ability and social class

     One major difference I noticed within the first 10 minutes of being in Morocco was their impressive ability to speak multiple languages. Going into the trip, I assumed french would be their primary language, and we would only be able to communicate with our tour guides in english. But this was not the case. 

    On the flight from Madrid to Casablanca, I started chatting with the man sitting next to me. He was probably in his late 60s-70s and told me he is from Casablanca, but travels back and forth from there and Madrid to visit family. We quickly started talking about language, and his english was very good. He told me he speaks 4 languages, English, French, Arabic and Spanish. He also told me he is currently learning Chinese, and showed me how to write a few words. I was very impressed by his ability to learn these languages so efficiently. But after I a full day in Morocco, I realized it was actually pretty common for Moroccans to speak somewhere from 2-5 languages. 

    I think it is so shocking to be that they all have this ability, that feels like a super power, because it is so uncommon in America. The average American can only speak one language- English. Although many school systems have a language requirement, most people do not stick with it and lose the ability to speak. I think America should strive to be more like Morocco and increase the average number of languages spoken to at least two. 

references: 

1) https://translationexcellence.com/how-many-languages-does-the-average-american-speak/#:~:text=Introduction,programs%20focused%20on%20language%20diversity.

2) https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2022/07/43141/moroccos-multilingual-amazigh-the-pursuit-of-languages-amid-fight-for-recognition/