First Contact
Why do we think it is hard to communicate with space faring extra terrestrials? Sure, we cannot truly communicate with dolphins, whales or birds, but then again we have not spent billions on interspecies communication.
Look, space aliens, if they have the intelligence and experience to get here, they would have the technology to do reconnaissance. They probably will have some experts and ultra fast computers or better to decipher our language and figure out a safe way to conduct a first contact.
When your life is at stake, would you want more information before going into that situation? Presumably, space aliens are like that as well. Learn the language, study the earthlings, and spend a lot of time, brainpower, and money (if they have money) on learning our language.
Therefore, before we develop interstellar drives, we should spend billions of dollars to develop interspecies translation, because, we will need the practice and the technology.
Any aliens trying to make peaceful contact will probably ask to dock with the international space station, and then ask for a diplomatic recognition, then call a press conference. You know, act like people with average or better intelligence, I assuming we will, if we would be doing the first contact.
