Well, indeed scientific papers (I did a quick search when I wrote the last post) are using the term in both ways. In German it is only used in the sense as I took from the dictionary (there are all kinds of definition there, though, although mostly outdated). Maybe in English it is used in a broader sense. But it was also based on the impression I’ve gotten from the post I was responding, too. If some people are more talented to learn something, it is something they have. If talent can be acquired, then lacking the talent would just mean that you should first acquire the talent and then use that to learn the actual skill. In that case stating that some are more talented then others as a reason for them performing worse doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, then. And talent would be a synonym for skill.
I guess it’s just one of those words people use in everyday conversation without spending much time on its precise meaning. Makes discussions complicated, though.
Oh my… 
From what you wrote about his work I wholeheartly agree with him.
Now that is interesting. One of the things that make me consider English to be an relatively easy to learn language (for a German speaker) is the similarities in vocabulary. But maybe that’s just my perception. It could be that due to the lack of declination and conjugation to the degree you can find it in German, English is easier for an German as vice versa. Although I must admit that the examples you gave are indeed not very similar to its English pendants. Well, ship-Schiff and package-Paket maybe. Rettungspaket is a rather specific term, though. I only ever heard it in one context. One of those fancy terms politicians use to distract you from how they messed up again. 