Immigrant influx to Chicago suburbs spawns foreign language schools for kids

This article from the Chicago Tribune explores the efforts made by suburban Chicago immigrants trying to instill their native heritage in their children, primarily through language study.

Immigrant influx to Chicago suburbs spawns foreign language schools for kids

By Russell Working |Tribune staff reporter

12:05 AM CST, January 4, 2008

Art and Maria Guelis are well-educated Russians who speak their native language at home, read Tolstoy and Dostoevski and watch Internet TV programs out of Moscow. But their 7-year-old son, George, always answers his parents in English.

Determined to pass on their linguistic heritage, the Guelises recently adopted a time-honored immigrant strategy that is burgeoning in Chicago's suburbs.

They enrolled their son in Saturday language classes in addition to his regular public schooling.

George attends a Russian school in Naperville, one of scores of weekend foreign language schools springing up in houses of worship and cultural centers as migration from Chicago and the high-tech industry in DuPage County bring a polyglot populace to the suburbs.

While embracing English as essential in America, these parents are striving to keep their own languages alive in their family for another generation. But history shows they face an uphill battle.

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