I agree that we should learn the language, but it's not as easy as you think. And the older you get, the harder it is to learn a new language.
I am not good with languages. The kid selling peanuts on the street in Athens is 10 times better than I am with languages. But, I can puzzle through Voltaire, Mann, Dante, and even Lyotard. Speaking? Forget it. Listening? Yeah, to a degree. Arabic, though, would get you conversation with a billion people. Pimsleur might do the trick. Have you seen the Pimsleur Arabic set? It is all by ear, all of it, nothing in writing.