One of the greatness in learning a foreign language is that you can directly access another culture. Directly, that is, not via translation.

You may think that's not so much of value. You may say that the difference of languages has nothing important. And you may say that thoughts, that is, ideas to be communicated, are what's important. You may assert that, therefore, the original and the translation are equal in the communicational value.

Is it really so? Perhaps that could be more or less wrong. When I understand English text in English, I feel I can more clearly understand the text than I read it in translation. I feel the writer "closer." It feels like the writer talks to me, the reader. It's not strange, because the writer originally expressed themselves with that language. When I read English text in English, the writer's thoughts can be felt more "tangible." This is a great experience.

The more you learn English, text written in English would appear more "living." And the feeling of the reality that there exist people living in another culture would deepen.

English is not cryptogram. For native English speakers, English is a language, their language. For them English is right there with them to be used when they want to express. Or you may say that their expression is English.