I hear this all the time from english speakers who study foreign languages. However the same attitude is not usually found in people for whom english is a 2nd l

I hear this all the time from english speakers who study foreign languages. However the same attitude is not usually found in people for whom english is a 2nd language. My grandparents for instance weren't native english speakers yet they certainly became fluent. I didn't even know they knew how to speak a language other than english until I was in my late teens. Language learning isn't really a deep intellectual exercise, it's more a matter of logging hours of practice. For many native English speakers, Americans in particular, there is no pressing reason to learn a foreign language. It's a hobby. Thus, people think they are hardcore if they spend more than 2 hours a day with language study. However for many non-native speakers, learning English is almost an economic necessity, or at least a vital step towards a much better financial lifestyle. People are more serious about it and there are millions of Mexican, Indian, German, Dutch, Norwegian, etc people who are fluent in english...