Everyone who speaks English as a first language should try to learn a second language.

I'd certainly be satisfied with a counter-argument that it has an impact, but that the negative impact is outweighed by the positive. Thank you very much for accepting and I also look forward to a fun, interesting and enlightening debate.To contend that the English-speaking world assumes English to be the default language for communication requires evidence to support it. When I refer to the 'English-speaking world', I speak of the nations for whom English is a de facto rather than de jure language (http://en.wikipedia.org...); primarily the U.S., the U.K, Australia, and New Zealand.According to the Washington Post who posted a survey by National Geographic, nearly half of Americans between 18 and 24 do not think it is necessary to know the location of foreign countries in which important news is being made. Over a third consider it 'not important at all' to learn a second language and only 14% consider it important(http://kojioe.wordpress.com...). President Obama has confessed to not knowing a second language, admitting it is 'embarrassing', especially in the wake of the insistence that immigrants to the U.S. must know English. (http://www.cbsnews.com...). And U.S. linguists are insistent that public awareness must be raised now if the U.S. is to maintain any advantage in the wake of globalisation, insisting that the U.S. 'lags behind' (http://news.stanford.edu...). And the NEA is clear on the fact that global competence, including cultural aspects as well as language learning, is a national imperative (http://www.nea.org...). The national learning of foreign languages has fallen drastically since a mere decade ago (http://www.itbusinessedge.com...).The situation is even worse in the U.K. The European Parliament has stated that the U.K. is becoming underrepresented in European institutions due to poor language skills (http://www.bbc.co.uk...). The U.K. too, then, is losing it's economic and business edge due to incompetence in linguistics (http://www.guardian.co.uk...). This would be of course because the study of a foreign language at G.C.S.E. level is no longer compulsory (http://www.uiclondon.com...), leading to what is described as a 'language crisis' (http://www.independent.co.uk...).Just 14% of high school students in Australia leave with an accredited foreign-language qualification (http://www.dfat.gov.au...) and the study of foreign languages is again optional, as it is in New Zealand (http://www.ambafrance-nz.org...).So is the situation so dire? After all, most people speak English as a second language anyway, right? Wrong. Actually, even the best estimates put it at 27% at the outside, dependent on estimates of global population (http://en.wikipedia.org...). That's three quarters of the people of the world that a person without a second language can't communicate with. Only 35% of internet users primarily speak English and yet over 66% of the world's population is bilingual (http://www.utm.edu...).That's all right though, because English will become more predominant, right? Wrong. Actually, English is in decline as a world language (http://news.nationalgeographic.com...). Does it matter that we don't learn second languages? After all, we can always use Babelfish or some other translator, right? Well, the first argument against this is of course the economic and employment argument that was already repeatedly referenced earlier. At the end of the day, if a potential employer in a global company has the ability to choose between two people equally qualified for a position, but one also speaks a second language (thus being able to translate company documents, etc, etc) it is the latter who will be picked. Moreover, in any multinational business transaction the insensitive, rude foreigners who don't bother to learn another language will be more likely to lose out against the more cultured foreigners who at least make a passable attempt. The only way this can be overcome is via an assumption that an English speaker will remain on English-speaking shores, which is no longer a viable assumption in the modern age. (http://www.utm.edu...)The next argument is that of monoculturalism, and as part of that the problem of cultural ignorance. It is surely important to get along with others wherever they are in the world. Yet many people who do not speak English or do not speak it as a first language believe that speakers of English are often arrogant with respects to the superiority of their own language and condescending towards those who do not speak it or share their culture, such that even the President has conceded the existence of 'American arrogance' (http://www.telegraph.co.uk...). The failure to appreciate another language is a part of this; after all, what defines another country's culture more than the way in which they speak and think, and to learn another's culture is to gain an appreciation of it.Let us not omit the phenomenal educational and intellectual benefits to the study of second languages which are neglected as a result of this neglect. Learning a second language helps improve ACT scores. Improving linguistic skills also improves academic capacity in general, including in entirely unrelated subjects such as mathematics. It may delay the onset of diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and aids concentration. (http://www.utm.edu...)Last but not least, the learning of foreign languages may prove vital to national security. The language crisis has been specifically stated to have negatively impacted the 'War on Terror' (http://www.eisenhowerinstitute.org...). So how, with all these benefits, could it possibly be better to fail to learn foreign languages? Cost has been cited as one difficulty; difficulty in learning another. Yet cost in the post-recession climate no longer holds true if English-speakers are to remain competitive in business; and with 66% of the world population bilingual, there is no excuse for not being 'able' to speak another language (http://www.telegraph.co.uk...).To conclude, then; there are massive economic benefits to be had by the learning of foreign languages. The learning of a foreign language also constitutes an improvement in interpersonal skills at a global level. The neglect of the study of foreign languages negatively impacts the intelligence of society as a whole; and the improved understanding of language enables better communication of concepts between nationals. If concepts such as equality, justice and liberty are to be disseminated into a wider world at large, this will surely be done more effectively if not attempted in a Very Loud Voice In English.