Not only must translators/interpreters possess their mother tongue with excellence, but they are required to be fluent in at least two other languages. Even when students do possess the languages, they are often not able to manipulate them efficiently and often make unacceptable mistakes for a translation setting. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the language instructor must teach English, here used as an example, in a pro-active manner so as to associate the language learning process with acquisition of culture and general knowledge so necessary for a translator to succeed. Two specific methods are emphasized. The first method which is illustrated is the use of the media in an English class. The second method to motivate translation students in particular to learn English is the use of work-oriented tasks in the language classroom.