[icebraining]

I'm sure learning a second language is fun, but I get annoyed when people try and make it seem like it's absolutely vital to do so.

I'm guessing you're a native English speaker? Because I can tell you that in many parts of the world, learning a second language is essential if you want a decent job and access to the vast amounts of knowledge, culture and people that the Internet provides.

[alecbenzer]

I suppose I didn't consider that -- yes, I am a native English speaker.

[icebraining]

I didn't mean it as a criticism - it's easy to overlook what we take for granted, and I'm no exception.

But where I live, I notice very clearly the difficulties and disadvantages that not knowing English has, and even being able to read is not enough: my parents, for example, are certainly not uneducated people, yet they're not able to fully understand much of spoken English, which means they're restricted to subtitled content - fewer films, no free university lectures, no Khan Academy, almost no podcasts, etc.

And I'm in an European country!