Abstract
The role of translation teaching in foreign language (L2) learning has declined in recent decades, with the emergence of new conceptions and teaching methodologies that emphasise the communicative aspect of language. This decline is rooted in an outdated view of translation, which is nowadays increasingly recognised as an act of intercultural communication.
In the light of this new perspective on translation, it is possible to observe that there are different facets of this activity, in particular reverse translation or translation into L2, which can contribute to facilitating the learning of Spanish as a foreign language, both at the initial levels and in the improvement stages, by encouraging the development of specific linguistic competences. Another important contribution of the didactic use of translation in the learning of a foreign language is the teacher's ability to observe this process from a position very close to the one of the learner, both in the cultural aspect in general and the linguistic aspect in particular.