ALTHOUGH TRANSLATION, A SKILL NOT CONSIDERED USEFUL IN A BASIC AUDIOLINGUAL MODERN LANGUAGE PROGRAM, HAS BEEN DISPENSED WITH, READING, ANOTHER SPECIALIZED SKILL NOT AUTOMATICALLY ACQUIRED ALONG WITH THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE ORALLY, APPEARS TO BE LESS CONTROVERSIAL. IF, THEN, READING CONTINUES AS A GOAL OF LANGUAGE TEACHING, IT MUST BE TESTED NOT ONLY TO DISCOVER THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE SKILL HAS BEEN MASTERED, BUT ALSO TO IDENTIFY PROBLEM AREAS FOR REMEDIAL PURPOSES. UNTIL READING MATERIALS ARE DEVELOPED THAT INCLUDE EXTENSIVE, COORDINATED SELF-TESTING DEVICES, IT APPEARS THAT THE REJECTION OF EFFECTIVELY USED TRANSLATION PROCEDURES HAS BEEN PREMATURE. IF EMPLOYED PROPERLY TO ACCOMPLISH DEFINITE PURPOSES, TRANSLATION CAN BE (1) A MEANS OF PROVIDING A CONTINUOUS CHECK AND CORRECTION OF FINE-STRUCTURE COMPREHENSION, (2) A METHOD OF TESTING ACCURATE COMPREHENSION ON EXAMINATIONS, PROVIDED THAT THEY ARE CORRECTED WITH THE IDEA OF APPRAISING THE PRESENCE OF FALSE MEANINGS RATHER THAN THE ABSENCE OF CORRECT ONES, AND (3) A TECHNIQUE TO POINT OUT SEMANTIC DIFFERENCES THAT WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE GONE UNNOTICED. FOR THESE AND OTHER POSSIBLE REASONS, IT IS, PERHAPS, TIME TO REINSTATE TRANSLATION AS ONE OF THE MEANINGFUL TOOLS OF THE LANGUAGE TEACHER. THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN "THE GERMAN QUARTERLY," VOLUME 40, SEPTEMBER 1967, PAGES 518-529. (AB)