VIRTUALLY nobody in this civilized world doesn’t know a second language. Take the Philippines for example. The Philippines main language is Filipino but folks there speak lots of dialects. Take Cebu as a consideration. In Cebuano, the main tongue is Cebuano. But kids there are taught how to speak English and Filipino since nursery. Nursery rhymes for toddlers are even in English with matching action. In the Philippines, people learn English because it used to be a United States colony. After the country has gained its independence in 1946 after World War II, the Philippine Congress has made a law making English as the official medium of instruction. It was eventually signed into law by then Philippine President Manuel Roxas and implemented by the then Philippine Department of Education, Culture and Sports from nursery to college and even to programs leading to master’s and doctoral degrees.

When the Aquino government took over from the Marcos administration in 1986, elementary and secondary schools (both public and private) were delegated to the Department of Education while the Commission on Higher Education was in charge of all colleges in the country. English continues to become the medium of instruction. Filipino was also given focus especially in areas where it is not the native tongue. There are a lot of these areas especially in the Visayas and Mindanao where people speak as diverse dialects as Maranao, Chavacano, Ilonggo, Tausog, Cebuano, Maguindanao, among others.
Even in the United States himself, bilingual education is the trend. Most of the people in this country adopt English as the native tongue yet one cannot deny the emergence of the Latinos. Spanish is thus common in such states as California, Texas, Las Vegas and New York. There are also a few Americans who speak French such as those ones coming from Louisiana.

Let’s jump to Canada. Half of the Canadians are speaking English while the other half is using French. So in this country, bilingual education must be pursued and emphasized even at the elementary levels.

In Europe lies a peculiar scene. Although a very small contiguous continent, the European mainland is composed of countries peopled by folks who speak various languages. At the Iberian Peninsula itself, people are using lots of dialects. There’s Portuguese in Portugal; there’s Spanish, Catalan and Basque in the Spanish side. These countries share the same border with the Alps mountain range which is also situated in France and Italy. The French speak French, the Italians speak Italian. Because of this peculiarity, the European Union has mandated that all high school students in the continent learn a second language. This is for the goodness of the country – to make it competitive. This will make the Spanish easily deal with the French and vice versa.
Besides, learning a second language will also enhance one’s career as well. If you’re in the middle of the Philippines and you know enough Mandarin, you can be hired as a translator to all Chinese visitors coming in. Now that’s something lucrative.