This story just came out today.

“A cunning pilot thwarted a hijacking by discreetly warning the passengers in French — a language the gunman didn’t speak — that he would knock the attacker off-balance with a rough landing, and that they should be ready to pounce.”

Note the irony that the hijacker wants to go to France, but he cannot speak their language. He comes from Mauritania, West Africa, which is a former French colony and while the official language is Arabic, most have some knowledge of French.

You may not want to become a hijacker, but this story does illustrate and important point – know the languages of your own country and the country you are planning to live in.