Se habla español? Parlez-vous français? Or do you only speak English?

It is considered a lingua franca, one spoken as a second language all across the world, making it easier for native speakers to not have to learn another tongue. America is also a large country that only borders two others, a vastly different geographical and cultural experience from most of Europe, where you could drive through several nations (and encounter just as many languages) in the time it would take to drive up the coast of California. Speaking a second language is an invaluable skill nevertheless, one that broadens your understanding of the world not in spite of how difficult it is but partly because of it.