I wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading the "Benefits of speech" (SN 6/21) column by Jennifer Burstein.

I am teaching English abroad right now, and I'm also a Korean language student. By being a part of the learning process on both ends, I really do value the importance and beauty of learning a second language.

I'm one of the few foreigners here that have taken time to actually learn more than just "Hello" and "Thank you," and I can tell you that I'm treated with more respect for it. I make people smile, and I am able to order more than just the same thing when I go to a restaurant because I understand what I'm reading.

When I was in China for vacation in the winter, there was very little English to help my friends and me out and get us around.

Body language can get you pretty far, but I really wish I had known Chinese. That way, I could have told off the taxi driver who ripped us off after he took us for a ride and almost made us miss our plane.

Scott Howell
2006 MSU graduate