We're lazy about foreign languages here as well. I suppose with English being an international business language (partly thanks to the U.S.A. of course) and with so many Europeans speaking English as a second language most of us just never have any real incentive to learn.
I recall hearing a news story when I was over there last about California trying to pass a bill to make English the state's official language. Apparently, although many states did pass such laws last century, this never happened in Cal. and the state actually hs no legal official language.
