I know it is only a joke but... (Question for Albert Su follows)
A recall a story about a US student who spent the summer in Germany to better his ability to speak the language. He would stay in one spot a while and move on. He became frustrated in that much of what he learned in on town was said to be wrong in the next.
Anyone who knows English and Spanish can speak to most anyone in North America execpt for the French Canadians. If we had to speak a new language every time we traveled a few hundred miles we would know and speak more languages.
If a US student learn French, German, Polish etc in the classroom it is mostly wasted time in that there is little (more often no) opportunity to speak the language outside the classroom and it is soon forgotten. They may as well study martian.
A question for the original poster (Hello by the way). How far can you travel in China without having to speak another language? How many languages do they teach in your schools?