http://isteve.blogspot.com/2010/12/nicholas-kristof-opines-in-nyt.htmlSummaryThe usual neurotic hyper-competitive parenting types have moved from violin lessons to Chinese language lessons for their progeny.
A discussion as to the utility of Chinese for an American child. Also, a reflection on one of the past hot languages for kids to learn, Spanish.
My TakeIn retrospect, I think the language that would have been of the most use to my own self would have been Latin. It gives the usual secondary benefits of second-language learning (emphasis on grammar) but also provides mush insight into the latin-derived parts of English.
Second to Latin would be German, for reasons similar to Latin (secondary benefits and German roots of English).
I write that after six years of Spanish language instruction at the high school level, which turned out pretty useless, except for the short time I spent living in Miami, which has a rather thick slice of Spanish-speakers of middle & upper class descent. Unless I decide to run a crew of illegal alien laborers, my Spanish will remain near useless. Like the author of the article, I found it most useful when traveling (for pleasure) south of the border.
Having done business with many foreign customers, English is the business language of choice, even when there are no native English-speakers in the room.
Of course, some professions require the ability to speak, write, & understand different languages. Also, if one desires to live in a foreign-language speaking country such an effort is not wasted.