No I am not intimidated in the least bit...but then again I'm from Texas and it take a lot to impress us:)

Hey Scarlett -- I did that! At least four times, between the ages of 19 and 26. And when I think of how little it cost then...

No.

mmm, cinnabons

Well, Marilyn you impress me anyway so there you have it :)
mr wunrfl, I love your name ~

Why, thank you, Mizz Scarlett. You are too kind. Sometimes when I think of some of the things I did as a "kid" I impress myself! (Hitchhiked from Transylvania to Istanbul -- we must have been insane.)

Now that is cool!
"I hitchhiked from Transylvania!!"
That should be a book!!

oh my god. Who in their right mind would pick up a hitchhiker in Transylvania???

No I do not feel intimidated by Europeans. heck we are a great country and a big one which is part of the problem. I for one speak two foreign languages and I am happy that I do but I do understand the Maerican dilemma. Our country is composed of people from many, many different countries, so which language should we learn? Should it be Spanish, french, german, Hungarian, Greek, Chinese, Polish etc.... You get the picture. Holland is a small country and they do have a great ability for languages. After all, just how many people speak Dutch???English on the other hand is a commercial language. Anyway, I think a guide book and a smile go a long way.

Patrick, a very nice young couple from New Zealand who had a camper van. If they hadn't picked us up I think we'd still be standing by the side of the road somewhere in Romania! (This was about 30 years ago, by the way.)

I suppose that Americans might feel as "intimidated" as Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Brits, Irish, and Canadians. A Swede who I met summed it up when he told me he speaks English because Swedish gets you nowhere while English is an international language.

I really admire the Europeans I know or have encountered who can easily switch between a couple languages fluently. I speak French pretty well and have studied or know a smattering of others, but both my parents were language teachers (my father spoke at least three languages pretty fluently, and my mother did also) and sometimes spoke Spanish or French around the house when they didn't want us kids to know what they were talking about, so I learned some in self defense. I think I have some facility for languages, and I know it is very had for some others.

I don't really agree that the reason some Europeans know more than one language well is because they studied it in grade school. I don't think it matters that much, although if you really take it continuously for 12 years or more, it should help. I know children who have taken foreign languages beginning 7th grade and they don't really know the language very well at all even by college. A lot of the language classes in the US grade schools don't seem to teach very much, at least from the kids I know, they mainly learn a few nouns for things but not much grammar and they can't construct sentences.

There are many Europeans who can't speak other languages that well at all, in my experience, it is mainly the well-educated ones who do and those who are in the hotel or travel industry. If it is mandatory in their grade schools, then they had those classes, also. I think the main thing that makes them or anyone learn a language well is simply using it, over a long time and on a fairly regular basis. As one example, I have a German friend who knows English fluently because she now lives in the US and uses it at work, but she can't speak Spanish at all, only remembers a few words, even though she said she had quite a few years of it in school -- because she has never used it and doesn't have to use it daily.

Anyway, I don't think it really makes much difference if one studies a language in grade school. I think it depends how much you study it later on and how much you practice it.

As I was reading the posts about the need to begin study of foreign languages at an young age, I wonder. Unless one speaks the language on a regular basis in real-life situations, will one really be proficient? That's why the Europeans have an edge--smaller and constant interaction with multi-language people especially if they are in a service industry.

Which brings up another topic, does it make sense to leach foreign languages in schools, or should it be an elective if one thinks they will have need for that language in the future--but can a child make that decision. Don't know but most people I know have learned a foreign language and never use it. So why bother studying it?? Perhaps to keep the language teachers employed!!

"In the U.S., you can drive 3000 miles and along all those miles, English is the official language. Drive 3000 miles across Europe and the official languages are German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, French, Italian, Spanish, Portugese, etc. etc."

Btilke, you must be driving in circles?

"Their third language often comes from having relatives through marriage in another country."

Not every European marries a European from a different country you know!

In fact, you only generally find trilingual Europeans in Switzerland, Holland, Belgium and Scandinavia. Obviously there are many Brits, Germans, Italians, Spaniards and French who can manage three languages but most manage one or two and perhaps a third one badly. But if you speak French and Italian, Spanish really comes pretty easily.

UKUKUK, don't know why my posts get up your nose so badly, but the fact of my previous post remains: travel 3000 miles in the U.S. and you're still speaking the same language, albeit with a difference accent. Travel 3000 miles in Europe and you could be covering about a dozen languages.
As for trilingual through marriage, I said "often"--not "every European." For example, my Italian boss is speaks Spanish because his mother is Spanish and speaks French because his wife is French. I speak French but also German (my husband is half German and I now have many German relatives through marriage). I also speak some Dutch because it's the polite thing to do if you spend a lot of time in Flanders or the Netherlands and am learning Italian because I work with an Italian company. So yes, I do know that not "every European marries a European from a different country" (and never said or implied such a thing) but thank you so much for your great kindness and helpfulness in pointing that out.

My experience is people begin studying a new language SUCCESSFULLY when they need it. Keeping things proportional seems the best strategy for most. For example, you'll be in Paris for five days, and you need to manage the basics. Obviously a phrase book is a good tool. If you desire to immerse yourself in a weekend course, that helps as well. As far as teaching kids a new language, sure, if that's what they want. It should be their choice. I would hope we're beyond cookie cutter thinking when it comes to curriculum. Language need not be a prerequisite for anything. Education is best when interesting and useful and timely. And selected thoughtfully.

I wonder how many Americans know that millions of Americans are bilingual. We may perhaps have more bilingual citizens than most European countries. For example the tenth largest city in America, San Antonio has more bilingual people than English-only speaking. Most of the Southwest is bilingual. Add Florida, California, New York, even Fargo North Dakota where there is a significant part of the population who speaks English as well as one of seven first languages from Africa and Asia.

I cannot recall if the Census or another Federal or private survey polls for language skills.

Does anybody know what percentage of people in the UK speak two or more languages?

I did a fast research keyed on UK Language Skills. A survey showed up that reported 34% of UK residentd know a second language, compared with 54% on the Continent. Cannot vouch for accuracy.

"I wonder how many Americans know that millions of Americans are bilingual. We may perhaps have more bilingual citizens than most European countries."

That's hardly a revelation, considering that the number of US citizens outnumbers the population of most European countries by at least 10 to 1.