Not true. I'm an immigrant. I'm still learning English. If I need to decode an instruction manual, I can just use an English-to-My-Native-Language dictionary or even a translator. However, the real challenge is to intuitively understand the subtleties of English, to enjoy reading English writings, and to know what right words to use when writing or speaking. To use the word that I just learned in the article, an English learner needs to get the pathos of English writings. I have no problem using a dictionary to look up words in a poem, yet I have very little idea why a poem in English is beautiful. Ironically, if the poem is translated into my native language, I can often appreciate it, even though so much is lost in translation.
If you're trying to decipher a poem, well that's a different purpose than just trying to find the meaning of something. That doesn't mean that the post you are replying to is wrong. Most people using a dictionary are not trying to interpret the deeper meaning of poetry.
Poetry is just an example. What really matters is to "feel" in a different language, be it reading poems, enjoying novels, laughing at jokes, watching movies, having an interesting conversation, interpreting other people's emotion...
