Not teaching languages

It comes after The Courier-Mail revealed the mandatory status of foreign languages had been dropped in Queensland, with the changes implemented state-wide last year. 

At least the Courier Mail has a sense of responsibility...and the cop out into intercultural studies is not teaching a language. Why do Australians think learning a language is odd?  Queensland is trying to reduce the number of students learning a language and SA is doing that by default with the new SACE with students required to do one less subject... so I hear they have been dropping languages. Other countries are increasing he languages acquired at school because we need global citizens in order to remain competitive. We need to talk different languages to facilitate communication which is going on a break net speed in our interconnected, multinational dominated global village. Communication is important. If we view languages as unnecessary for Australians what an image that puts out and how come students in other countries can learn languages but not ours? Are we  odd? Most of our nation does speak another language and so the acquisition of a third ought to be easy and encouraged. Parochialism has no place on  a planet which needs to communicate and languages are just a normal part of communication. Computers have made it so easy to learn languages because there is always help there. I am glad the Queensland govt is asking schools to fit in with their policy. At least other states are making languages compulsory and falling into line with global trends.