Is it important to learn other languages before learning COBOL?

Answer 1

Not in my experience. Quite the opposite, one may find it beneficial to start with COBOL if that is a language you intend to specialize with. COBOL's syntax is a bit on the verbose side in order to make the procedure code appear much like natural language. However, most shouldn't find gaining proficiency with it difficult regardless of whether it's the first language acquired or the 5th.