That is very true. However, the problem JMK, is that in many foreign language classes there is little discussion time. I have completed two years of high school French and can read and write it in the imperfect, the past, the present, the near future, and future tense but cannot speak it very well, if at all (as I learned in France last summer). I don't know if it is the same in all foreign language classes in the US but in mine, we never had a single day where the teacher said "today, we will only speak French, not a word of English". If we had done days like that, I'm confident I could have learned to speak the language to an extent. However, we didn't even learn that in casual conversation in France, people say "je parle pas anglais", not "je ne parle pas anglais". That real-world experience is necessary but prior to it, in the academic setting, there must be discussion in that language to make oneself familiar with the language. Otherwise, you will find yourself able to read street signs but unable to talk to people.
