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October 15, 2005% w# M0 ]; J. _: O2 X, o! g' O
Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity( m; C; d4 d" V/ w; E; D
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By GRETCHEN RUETHLING; e: |+ X1 P) Y6 @2 Z& y' u
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CHICAGO, Oct. 14 - The future of foreign language study in the5 V8 v: _& R* l% b( Y6 U$ g, m
United States might be glimpsed here at Louisa May Alcott Elementary) s; `6 L4 Z& l3 ~
School, in a classroom where lanterns with cherry blossoms and pandas; |9 J6 n+ e' n2 |: [/ b9 }
dangle overhead, and a paper dragon, an American flag and a Chinese e" u) H: }0 _, n: I
flag hang from the wall.* ?3 H0 P3 F7 |8 V. Z9 \. }
) r& Q9 D/ N |% u8 n* KOne recent morning, a class of third graders bowed to one
7 }$ m8 t$ |+ r" e& g& E% a/ n1 }another and introduced themselves in Chinese, and a class of fourth graders
5 r( f h! d: }+ y, v) kpracticed writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker( T" Q3 X: m) ]2 H
boards. Chinese classes began at Alcott in February, but more students: c: F! \- o" P) L$ C; N& s
are already choosing it over Spanish., P3 I+ @1 }/ I- p
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"Chinese is our new baby," said David J. Domovic, the principal+ C5 N8 V% F6 w& N
at Alcott, on the North Side, one of 20 public schools in the city
. F6 w5 [* I d0 i* ~offering instruction in Mandarin. "Everybody just wants in."0 H0 J* r" a0 f- V
X: _( z5 x4 r% l3 `5 j( @# v1 C: l1 PWith encouragement from the Chinese and American governments,
3 }( ?2 S6 a3 v, W) Ischools across the United States are expanding their language offerings
9 M; W3 Y% A6 z$ n/ ito include Chinese, the world's most spoken tongue, not to mention
" e8 X" E1 `% c9 J+ Q/ }, i/ lone of its most difficult to learn.* m1 Z5 x/ l: x$ W( c
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Last month, the Defense Department gave a $700,000 grant to2 Z7 k& Q& s' [
public schools in Portland, Ore., to double the number of students
) B8 b9 H8 q/ I& y: \studying Chinese in an immersion program. In May, Senators Joseph I.- M9 S+ R; ~: [
Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of
% g; R9 X% L [+ Z' y, U5 a1 a0 u2 GTennessee, introduced a bill to spend $1.3 billon over five years on
0 L$ A8 O" w5 P/ t( ^+ q9 C. c9 lChinese language programs in schools and on cultural exchanges to- }5 D8 h- K' ?
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
7 g3 b! ]% B' ~7 O6 `8 o- R! U) AChinese classes will be offered in high schools around the country" P1 S+ l Y7 b; e! ^
starting next year. Beijing is paying for half the $1.35 million to
( T0 Z' O# O2 ^1 F0 ]7 edevelop the classes, including Chinese teachers' scholarships and developing
$ C3 E: B& U% Lcurriculums and examinations, said Trevor Packer, executive director* ?: {* j+ [1 P* K
of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board.- K9 k: l& W* c, S
5 n: n6 a7 Z6 f) `"Many Americans are beginning to realize the importance of
7 W8 Z3 ^" p) t6 e3 h7 Yspeaking Chinese," Zhu Hongqing, consul at the Chinese Education) r/ |" V0 J- ?' ]: c) j. d+ a
Consulate here, said. "We need to provide as much powerful support as we
* |6 D2 g* v0 c/ x% v2 A: d8 r% ?can."
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The number of Chinese language programs around the country, from0 B5 r' Z0 G! v7 K& I
elementary school through adult programs, has tripled in 10
( V- y ]8 k# m' Pyears, said Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser at the Defense Language2 M) j' O+ L( @
Institute in Washington.
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"Chinese is strategic in a way that a lot of other languages, X; S9 L+ E8 l# v
aren't," because of China's growth as an economic and military force, Mr./ N% H1 n. j2 S& Q7 B
McGinnis said.* [% K# t# V- t, ~$ T6 _% k
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"Whatever tensions lie between us, there is a historical
& J, ?% w6 m0 |' mlongstanding mutual fascination with each other," he said. "Planning to be# t/ m# e8 q# n$ I
ready to engage with them rather than only thinking of them in terms of a
: T# c9 W. o x' tchallenge or a competitor is the smart thing to do."0 g" E. \/ f L1 k6 [; G4 r6 E
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Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and% ]6 Z. M, L- k4 h7 |
secondary schools in the United States, experts estimate. Many are in
) {. y0 L( U9 `3 a, S0 i5 L4 [1 Zcities like New York and San Francisco that have large numbers of( |. Y! I! I8 u7 F% a0 O
Chinese-American students, and many take lessons after school or
. h: L, K/ P! s$ e5 l: I' Non weekends.
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( u# ~1 v0 F0 E1 L x' A- q" \1 c) iThe Chicago program stands out because it is entirely in public
4 ]* j7 ~: d9 e2 Oschools during the regular school day and primarily serves
& ~0 r# o% p2 n/ pstudents who are not of Chinese descent.
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Mayor Richard M. Daley, a vocal supporter of the program, said
8 b u& H7 o @% {) U: Sproficiency in Chinese would be critical in understanding the1 k7 P* [8 f9 V/ z* a
competition. / U) J5 N: R2 e/ I1 G) W
0 P6 T* T0 k) L% `"I think there will be two languages in this world," Mr. Daley
& ^5 Z: r6 N7 X! q9 esaid. "There will be Chinese and English."2 H9 r7 ^0 |7 A5 h7 O) g
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From an all-black elementary school on the West Side to a nearly
0 e5 W7 h+ U. Hall-Hispanic elementary school on the South Side to more diverse
# |3 q4 {6 o8 w0 W+ ]8 _0 N( sschools throughout the city, some 3,000 students from: }1 W: d6 A! \4 K+ f
kindergarten through high school are learning Chinese. The Chinese Education Ministry has called the program a model for teaching students0 |7 Y! Q3 G A/ W( e! u f S
who are not of Chinese descent. The ministry donated 3,000 textbooks to
5 v$ Y, u! ^1 i6 e0 K' s5 { s/ Fthe school system last year.! x7 w! U. V' {) }/ I
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The program has expanded from three schools in 1999 to 20 this
5 m b% Y% g: Uyear and is scheduled to add five by the end of the school year.
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! g% ~7 C; P9 ["They have a great international experience right in their own$ K( k. y5 I: p% H* d
classroom," said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chicago
4 ]3 a& I- ?6 z$ w0 b8 MChinese Connections Program, which seeks to develop skills to
6 ~+ u6 _9 a# fhelp students compete in the world marketplace. "We want them to meet) C% c u$ f+ T3 s9 N5 I. G
on an equal playing field."2 s& f( S' n4 U* M( W
, Q2 F! u# U: t+ N2 RSome parents here worry at first about how relevant the Chinese
0 B- b, I' Q% M) r' L. a" w* {classes are and whether they will be too difficult. The Foreign+ N+ D6 l6 M4 Y" a2 K, R6 ?; I
Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, ranks
" {' }% z* `+ H; \Chinese as one of the four most time-intensive languages to learn. An
3 O& T/ b; G3 [+ Z6 H ]! @4 Uaverage English speaker takes 1,320 hours to become proficient in( w6 P# Z/ e* z$ {$ Y2 Q
Chinese, compared with 480 hours in French, Spanish or Italian, the
+ `9 W6 m" W: @* s# x8 ~institute says.2 ]3 b0 b/ L' A2 h" O: n
- L* P; Z3 t' u. D6 ^# V2 cSevtap Guldur, 31, said she and her daughter Sahire, a fourth+ W6 P* ` j6 S2 j* e8 y( t. @
grader at Alcott, looked over the unfamiliar Chinese characters before
/ ^: ]% L( ]; s4 k6 F6 v& q8 vdeciding whether to take the class.$ d" G3 c+ {2 _5 [+ |6 ?7 V5 k
2 Z, M2 N6 W. J$ [+ W2 S"If you're ready to learn that, go for it," Ms. Guldur said she. Z5 }+ @& N7 X. O b- X `, h
told her daughter.
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Sahire, who is fluent in Turkish, said it was her favorite
7 q- [4 U- c" N/ r0 mclass.$ c9 Y4 V" a& N
9 @& v/ m1 N. G5 e* p$ KAt Alcott, 160 students from kindergarten to fifth grade are
; N+ `( e) P* Jstudying Spanish, compared with 242 taking Chinese, although not without
9 X8 c# y3 K6 o* M" @occasional frustration.! ~4 k9 k7 }/ L# {
+ v0 J5 U# p" U4 p% }"Do we have to do it in Chinese?" a third grader asked during a
& h+ }7 x* B/ E. C7 \. s- L( Urecent exercise, perhaps missing the point of the class.
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Raul Freire, 9, a fourth grader fluent in Spanish, said he
0 t1 c6 c; E3 L% b2 b3 m. n5 D( z9 Utaught words to his mother so she could better communicate with
3 z2 d( T& G8 R- d# o' ^& PChinese-speaking customers at the bank where she works.
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"Mostly everybody in the school wants to take Chinese," Raul) W$ c) p; x% K& M: {' H
said. "I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn5 p9 W' X5 b, d( {2 Z w7 R
as many languages as I can."5 q4 b1 V0 d3 ?9 t" v5 ^
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Adriana Freire, 33, Raul's mother, who is from Ecuador, said the0 O- g% P# k A
skills would help her son be a better competitor in the job( x* q: w# i4 d- _- I! Z' V# ~
market. "I never thought that he was going to be able to do something like' y# G+ r5 R3 j$ c- S4 k
that," Ms. Freire said.
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3 q) t, y2 c% L- M6 U6 q! S; K0 _Most of the 10 elementary and 10 high schools in the program
. X/ o! b3 g2 u( t3 ^, Qhere offer the language four times a week for 40 minutes a day. Each
6 }" q5 y6 n$ X2 Uschool decides how to fit the class in the school day, with some taking0 D" c0 A; T6 ^5 U/ a7 J* \% f
time from classes like physical education, music and art to make
6 Y7 I2 y; B6 P& }/ a8 `7 [: lroom.+ l; V3 J" R% }: i( K7 z1 J! T
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Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer. N, v& u! t3 u
Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American
m2 s. K2 U% a7 F7 bcollege, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said.
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: g+ t- C6 n. G$ N$ R- `"It's hard when we can't hire a teacher that is qualified2 i: M; |, x, c3 F
because of that missing certification," he said.
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The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States,
: ?8 g; s9 L: c' {+ _( |said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia/ X) h& G" S9 T* z$ V Z
Society in New York.
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Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the6 ?, O9 x4 R. l( r C
Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from
; b. o! t; A) q% o2 Hthe United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said.6 Q8 ^6 B& C/ u( R' l' r6 L
! R w4 b3 J |5 Z- E5 R5 B"Eventually," he said, "we're going to have to homegrow our" \, H, m5 A, I' b$ n% g1 f
own."& e, I, B( Y/ F
$ h9 B/ P3 J1 |) u& B' tCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company |
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