An increasing number of empirical studies on translation pedagogy in Taiwan have been riveted on student’s translation products, but there has been a lack of research pertaining to perceptions in the process of translation. Translation is a cognitive process which cannot be easily observed among students’ translation behaviors; however, this particular mental process may be explored through the ”think-aloud protocol” provided by the students. Extensive academic research on translation process using think-aloud protocol is available, (e.g. Bonowicz, Hehir, Kaimi & Li, 2004; Kojima & Lee, 2005; Kiraly, 1995; Küzli, 2009) but very little similar research has been done in Taiwan (e.g. Liao, 2007). In order to enhance our understanding in translation strategies adopted by the students and the common mistakes they made in translation, it is imperative to have an in-depth analysis on their translation process. Thirty eight junior and senior college students from a university in northern Taiwan had been selected as a sample in the current study. The students were asked to verbally report problems they encountered and how they solved the problems during translation as they translated assigned English articles into Chinese in three different topic areas. Upon collecting the verbal reports from sample students, the researcher corrected students’ translations and transcribed their TAP recordings. This allows the researcher to obtain empirical data of the translation product and process for further analysis. The top ten and the last ten ranking students in the sample were selected. The sample students with average scores in between were not included in the analysis. A qualitative analysis was done on the respective translation strategies and the errors committed by the two selected groups. Where the think-aloud protocol failed to garner information from the students, the researcher conducted a retrospective interview to further clarify the students’ thoughts during the translation process and the strategy adopted which in turn allows the researcher to achieve the triangulation of research. The results of the research are expected to improve teaching effectiveness by helping instructors to better understand the translation strategies and common mistakes made by students with different levels of achievement in translation.
