Just a thought from another passenger. Some years ago I was returning from Perth to the UK via Singapore, on the flight was an elderly Vietnamese lady who had been visiting her family and who spoke no English. Her family had thoughtfully provided her with some help in the form of a large lump of cardboard with the word "Hanoi" and "No speak English" written on it hung around her neck. For myself, I was horrified by this but could see the point. Fairly early on into the flight one of the cabin crew asked lady what time her flight left Singapore for Hanoi. Blank stare and shrug of shoulders was the response. The cabin crew member tried twice more with the same degree of success. Not wishing to make the CC look silly I tried a bit of lateral thinking and managed to get two possible options for the ETD. I passed this on quietly to the CC who was astounded and wanted to know how I had managed it - I speak even less Vietnamese than the lady did English. "A bit of sign language" was my response. What I had done was say "You, Hanoi?" whilst miming flapping wings, followed by more flapping wings and pointing to my watch and repeating "Hanoi?" We managed a short "conversation " which was great. She had someone who had tried to understand her. By the time we got to Singapore I knew she had several children and she knew roughly where I lived in the UK. I had a big hug from her as she left the aircraft and was delighted to see her in the safe hands of the Ground Staff. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had.
Would it not perhaps be a good idea to have such a scenario to deal with on a training day? Not necessarily every training day but from time to time. We had a similar task on a study day for nurses and it was most enlightening.