This is cool and all, but I don’t actually have any friends that don’t speak english. I don’t even imagine how I’d make such a friend. Certainly this could be great for traveling.
There are courses like Rosetta Stone that train one to speak and understand a foreign language naturally. And it gives one an appreciation for foreign cultures and one isn’t dependent on a tiny English speaking elite in a foreign country to understand life there. Of course, some foreign languages are easier to learn than others.