"Why can't they just give the weather in plain English?"
Chuck and others, maybe its because the whole world does not speak English. First the problem with translating it and secondly what does it mean in that region? At least with TAFs and METARs there are definitions of what each group means, which are available, translated into the local language.
It just takes application, practice and clarifying what it means with an instructor/experienced pilot, until you get the hang of it.
On the other hand they seem to have dummed the TV weather down so I supose a print out of pretty pictures would be OK!
WH