Translation For New Thai Language Learners

I'm having a great time with Thai friends, getting opinions on translating from Thai to English.

Some try to translate very close to what you'd find in a dictionary such as thai2english.com.

Others translate so loosely, when looking via thai2english.com, you can hardly tell it's the same at all.

I understand when something is inferred... but, if it's for beginners in learning Thai, (where possible) shouldn't a beautifully crafted sentence be sacrificed to help them make the connections?

Also, if there isn't an elephant in the Thai sentence, then don't put one in the English...

As I'd love to hear your opinions...