I can explain the reason for that, Jassian, why in America it is special for someone to know more than one language, and there are two factors that come into play: historical, and geographical.
First, one needs to look at the location of the United States, as opposed to Europe. I live in Northern California. If I go 300 miles in any one direction, I'll either be in the ocean middle of the ocean (where I would need to learn how to communicate with the dolphins as a language :lol), or still in America. My point is that America is not close to any other non-English speaking countries, save for Mexico. However, most states aren't near Mexico, and most people from Mexico come here, not vice versa, so unless you live near the border of Mexico, it is not imperitive that one learns Spanish. In Europe, and other countries around the world, most nations are close to each other, and so you need to learn a few languages if you plan on going 300 miles in any one direction.
Second, one needs to looks back at the World War II economy. After World War II, most major countries, save the U.S., was devestated, while we experienced an ecnomic boom. As such, this was about the time that modern globalization kicked in, and the U.S. became one of the two global superpowers (the other being the Soviet Union). People wanted to trade with American corporations, and have our Burger Kings and Wal-Marts. However, Americans said that other countries would have to learn OUR language if they wanted to trade with us. Therefore, most countries think that it is wise to teach their children English, because of the growing Western influence throughout the world. If you want to trade or deal in America, you had better know English.
To answer your question, while living in the U.S. doesn't require knowing anything outside of English, most universities require two semesters of a foreign language. However, the problem is that foreign languages are not seriously taught until High School, which would be around fifteen-years-old. I took Spanish in high school, but wasn't very interested in it and hardly remember anything about it. German, though, I am making a serious effort not only to learn it in school, but to retain it beyond just using it for the scope of the class. However, foreign languages are not required to pass high school, and you only have to have taken foreign language classes on your transcript. One is not tested on it after that, though, so you could logically forget everything that you learned. Again, though, I really want to retain what I learned in German, which is why I'm a bit worried when this class is over, because I don't think that the university I'm transferring to has a German class (though I could be wrong).
Understand?
If so, I have a quesiton. Seeing as how Australia is still part of the British Commonwealth, do they require that a foreign language be learned in school?