The Effect of Think-Aloud on the Amount of Translation

The current study intended to check whether think-aloud had any significant impact on the amount of translation; and, whether revision is subjected to direction of language. To this end, based on purposive sampling, five Iranian MA translation students, who were homogenized based on their performance on a general English proficiency test, translated two Persian texts into English and two English texts into Persian. The texts were translated under two conditions, namely with think aloud protocol and without think aloud protocol. All tasks were performed on a computer, and all keystrokes were logged with Translog. The results revealed that, contrary to expectation, there was a significant difference between the amount of revision with and without think aloud; and, it was concluded that the amount of revisions reduced with think aloud technique. Moreover, the direction of language did not affect the amount of translation revision. Providing explanations for the results obtained, the study suggested that translation instructors reconsider the significant role of think aloud technique in translation courses if neglected.