Translators are essentially language learners because their practice of translating fosters linguistic awareness of both the source and target languages. During the process of transferring meaning from one language to another, close attention must be paid to similarities and differences between the two language systems at various levels including vocabulary, grammar, syntax, discourse, style and culture. Literary translation is often regarded as requiring a faithful rendering of multifaceted aspects of the source text, not merely its informational meaning. Thus, translating literary texts is likely to enhance linguistic awareness in ways that would not be as readily achieved through other types of translation or other language learning activities. Given the significant differences between the English and Japanese language systems, translation from English to Japanese should provide intriguing insights into both languages. English-to-Japanese translations of literary texts will therefore make significant contributions to language learning by fostering a deeper understanding of the linguistic, stylistic and cultural aspects of each language. Teaching literary translation offers valuable benefits for language learning, and integrating it into the classroom would be a helpful addition.