Originally Posted by
Scots_Al
Well, yes, clearly it would be nonsensical to have an English language requirement in some parts of the world. None of which has any bearing on my earlier response to your suggestion that it did not matter if you were unable to comprehend the crew's instructions because you know how to open a door.
The OP has given us no reference to what country or airline this occurred on. In the US there is a requirement that those seated in an exit row speak English but the EU and other areas have no such requirement.