Why are there relatively few polyglots in English-speaking countries, especially among native-born Americans?
What follows are my own reflections, based on my experiences in the U.S.
If someone asked me what the most useful class I took in high school was, I wouldn’t hesitate to say Spanish. I’ve used it regularly for years while living and traveling in Latin America. Beyond that, learning Spanish made it much easier for me to learn French, Italian, and even Russian later on. (Learning one foreign language tends to make the next one easier, and Spanish and Russian pronunciation are more similar than many people expect.)
That said, I know my experience isn’t typical. Many people have observed that there appear to be fewer native-born U.S. citizens who grow up speaking multiple languages fluently than in many other countries. This is a general observation rather than a hard statistic, and there are many important exceptions. It’s also worth noting that the U.S. is home to a large number of highly multilingual immigrants.
One reason, I think, is that—unlike in many other countries—most Americans don’t need a foreign language for daily life, work, or survival. English already functions as a global language, so learning another one is often seen as a bonus rather than a necessity. As a result, foreign language learning is often treated as something you do to prepare for a trip—or worse, as an obligation.
Many universities explain that foreign language requirements exist to help ensure students are intellectually prepared for college and more globally aware. Those goals make sense. At the same time, based on my experience, I suspect that foreign languages are sometimes used less as a path toward real communicative ability and more as a filter to reduce the number of applicants to competitive schools.
You can see this reflected in many U.S. high schools: several first-year language classes, fewer second-year classes, and often only one small or combined third- and fourth-year class—if those levels exist at all. When language learning is framed this way, it can feel less like a valuable life skill and more like a hurdle to clear.
My sense is that this plays a bigger role in our relatively small number of homegrown polyglots than is often acknowledged. Instead of being treated as part of long-term professional development or cultural understanding, language learning can become something students endure rather than build on.
These are just observations—but they’ve shaped how I think about language learning, and why I believe motivation, opportunity, and context matter at least as much as talent.