Anyways you are correct though in some of your observations. I resent the hell out of the fact that most schools only teach English at least until the high school level. Studies have shown that students who study foreign languages for longer periods of time did better on various SAT sub-tests and on the test as a whole then students who studied less foreign language, even when the variable of verbal giftedness was controlled.

Students who take a foreign language in high school scored significantly higher on the verbal portion of the SAT than those who do not. Although this percentage would be much higher if we learned at a much younger age. Personally Spanish is much higher on the list now then it used to be. Having a Hispanic population of over 60 million now. It would be wise for us to have that as part of the school curriculum as a prerequisite.

Likely though it will go on deaf ears. Chinese is another which is gaining popularity and importance but until schools start making it more a focus. I don’t see much changing in the near future. In contrast you look at most schools in Europe and elsewhere which have the knowledge of at least 2-3 languages sometimes more in their repertoire.
This is embarrassing and frankly unacceptable and shows our lack of education in these areas.

Might explain why US is so poor in the public relations department which needs an overhaul. Some people question the importance of why learning a second language is even necessary when English is likely all we will ever need. After all the international language in business is English right. Well that is a bit narrow-minded in that an English speakers ability to speak English doesn’t mean much by itself. A homeless guy on the street may speak English to but a lot of good that does him.

Although ones ability to speak something other then his or her native tongue will open a lot of doors which they otherwise might have not had. So yes you are correct in that observation. Although some do it as a challenge to themselves beyond their own limitations. To prove that they can or to just further their education. All in all though learning any language doesn’t hurt anyone. If nothing else it looks damn good on a resume.

When I have kids I would like them to be bilingual, yeah. But it’s not my first priority. I wouldn’t want to pressure them into learning something they have no interest in, if they have no interest in it.