by Giovana Mete Giovana Mete is a recent graduate of the University of Illinois and majored in Psychology and Spanish. Giovana is currently working as an addiction’s counselor at Nicasa Behavioral Health Services. Her plans include attending Trinity International University this fall for a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling. Her goal is to become a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor. She wrote this blog post in 418 'Language and Minorities in Europe' in Fall 2021. In this blog, I will explore the motivations for Russian citizens to learn the English language in their home country. I will focus on the lack of English usage in Russia with an emphasis on the barriers to learning English in comparison to other countries - the barriers to learning English include a variety of historical and social factors. I will be asking the questions, “Why do most Russians (81%) only speak their mother tongue while the rest of Europe seems to be learning English (BBC, 2014)? What are the...