ABSTRACT
The topic of foreign language learning and giftedness is not a commonly researched area. Even though gifted education and the methodology of foreign language teaching have both been researched to a great extent, the integration of the two has only been slightly touched upon. This chapter briefly covers theories and definitions on giftedness, identification of the gifted, and interventions in gifted education. The historical development and systems of gifted education are also introduced. The connection between language aptitude and intellectual giftedness is discussed, from which conclusions towards principles and teaching techniques of educating gifted pupils in English language are drawn. A special attention is paid to the issue of pedagogic translation in English classes to gifted pupils. Gifted pupils have skills that go beyond language learning and their cognitive and metacognitive abilities can be enhanced by challenging translation tasks. By integrating translation in English language lessons, gifted pupils would be able to achieve valuable translingual and transcultural competences.
