<p>Tpeck, altough what you say is factual, it isn't correct. I know, it is a paradox, but it is true. Think about it. Roughly 70% of American high school students take a foreign language in high school. how many Americans can actually converse in that foreign language? Not more than 10%. How often did I hear people say; "oh yes, I took that language in high school, but I forgot all of it". The fact is, taking a language in high school will not make one conversational in that language. Same goes with all the Europeans and Asians who take English in High School. Secondly, even if English is indeed the international language, it is not a popular one. Most Europeans are too proud of their own language to converse in English unless they absolutely had to. So yes, you can definitely get along just fine just speaking English in foreign lands. But if you want to be an effective player in the globam market...it really helps to speak foreign languages. In order to get on their good side, it would be best to speak to them in their native tongue. As they say "when in Rome..."!</p>