The article in The Observer raises and interesting issue, whether learning second languages is important or not. Although I understand that developing our linguistic skills brings many advantages, I don't think we should make it obligatory for everyone to learn a foreign language, especially in English speaking countries.
Personally, I am very fond of the system where students get to pick classes they actually like and are interested in. I mean, if you don't want to learn a foreign language, why should you? For people living in English speaking countries foreign languages seem completely useless. And they usually are. To what extent do native English speakers come in contact with any other languages? Everyone in their country already speaks English, even the visiting tourists. Most websites, books and movies are in English, and we can take the risk and call English the new lingua franca.
Most of us forget, that learning a foreign language is not a pleasure for everyone. Not every student will enjoy it and have fun studying it. How would we feel if someone imposed on us more math classes or more physics just because it has many advantages for us? For those who absolutely hate those subjects, it will be a pain. And if learning German/French/Spanish is a pain for you why should you be suffering?
On the other hand, maybe situations like this, could be avoided? :)
