Jed,
I completely agree with you on that point. As an American, I'm
constantly hearing people say, "Oh, if they're in our country, they
should learn to speak English." Okay, fine, everybody's entitled to
their own opinions. It's only when they go to another country and
say, "Well, they should speak English. I shouldn't have to learn
their language," that's one of the most arrogant things ever. This
is the precise attitude that you can't have. I think it not
only "hampers your ability to learn pick up other languages," as you
said, but also shows you have a complete lack of respect and
understanding of other cultures. After all, isn't the whole point to
learning other languages to learn every aspect of it, including
(besides sound and grammar) the culture which it was spoken at the
time?
Reanna