Quote Originally Posted by jaegerhund View Post
This is interesting. I think it just comes down to needing to know. I have a question /point ---- I know that it is common to poke at Americans for knowing only one language --- but other than for enrichment (learning Spanish might be more important in the future), why would Americans need to know another language? I still think English is basically the international language of business,etc (correct me if I'm wrong) --and the rest of world tries to learn English -- there is no incentive.

I think Europeans are praised for knowing multiple languages, but I would think the languages learned are out of necessity and are practical for one reason or another ---interaction with important neighboring countries, maybe English because it is such an important language, etc. How many Europeans know languages from less important countries? --- I think it all has to do with position in the world and necessity.

Justin
If you are doing business, even if the language of choice is English, you will make greater headway understanding you co-workers' or clients' language/culture. Beside English, I speak Russian and German fluently, basic French and Italian, Latin (nice to know as a basis for European languages, but unless you are doing business in the Vatican, not much help). When I was working in the Netherlands, I made an effort to learn some Dutch (very hard...my German kept getting in the way) and in Asia, I made an effort to learn the basic of Mandarin and Thai. To see the shock and gratitude in the faces of the locals when you would ask a question or greet them was wonderful...and when an issue came up, more often than not they would come to me. We discussed the issue in English, but they felt I would have a great empathy for them, as I had taken the time to show them respect by learning some of their language. I also found that Thais frequently spoke Mandarin, German, and French.

Also, learning a foreign language will help improve your understanding of English, given the abysmal level of English instruction in the US. Also, education should not be distilled down to only what one needs for a job. Education also expands the mind, triggers new ideas, advances humanity.

We didn't get to the moon through the efforts of people who learned "just enough."