• David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters

    A first grader attends his first English language lesson at a local school in Tbilisi, Georgia, September 15, 2010. On Wednesday, hundreds of native English speakers joined the first day of school as teaching assistants under an ambitious program to have every child aged five to 16 speak English. English is now compulsory, and Russian optional.

    First day of school

    This little guy looks pretty worried as he takes his first English lesson. The Georgians' decision to make Russian optional speaks volumes about where they see their economic future.

    Should foreign language study be mandatory in the U.S.? What language should our students be learning?