This paper covers the topic of translation in primary school ESL classes and students’ attitudes towards it. Translation in language learning classes is sometimes a controversial topic. The first association to translation in language learning classes can be the grammar-translation method, which used to be the dominant method of teaching languages. Because of that, an aversion toward translation in ESL classes has spread among English teachers. However, translation activities used in ESL classes can be much more than the grammar-translation method, as long as the teachers adjust them to their students’ age and proficiency. Opinions on using translation in English classes are divided, which is what motivated this research. The aim of this paper was to research the attitudes of primary school students towards translation as well as their proficiency in it. The research was conducted in a primary school in Zagreb. 42 sixth-grade students participated in the research. The research consisted of two short translation tasks, one from Croatian into English and one from English into Croatian. After completing the translation tasks, the students answered a questionnaire. The students were mostly more successful in the translation of the English text, but they also found it to be more difficult. However, the opinions on what was more difficult were quite divided. While the total number of achieved points was higher for the translation of the English text, the students acquired more points for vocabulary in the translation of the Croatian text. More students expressed a positive attitude towards translation and those students achieved better results than the ones who expressed a negative attitude. However, without further research, it is difficult to conclude what is the cause and what is the result.