A critical component of preparing for travel is figuring out whether you can understand the people and places to which you're going. If you're an American and speak English, odds are in your favor; the dominance of England and then America in world events means that, as the dollar is the standard against which other currencies are measured, so English is the go-to language, and many people outside of English-speaking countries learn English to facilitate their own travel.   The downside of this is that it discourages those in English-speaking countries from learning other languages, … [Read more...]