I'm afraid your analysis of the US attitude about language is pretty much spot on. I only took two years of French (of which I've retained almost nothing). There is no foreign language requirement until high school, and then its only a bare minimum, often poorly taught, and seldom retained.

My wife wants our girls to learn a language now, while they are in elementary school, when they're better able to learn new language skills. Unfortunately, the school is less than cooperative in helping her set up an optional program for langauge instruction. She's even considering having an immigrant friend work with our younger daughter to teach her Spanish. I wish I'd had better opportunities to learn other languages earlier in life.