When you learn individual words, you are more likely to translate word by word.

你学习单个单词时，你更有可能字翻译。

The problem is when you're translating all the time and you're translating word by word.

问题，你一直在翻译，而字翻译的。

Absolutely, anything like numbers, names, places, have to be noted down, but the rest is never translated word for word.

W：然， 像数字、名字、地点之类的东西都必须记下来， 但其余的永远不会字翻译。

Then read what exactly this word means, not a word by word translation into your mother tongue but the full description in English which gives a much better explanation.

然后阅读这个词的确切意思，不字翻译成你的母语，而用英语给出的完整描述，给出一个更好的解释。

I would ask a question, they would translate the question into Spanish to check they'd understood, and then give the answer in Spanish and translate back into English, often word by word.

我问一个问题，他们会把问题翻译成西班牙语来确认他们否听懂了，然后用西班牙语给出答案，并字翻译成英语。