The problem is American schools start teaching languages to late. I started Spanish in 7th grade. I mean, we had "basic" spanish from 3rd grade on, but all we did there was learn how to say "hello", "goodbye",
"how are you" and the like.
By the time most European kids are in 7th grade, there starting their 3rd language. I plan on taking Latin at some point during my highschool years, but at this rate, juggling spanish and English is hard enough.