Respectfully, I think your examples are apples and oranges. Tone deafness is a defect not much different than hearing impairment - but caused by genetics or brain injury. Foreign language is a function of immersion - if you live in Spanish-speaking country, you will eventually pick up Spanish, if not always the perfect enunciation per your tone deafness. Very few people pick up a language that's different than the one they have an opportunity to speak every day.
If you can do woodworking, you can work in three dimensions. Reproducing a piece of furniture, whether from photograph or plan, proves this. You mill boards, you fasten them in a certain 3D arrangement. "Constructing" something in Sketchup leverages the same cognitive skills, just with a different-shaped hammer.