Todd Hughes has a complicated relationship with Danish. The 64-year-old can read a Danish novel without much trouble. But put him in a room full of native speakers, and the plot thickens.
His Danish dilemma illustrates the difference between sounding fluent and actually becoming proficient. Technology can help someone learn vocabulary, practice skills, or move smoothly through a translated exchange. But proficiency is about what someone can actually do across reading, writing, listening, and speaking—and communicating proficiently still requires navigating another person.
