Why Do Americans Struggle with Foreign Languages?

It is a common lament, both within the United States and abroad, that Americans lag far behind Europeans in foreign language skills. As far as stereotypes go, it is a pretty well-founded one. Most Americans do not even study a foreign language in school, and I know many who took French or Spanish for years and can barely hack a sentence together. This certainly has not always been the case- a century ago, America was probably one of the most polyglot nations in the world- so why is it now? Of course, we must first acknowledge that as English speakers, Americans win the jackpot in the lottery of linguistic life. All the television, music, news, and anything else one would want is ubiquitously available in their native tongue. Even when they do leave their vast native country, which most Americans do only a few times in their lives, they can easily get around with English. Except, of course, for those who grow up in immigrant households, there is just no compelling reason to learn a new language. <a href="https://sjquillen.medium.com/why-do-americans-struggle-with-foreign-languages-dd9d96aadb33">Read More</a>