Languages

I think you've been misinformed. Throughout most of the country children in lower grades are taught Spanish, since that's the other primary language on this continent; throughout grades 7-12 I had access to instruction in French, German, more Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese, despite being the resident of a farm town of 2,500 people (not counting the neighboring university) in Minnesota.I know the stereotype is that Americans only speak English, but it's not because we're not taught it as children, it's because we lose the other languages because there's no need to use them. European travel is well out of the range of most Americans, Asia even more so; unless you live in the Southwest there's little practical need for Spanish, either. The US is the world's primary exporter of culture, so all that's in English anyway.