Of Language

What's in it for me?

You may wonder what benefit you can receive from teaching foreigners how to speak your language? By teaching foreigners your language you make them more welcome in your country, contribute significantly toward the reduction of social friction between them and your fellow countrymen, and thus make your own society a safer place to live.

There are also more personal benefits that are perhaps less obvious. Because you are helping the foreigner adjust to his new home, he will likely be grateful and willingly provide you with insight into both his and your own country. Even if you have little interest in his country, always keep in mind that the one who lives in the forest probaby knows the forest's trees far better than he knows the forest as a whole. Not only can the foreigner tell you how others perceive your country, but he and others from outside your forest can provide you with valuable information that you are unlikely to receive from your own national press, televised news media, and other popular information sources that cater to wide audiences. Indeed, foreigners can even help you to understand better the trees of your own forest, because there are likely similar trees in his own country that can be used as standards for comparison. Thus, he may give you ideas about how you can better utililse your own forest's trees.

If the foreigner should remain in your country, you know that he will be a valuable asset, because you have made him feel at home in your country. If he returns to his own country or moves on to another, he will depart with a clear idea about the nature of your country and naturally share the idea with others. Thus, your country will become known in the world for what it truly is, not what someone conjures up from isolated news reports, loud-mouth politicians looking for enemies abroad so as to win elections at home, and tourists who have only touched the surface of your country's social landscape.