' i" K$ Q( ?- v4 Z) R. W1 h
longstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be8 S& i0 j! K% f. J' F" f; a4 S
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a/ u+ L6 j+ \. ]
challenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."* f& [6 x8 f+ g% ` F( g5 k C
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and
% R( D5 k5 b$ d+ {& \0 u/ |secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
a/ \! ^% m! T, P0 b& lcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of
) d+ t' L* { ^4 u) m, H" s7 cChinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or$ y, P1 _$ S, C) b" z5 M/ e
on weekends.* G8 C% O2 {. |- D$ ~( L
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The Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public t/ _6 L2 r7 c0 L+ x3 r2 T
schools during the regular school day and primarily serves% {6 l5 ~+ }$ {1 l1 M3 y3 S
students who are not of Chinese descent.6 u! [0 W0 f- g. s' ~( j
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said! Z0 N( L: ]1 x/ R
proficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the4 a" y' X8 V( O% Q# D' y) Y/ ~
competition. * I9 e1 u! p- X* d3 ~2 ~
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"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley+ X4 R7 V) z- n1 N
said. "There will be Chinese and English."
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5 M; [- I9 w2 F2 Z6 iFrom an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
/ y0 `6 D# v; ?# A% ]: `" Wall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
) q5 ^$ r+ n5 d- p8 p. wschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from- q' W7 `) J @$ ?' E: i9 q4 r
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students" Q# ?2 h* y, N& y9 ?
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to6 i" B0 a& _1 L' e% z) ^/ L8 L1 U
the school system last year.
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
J+ ^# l) K/ _0 o3 {1 Syear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.7 c2 T' T! W" N0 B& C# W5 r. O
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"They have a great international experience right in their own, }% |9 x5 Z4 ?* A
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
F3 q l2 {6 ]" pChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
4 C r/ H# p' l; c! V9 z+ i/ U; Shelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet
& R* s2 V w5 i0 Z: p( Ion an equal playing field."; I( ]6 z. @! }* x! m8 n
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Some parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
8 H! K& j0 s; C- R- x4 k8 dclasses are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign
4 \/ a. V& v# [- bService Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks8 d+ X- Z% f: a( }0 Q
Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
n# ]- y2 x0 |3 K Kaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in0 b' Z: Q) C0 p0 }( s/ q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
2 n* L5 `" o9 k \, j: f/ _institute says.
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1 X" w I$ \8 s3 \1 tSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth( @- W& L' |) G
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
- S* Q3 M( Y0 l& o, ^8 y* c6 r4 ^deciding whether to take the class.
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"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she
0 I+ X' o+ V+ C3 C/ ftold her daughter.
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' p! |9 @( _! ]2 _2 RSahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite6 g$ G% W; Q, B% z- a) {5 ?/ v# l7 B: J
class.
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At Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are3 z) c" b8 [) K& ^+ v- }% g9 L
studying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
+ ~) m0 j* f) `) F% x, ?occasional frustration.' V" X X: D) |" U) @
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"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
. e- L& m. B" C+ J) F( E2 b. s frecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.! y6 \2 c. F9 R8 W3 o: U
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he/ W' y1 N7 T7 _+ D1 n
taught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
) j2 v5 e% g! i P9 p1 r' G. XChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul' |9 o$ ?2 Y4 i5 \8 B+ i
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn
1 Z6 o& h& G" oas many languages as I can."
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+ s/ L; T1 Q+ I! p2 i5 i" kAdriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the
% D1 p: z* d, m# [1 `skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job
3 q2 ^( D3 g0 Smarket. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like
9 f% w4 D; g9 S6 A v( x" `that," Ms. Freire said.
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7 m/ \6 X4 ^" `) cMost of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
! E ?* M' c& K7 qhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each3 Z7 ` n* U! F0 \6 M
school decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking+ z& U e# q1 P
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make# ^* i+ G4 q9 [" H
room.- z. i& N4 a: ?9 b8 s v8 C: B) Q# c
3 l& t* d! a* D- H8 WChicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer2 U) l+ f( h# L. P
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American, H( S- ]; ~# Y" v0 ~
college, 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 qualified2 w1 L% V3 F& Q1 P3 n0 f( U; Y
because of that missing certification," he said.
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# h7 K1 s& A/ L4 iThe shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,& ?3 n% n$ c# G& N! d1 r% {4 m
said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia1 j5 c& Y( a; x5 U: \# j
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the5 o: x9 o. S) Z' m+ i. S1 A
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from6 K! U( X+ S1 F# w7 w
the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.8 \! a6 @0 P6 i& P/ B6 N
& o* N( O0 I% j! y5 W8 W7 w"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our
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