The purpose of this article is to provide the necessary background to strongly claim that foreign languages in translation and interpreting studies must be considered languages for specific purposes, as their teaching implies choosing a differentiated course design, selecting different material, and taking into account students' needs and both students and teachers' characteristics. Even though there is a certain logic in separating the criteria of language acquisition from those of translator training, it has become obvious over the years that translator trainees need to develop language competencies that are relevant to their future areas of specialisation, hence the need for teachers to adopt a goal-directed approach aimed at preparing students for their future profession. The study also advocates for the necessity of overlapping between language and translation teaching, consequently affecting the way foreign language and translation subjects should be taught, both being complementary to increase our students' competence, autonomy, motivation, and critical thinking.