I just wanted to say that if two people are struggling to understand each other's written language, perhaps the way forward is by using a multilingual forum, such as worldjumper.net (or some other), where you write in your own language and your comment is immediately translated.
Obviously, auto-translation is not perfect but it can provide the seeds from which a new language can be learnt.
Has anyone tried online auto-translation forums? In the end, perfect communication won't be possible but enough to make friends and get along, I think. I've made a few non-English speaking friends this way - but sadly, I haven't learnt their language. Maybe that's revealing...
Edit: Mmm... just realised that someone who struggles with reading English won't be able to understand this post.
