Communication isn't one-way. There are billions of people and plenty of languages out there (nearly 200 are spoken by at least a few million people per languag

Communication isn't one-way. There are billions of people and plenty of languages out there (nearly 200 are spoken by at least a few million people per language, if you go by the list on Wikipedia). We live in a world where most co-workers have probably had to claw their way up to their current language proficiency. People who only know one language can't really complain about poor communication. Both people in a conversation have a responsibility to work at closing any gaps, and frankly a native speaker has more than 50% of that responsibility. Even if you have learned another language, do you really know how tough it could possibly be? For example, have you learned to read, write, speak, swear and slang in the 2nd language to the point where no one will misunderstand you? And here's the real test: is the alphabet the same as your native language or is it something totally new? I grew up with English. I spent years learning to read, write and speak French, and while this gave me some appreciation for the difficulty in learning a language it was still the same letters, similar words and a few new rules. I've since invested a lot of time in learning basic Japanese and that is something I'd recommend to anyone who thinks they're an expert at a language. You have to try something completely unlike anything you've ever seen before you understand what a chore it must be for others to try to communicate with you.