[bianca]

Recently I met someone who came from somewhere in England, she was a middle- school student and she could not speak any other language than English. She said they did not learn foreign languages in her shool. That sounded strange to me - in Sweden, undergraduate studies include two foreign languages. And my opinion is that even if you really don't need another language to be able to communicate with other people, you get better acquainted with your own language and with who you are, in terms of culture, through the prism of other languages. Not to mention that learning foreign languages is an awesome brain-stretcher. It is rumoured or maybe even proved that good language learners are good thinkers, too.
On the other hand, having the motivation to learn a foreign language other than English is the key issue.It needs to be aroused and nourished somehow, in some way, the way any kind of learning is. Dire necessity is one trigger, but there are others as well. I can try to shed some light on this:
1. There are people who enjoy Chemistry a lot even if they don't need it badly to make both ends meet, nor do they make a career out of it.
2.I have Swedish friends whose interest in learning Spanish is a lot bigger than in learning English, even though they don't really need Spanish, and English is everywhere.

So, theoretically, learning somehow comes from within, not only out of necessity. It is bound up with who you are, your passions, life experiences, people you've encountered, concerns that are part of your own makeup. Travelling abroad, yes, this is a fine way of getting alert about the language of that country. But from this to actually wanting to learn that language requires more than that. What, I really don't know. A good teacher could help. I learned French in high school, and although I have never been in France, nor did I watch French movies or had any connection with that country, I learned a lot of French while in high school, and I really liked it a lot, but having lost contact with it I unfortunately only remember bits and pieces. My interest stayed alive as long as I had that teacher, plus I had no practical need for it. Now, in hindsight, I can only say that I learned French due to that skillful teacher I had. But other people learn foreign languages, such as Chinese, all on their own, no teachers, no strings attached. Childish curiosity, or love of languages, I guess. That really makes learning a foreign language a hobby, doesn't it?