The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 Act ion Re se a r ch in Tr a n sla t ion St u die s Ana Cr a vo, H e r iot - W a t t Un ive r sit y José lia N e ve s, Escola Su pe r ior de Te cn ologia e Ge st ã o de Le ir ia ABSTRACT I n t his paper we aim t o address t he m eaning of Act ion Research ( AR) , it s use and t he possibilit y of it s applicat ion t o t he field of Translat ion St udies ( TS) . Research int o new areas, such as Audiovisual Translat ion, oft en leads t o t he quest ioning of com m on pract ices and t heories, wishing t o find t hose t hat best respond t o t he issues t hat derive from com plex t ext ual t ypes and from t he m yriad of const raint s t hat m ight be involved in t hose t ranslat ion act ions. I t is in such a cont ext , t hat we first quest ioned t he possibilit y of using Act ion Reseach in Translat ion St udies ( ARTS) . KEYW ORD S Act ion Research, Translat ion St udies, Audiovisual Translat ion, Translat ion Teachers Educat ion, Translat ors Educat ion and Training. Research Models, 1 . I n t r odu ct ion I f one is t o quest ion t he possibilit y of finding an int erest in using AR in TS, one inevit ably needs t o st art by quest ioning what is t o be researched in t he area and what is calling for act ion. A brief review of t he st ill yout hful life of TS as an independent discipline has first and forem ost com e t o show t hat it s obj ect of st udy is com plex and approachable in m any different ways. The sim ple fact t hat TS have been searching for a life of it s own, finding a new space beyond t he t radit ional fields of linguist ic and/ or lit erary st udies, com es t o prove t he wealt h and com plexit y of “ t ranslat ion” as such. Long and int ricat e debat es have been carried out in which scholars t ry t o see TS as a science. They have at t em pt ed t o define t he obj ect of st udy, t o define m eans and m et hodologies for t he analysis of an obj ect t hat is in it self unclear and com plex, t o define, describe and/ or prescribe t o locat e wit hin cont ext s t o underst and processes and t o evaluat e int erferences. This list only st at es a few of t he m any issues which have been addressed in t he last fift y years. These ongoing debat es serve t o prove t hat t here m ust be a place for new m et hods and m et hodologies for t here is m uch st ill t o be st udied and bet t er underst ood. Very recent ly, various aut hors have com e t o refer t o t he use of AR as a m eans for researching t ranslat ion ( Albir, 2001; Hat im , 2001; William s & Chest erm an, 2002) , ot hers have act ually used it in specific dom ains such as in t ranslat or and t ranslat ion t eacher educat ion ( Cravo, 1999) and t ranslat or t raining ( Kiraly, 2000) or are using it in specific fields of audiovisual t ranslat ion ( Neves, 2005) . 92 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 I t is our convict ion t hat AR can play an im port ant role in TS. I ssues t hat have not been explained, pract ices t hat have not been described, bridges bet ween scholars and pract it ioners t hat have not yet been crossed, gaps bet ween t heory and pract ice t hat rem ain t o be covered, m ay be dealt wit h t hrough AR, t hus bringing new challenges t o all t hose involved and allowing for t he debat e of m at t ers pert aining t o m any com plex phenom ena. I n t he knowledge t hat using AR in TS is com plex and relat ively new in t he field, we would like t o address t he issue by set t ing t he basic principles of AR which will fram e our discussion over t he use of AR as a Translat ion St udies research m odel. 2 . Ba sic Pr in ciple s of Act ion Re se a r ch I n t he I nt roduct ion of Handbook of Act ion Research, Reason & Bradbury ( 2001: 1) st at e t hat : Act ion research is a part icipat ory, dem ocrat ic process concerned wit h developing pract ical knowing in t he pursuit of wort hwhile hum an purposes, grounded in a part icipat ory worldview which we believe is em erging at t his hist orical m om ent . I t seeks t o bring t oget her act ion and reflect ion, t heory and pract ice, in part icipat ion wit h ot hers, in t he pursuit of pract ical solut ions t o issues of pressing concern t o people, and m ore generally t he flourishing of individual persons and t heir com m unit ies. The dual nat ure of AR allows for cert ain st udies t o be focused on act ion whereas ot hers m ight be so m uch so on research. I f t he prim ary focus is on act ion, “ t he research m ay t ake t he form of underst anding on t he part of t hose m ost direct ly involved” and t he out com es will be “ change and learning for t hose who t ake part ” ( Dick, 1993) . Yet , if t he prim ary focus is on research, “ m ore at t ent ion is oft en given t o t he design of t he research t han t o ot her aspect s” ( ibid.) . However, as Dick ( ibid.) reinforces, “ in bot h approaches it is possible for act ion t o inform underst anding, and underst anding t o assist act ion” . Coghlan & Brannick ( 2001: xi) , on t he ot her hand say t hat “ act ion research is an approach t o research which aim s at bot h t aking act ion and creat ing knowledge or t heory about t hat act ion.” These aut hors com pare AR wit h t radit ional research approaches st at ing t hat “ t he out com es [ of AR] are bot h an act ion and a research out com e, unlike t radit ional research approaches which aim at creat ing knowledge only.” ( ibid.) These scholars st at e furt her t hat “ act ion research is a generic t erm t hat covers m any form s of act ion- orient ed research” and t hat “ t he array of approaches indicat es diversit y in t heory and pract ice am ong act ion researchers and provides a wide choice for pot ent ial act ion researchers as t o what m ight be appropriat e for t heir research.” ( ibid.) 93 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 Given t he profusion of different t erm s used t o refer t o AR1 , we would like t o st at e t hat we wouldn’t like t o go int o t he discussion whet her AR should be seen as a m et hodology, an approach, a m et hod or an epist em ology. We t end t o agree wit h Reason ( 2003: 106) in t hat AR should be seen as “ an orient at ion t o enquiry rat her t han a m et hodology” . Two im port ant feat ures t hat are repeat edly m ent ioned in t he relevant bibliography are t hat AR is part icipat ive and cyclic in nat ure. Coghlan & Brannick ( 2001: xi) clarify t his first not ion by saying t hat in AR “ t he m em bers of t he syst em which is being st udied part icipat e act ively in t he cyclical process.This cont rast s wit h t radit ional research where m em bers are obj ect s of t he st udy” . I n fact , as we go t hrough relevant lit erat ure we find concept s such as ‘spiral’, ‘cycle’ and ‘reflect ion’ ( before act ion, in act ion and on act ion) t o charact erise AR. The idea conveyed by t he spiral is t hat of a research process where each t urn m arks t he beginning of a new AR cycle built on t he underst anding of t he previous one ( see Dick, 1993) 2 . I n addit ion, each cycle will cont ain different st ages: observat ion, design of an init ial plan of int ervent ion, dat a collect ion, analysis, and t he planning of new int ervent ion. This process is not linear for while t rying t o solve a specific problem new ones oft en appear. All aut hors, irrespect ive of t heir st andpoint , refer t o t he im port ance of const ant reflect ive analysis of each and every t urn of every cycle. I n t he whole AR process, reflect ion plays an im port ant role, because it is t hrough t he reflect ion of bot h t he researcher and all t he ot her part icipant s in t he process t hat problem s are addressed, new decisions are m ade and new plans are devised. I n short , every st ep of t he research will depend on t he dat a we have collect ed and what we want t o do wit h it . The aim of t he research is always concerned wit h t he underst anding of a specific realit y and wit h im provem ent , allied t o part icipat ion, collaborat ion, dialogue, int ervent ion, change, em powerm ent , knowledge, social j ust ice and progress. And last , but not least , relevance is connect ed wit h t he resolut ion of local problem s t hat affect a specific person, a specific group of people or a specific com m unit y. AR is not concerned wit h abst ract problem s, it s m ain obj ect ive lies in solving concret e problem s t hat affect real people. And t he solut ion of sim ilar problem s m ay require different procedures according t o t he cont ext s in which t hey exist . 3 . W h e n is it a ppr opr ia t e t o u se a ct ion r e se a r ch ? I n any research m et hodology, t he relat ionship t hat a researcher est ablishes wit h t he obj ect of st udy will det erm ine t he kind of research t o undergo. I f t he focus of int erest involves people, and t he work t hey do, and if t he aim is t o t ry t o underst and why t hey do what t hey do in a specific way, in t he belief t hat while researching t heir abilit y m ay som ehow be im proved, t hen get t ing int o AR m ight be considered. 94 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 According t o Cohen & Manion ( 1980, 1985: 216) “ act ion research is appropriat e whenever specific knowledge is required for a specific problem in a specific sit uat ion; or when a new approach is t o be graft ed on t o an exist ing syst em .” More t han describing a specific sit uat ion, t here are areas t hat do require int ervent ion. And int ervent ion becom es im port ant , because som eone, som ewhere, som ehow has not iced t hat som et hing can be done and should be done in order t o im prove a specific sit uat ion. Dick ( 1993) clearly st at es one of t he m ain differences bet ween AR and convent ional research, as being t hat of dat a collect ion. He says t hat in “ a convent ional piece of research you would expect t o collect all t he dat a first ” . Only when t he dat a collect ion is com plet e do you carry out your analysis. Then, in t urn, int erpret at ion and report ing would follow. “ I n act ion research you can im prove t he rigour of your st udy subst ant ially by com bining collect ion, int erpret at ion, library research, and perhaps report ing” ( ibid.) in cycles or sim ult aneously . This aut hor also argues t hat replicabilit y is not t he m ain aim of AR. Responsiveness is valued over replicabilit y, because ot herwise it would be very difficult t o achieve act ion as part of t he research. I n his words, “ act ion research oft en em phasises local relevance ( t hat is, responsiveness) at t he cost of global relevance ( t hat is generalisat ion) ” ( ibid.) . Even t hough we agree t hat responsiveness is of prim ary im port ance in AR, we will lat er t ake up t he issue of replicabilit y for w e have som ewhat different beliefs from Dick’s perspect ive in t his respect . Many scholars have found fault in AR as a research m et hod. Am ong t hem , Cohen & Manion ( 1980, 1985: 216) refer t hat it s [ act ion research as a m et hod] obj ect ive is sit uat ional and specific ( unlike t he scient ific m et hod which goes beyond t he solut ion of pract ical problem s) ; it s sam ple is rest rict ed and unrepresent at ive; it has lit t le or no cont rol over independent variables; and it s findings are not generalisable but generally rest rict ed t o t he environm ent in which t he research is carried out . On t he ot her hand, ot hers point out fault s in t radit ional research solut ions so as t o highlight t he m erit s of AR. Som ekh ( 1993: 29) , for exam ple, st at es t hat “ t radit ional research int o innovat ion can only t ell you how t he innovat ion is failing; it cannot find exam ples of pract ice which are wort h researching because t hey do not yet exist ” while “ act ion research, which incorporat es an int ent ion t o int egrat e change and developm ent wit hin t he research process, is t he only viable m et hodology for carrying our m eaningful research int o innovat ions” . More recent ly, Brydon- Miller, Greenwood & Maguire ( 2003: 25) st at e t hat “ convent ional researchers w orry about obj ect ivit y, dist ance and cont rols” while “ act ion researchers worry about relevance, social change, and validit y t est ed in act ion by t he m ost at - risk st akeholders” . These aut hors also believe t hat “ act ion research is not m erely about ‘doing good’, it is also about doing t hings well” ( ibid.) . 95 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 3 .1 Act ion Re se a r ch a s a Tr a n sla t ion St u die s r e se a r ch m ode l On researching a part icular obj ect or phenom ena, t he first st age t o be covered is t hat of choosing a research m odel. I n order t o do t his, according t o Beeby ( 2000: 44) , one needs t o “ ident ify t he obj ect t o be invest igat ed and t he reason for st udying it .” I n TS t his is in it self a com plex issue for t here are m ult iple obj ect s and problem s begging for at t ent ion. Research m odels will obviously differ in face of t he nat ure of t he specific quest ions t o be addressed; and ever since TS have com e of age, wit h Nida’s publicat ion of Towards a Science of Translat ing ( 1964) , different m om ent s in t im e and space have seen t he appearance of a diversit y of t heories which enforce different research m odels. On t he one hand, as is t he case of t he st ruct uralist s and descript ivist s, we find t hose who address t he st udy of t ranslat ion as a scient ific endeavour in a posit ivist ic at t it ude calling for dist ance, rigour, value- free descript ion and obj ect ivit y. On t he ot her, we find t hose who address t heir obj ect of st udy in a subj ect ive and oft en biased approach, in t he nam e of a post - m odern cause such as fem inism or post - colonialism . We would like t o t hink t hat AR could be envisaged m idway bet ween t hese t wo ext rem es, allying t he best of bot h approaches: t he rigour of t he form er and t he com m it m ent of t he lat t er. Taking a st ep ahead from convent ional researchers’ concern about t he obj ect ivit y, dist ance, and cont rol m ent ioned above, act ion researchers aim t o be involved wit h people and part icularly wit h t he people who will, in t he end, benefit from t heir research: t he t ranslat ors t hem selves, t he st udent s of t ranslat ion and t ranslat ors- t o- be, t he t eachers of t ranslat ion, and, above all, t he ‘consum ers’ of t he end product , real people in real worlds rat her t han st ereot yped addressees. The last fift y years have seen great diversit y in t he t heoret ical m odels used in TS, covering t he linguist ic m odels ( Mc Farlane, Federov, Jakobson, Vinay & Darbelnet , Mounin, Cat ford, Nida, Holm es, Koller, Newm ark) ; sem iot ic m odels ( Lj udskanov, Wilss) ; com m unicat ive m odels ( Neubert , Kade, Jäger) ; herm eneut ic m odels ( St einer, Ricoeur) ; funct ionalist m odels ( Reiss, Verm eer, Nord, Chest erm an) ; cult ural m odels ( St einer, Venut i, Bassnet t , Lefevere, Lam bert , Pym , Snell- Hornby, Even- Zohar; Toury) ; psycholinguist ic m odels ( Krings, Bell) ; t ext ual m odels ( Neubert , Shreve, House) only t o nam e a few . These t heoret ical m odels have been of great im port ance in t he research m odels followed in view of t he specific areas under scrut iny. Chest erm an ( 2000) proposes yet anot her set of t hree different m odels, “ int erm ediat e const ruct s bet ween t heory and dat a” ( ibid., 15) , for t he st udy of t ranslat ion: t he com parat ive m odel, t he process m odel and t he causal m odel. The com parat ive m odel is present ed as being “ st at ic, product orient ed [ …] , cent red on som e kind of equivalence” ( ibid.: 16) . I n cont rast t o t he first m odel, t he process m odel is seen as “ dynam ic” ( ibid.: 18) allowing one “ t o m ake st at em ent s about t ypical t ranslat ion behaviour” ( ibid.) . 96 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 Chest erm an ( ibid.: 19) present s t he causal m odel in com parison t o t he ot her t wo m odels in a syst em at ic way: “ com parat ive and process m odels help us t o describe t he t ranslat ion product and it s relat ion wit h t he source t ext , but t hey do not help us t o explain why t he t ranslat ion looks t he way it does, nor what effect s it causes. The quest ions are ‘what ?’ and ‘when?’ or ‘what next ’ rat her t han ‘why?’” I n defence of t he applicat ion of causal m odels t o t he st udy of t ranslat ion, Chest erm an ( 2000: 21) adds t hat “ t he m ost im port ant reason for t he prim acy of a causal m odel is a m et hodological one: it encourages us t o m ake specific explanat ory and predict ive hypot hesis.” I ndeed, as proposed in t he causal m odel, AR also seeks t o int erpret and describe, t o explain and t o predict . I n fact , in AR t his predict ive hypot hesis grows out of t he fact t hat knowledge is t he result of act ion in which solut ions are t est ed in use, t hus allowing for som e prescript ivism in t hat predict ions m ight be seen as m odels for t he im provem ent of pract ices. Verm eer ( 1989 in Venut i, 2000: 223) , before Chest erm an, uses som ewhat sim ilar words t o reinforce t he need for inquiry int o causes so as t o account for choices: “ for an act of behaviour t o be called an act ion, t he person perform ing it m ust ( pot ent ially) be able t o explain why he act s as he does alt hough he could have act ed ot herwise.” One and t he ot her are laying down t he foundat ions of w hat we t hink m ight be Act ion Research in Translat ion St udies ( ARTS) . There are reasons t o believe t hat AR has st rong affinit ies wit h t he causal m odel in t hat one of it s m ain concerns is t o develop reflexive t hinking in all t hose involved in m ult iple research cycles t hat seek cause and effect in a product ive m anner. By working collaborat ively wit h t he st akeholders, t he researchers m ay be given insight s int o problem s which t hey were hit hert o unaware of. Furt herm ore, t he sum of t he variet y of input s on t he sam e issue and t he fact t hat one sam e problem m ay be sim ult aneously addressed t hrough various viewpoint s, will result in a bet t er inform ed and holist ic perspect ive of t he issue under analysis, sim ult aneously cont ribut ing t owards social change and inform ed knowledge. Furt her t o t his challenge t o inquire int o reasons for act ion, by answering why quest ions, what we believe t o be one of t he great est asset s AR can bring TS is t hat opport unit y t o bridge t he gap bet ween scholars and pract it ioners and bet ween t heory and pract ice. These t wo dichot om ies – scholars/ pract it ioners and t heory/ pract ice – need not cont inue t o be, for t hat which charact erises each one can only be product ive and an asset t o t he ot her. Researchers will benefit from t he experience shared wit h professional t ranslat ors in t hat t hey will be involved in day- t o- day experiences t hat t hey quit e oft en only know of in concept ual t erm s. On t he ot her hand, professionals will benefit from t he int eract ion wit h scholars who m ay point ways t owards solut ions t o problem s on t he basis of t heoret ical prem ises. The opport unit y t o work t oget her, in view of com m on ground, will am ount t o dialogically inst ruct ed choices t hat will 97 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 feed int o em pirically proven t heoret ical knowledge and sim ult aneously “ bring about change as part of t he research act ” ( McTaggart n/ d) . However at t ract ive AR m ight appear t o t he less wary researcher, t here are possible problem s t hat need t o be addressed openly from t he onset . Working collaborat ively m eans gaining ent rance int o oft en less perm eable groups and building upon t he t rust of t hose who are t o becom e coresearchers. I t is difficult t o get people t o subj ect t hem selves t o scrut iny. I n cases where t he researchers want t o int eract wit h t heir client s/ receivers so as t o inquire about t he adequacy of t heir t ranslat ion solut ions, t his needs t o be done wit h “ sensible sensit ivit y” . By involving t hese people in t he research proj ect , by em powering t hem t o t ake an act ive role in t he resolut ion of a problem , it becom es easier t o elicit sensit ive inform at ion t hat m ight ot herwise be held back for fear of unwant ed exposure. Working direct ly wit h t he subj ect s under st udy m ight be seen as a form of personal involvem ent which is not want ed in scient ific endeavours. Personal det achm ent m ight be useful when working wit h exact sciences but m ight not be absolut ely necessary wit hin social sciences. This does not m ean t hat t he qualit at ive dat a collect ed t hrough int erviews, daily int eract ion and shared experience is necessarily biased and t herefore of lit t le scient ific rigour. AR priorit ises t he const ant evaluat ion of it s findings. Whenever necessary, findings m ay be checked according t o t riangulat ion param et ers and t he sim ple fact t hat people are com m it t ed as subj ect s m ay st im ulat e honest y and t rust wort hiness. AR presupposes t he dissem inat ion of knowledge bot h wit hin closed circles and in t erm s of academ ic and social fields ( see Ebbut t , 1985; Nunan, 1993) . Sharing experiences and findings in bot h closed and open environm ent s ( e.g.: m eet ings, conferences, writ t en art icles and report s) will st im ulat e rigour, account abilit y and replicabilit y. That which m ight be addressed as a local issue, as a personal or rest rict ed problem m ay, at various st ages, be ext endable or even t ransposable t o ot her or even broader cont ext s. I s t his not also one of t he requirem ent s of any research program m e? I f working wit h people at large is problem at ic, in t he world of t ranslat ion, bringing academ ia and t he professional world t oget her m ight also call for ingenious effort . As m ent ioned before, bot h part ies have m uch t o benefit from such int eract ion: t heoret icians will be given t he opport unit y t o t ake a hand in t he t ranslat ion act ivit y and t ranslat ors will gain from t he m uch desired visibilit y t hey will be given t hrough t he visibilit y of t he proj ect s t hem selves. I t needs also be m ent ioned t hat professionals are oft en t oo involved in running t heir business or m eet ing t heir deadlines t o find t he t im e t o research int o problem s and t o quest ion possibilit ies. Hat im ( 2001: 6) m ent ions t hat t he use of AR m ay encourage “ self crit icism ( …) wit hin t he professional group t hrough looking m ore syst em at ically at t he kind of difficult ies encount ered and t he pract ices which engender t hem .” Yet , self crit icism calls for syst em at ic enquiry, and t hat calls for t im e, som et hing t hat does not abound in t he lives of professional t ranslat ors. Their m aj or concerns are pragm at ic in nat ure, and get t ing t he j ob done quickly and effect ively does not afford precious t im e spent analysing t he im plicat ions 98 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 of t heir choices. Reflexive act ion is t im e consum ing and t im e is m oney in t he t ranslat ion business as in any ot her com m ercial act ivit y. I f, in a com prom ising deal, pract it ioners are t o com e in wit h t heir know- how and experience and t heoret icians are t o put in t heir t im e- consum ing reflect ions in t he solut ion of com m on problem s, bot h will com e t o benefit , for som e part of t he ot her’s cont ribut ion will be t aken in and put t o use in fut ure act ions. Furt herm ore, t hrough t he int eract ion bet ween scholars and professionals, TS will have t he opport unit y t o be, as Pym ( 2002) envisages, “ like t ranslat ion it self, ( …) a social problem - solving act ivit y” . I deally speaking, AR proj ect s in Translat ion St udies would be horizont al in nat ure, bringing t oget her academ ics, pract it ioners and receivers/ client s; however, in order t o com e int o being, act ion researchers- t o- be need t o ‘learn’ how t o do AR, how t o observe – reflect – plan – act – evaluat e – m odify in ever repeat ed cycles, which allow for t hose spirals wit hin spirals, in t he solut ion of problem s which spring from t he resolut ion of ot her problem s. Doing AR requires discipline and self- awareness as well as com m unicat ive and int eract ion skills. I t com es as obvious t hat t he sooner one acquires such skills t he easier it will be t o apply t hem effort lessly in every day sit uat ions. This leads us t o believe t hat t he use of AR in t ranslat or educat ion and t raining program m es can cont ribut e t owards a fut ure generat ion of com m it t ed reflexive professionals. I n our view, t his will m ean a long t erm invest m ent t hat m ay lead t o great er insight int o long st anding problem s in TS. 3 .2 . Act ion Re se a r ch in Tr a n sla t or Edu ca t ion a n d/ or Tr a in in g As we writ e, t he debat e cont inues as t o where and how t ranslat ors ought t o be educat ed and/ or t rained. The challenges t hat t he Bologna process brings t o t he educat ion of fut ure professionals are an opport unit y t o approach t ranslat or educat ion and t raining wit h a crit ical at t it ude. We share Gouadec’s ( in Pym , 2003: 13) opinion t hat t ranslat ors should be t rained at higher educat ion inst it ut ions for t he universit y is t he only place where people have t he t im e and willingness t o insist on proper m et hodologies and st rat egies whereas on- t he- j ob act ivit ies are m uch t oo sensit ive t o t he pressures of t im e- t o- m arket , product ivit y, and econom ic survival. Furt her, we t end t o believe t hat t he m odels t hat st udent s experience at higher educat ion inst it ut ions will be replicat ed in t heir professional lives in t he fut ure and it is why we fost er t he use of AR in t he educat ion and t raining of fut ure t ranslat ors. On t he basis of McNiff’s ( 1992: 28) words t hat “ act ion research is an approach t hat helps people t o quest ion” we form ulat e one of our st rongest beliefs in what concerns t ranslat or educat ion/ t raining: t he abilit y t o quest ion com es wit h m at urit y. This m at urit y is m ult i- facet ed, for 99 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 quest ioning m ay lead bot h t o second and t hird person enquiry as well as t o first person enquiry. Quest ioning oneself about personal choices and act ions is oft en daunt ing and perhaps one of t he m ost cum bersom e facet s of reflexive t hinking. However, t he abilit y t o quest ion one’s decisions and, com ing back t o Chest erm an’s and Verm eer’s why quest ion, t o find a reason – even if not an absolut e answer t o t he quest ion – will, in t he end, be t he sign t hat t he t ranslat or- t o- be is on t he way t o professional m at urit y. The benefit s of using AR wit hin t ranslat or educat ion appear obvious in t he line of what has been said in t erm s of research in TS. Even if undergraduat e st udent s do not have t he m at urit y and skills for aut onom ous t hinking, t hey will benefit from direct int eract ion wit h scholars, professionals and t heir fut ure client s/ receivers at large. I n so doing, t hey will be allowed t o look “ int o t he inner workings of t he professional world [ and] not only view it from inside t he academ ic cocoon” ( Díaz Cint as, 2004: 201) . Mayoral writ es in reply t o Pym ’s quest ion about t raining t ranslat ors ( in Pym , 2003: 5) : st udent s m ust be t rained for t eam work, sharing t ranslat ion t asks not only wit h ot her t ranslat ors but also wit h professionals in ot her fields ( act ors, producers, m ult im edia t echnicians, edit ors, et c.) . To t his we add, if st udent s are furt her given t he opport unit y t o int eract wit h all t hose involved in t he com m issioning of t heir proj ect – st ill wit hout being subm it t ed t o t he pressure of professional involvem ent – t hey will know m any of t he t ricks of t he t rade even before com ing int o t he t rade. I f “ learning t o be a professional t ranslat or m eans learning t o act like one” ( Kiraly in Pym , 2003: 29) t he sooner st udent s com e int o direct cont act wit h professionals, t he bet t er t hey will know how t o deal wit h t he difficult ies of t he professional world. I n addit ion, if t ranslat ors- t o- be becom e aware t hat t heir work is t o be useful t o t heir client s/ receivers; if t hey are called t o be aware of t he real needs of t heir specific addressees; if t hese addressees are m ore t han t heoret ical const ruct s, and have faces as people; audience design and recept ion analysis – an area calling for research ( see Gam bier, 2003) – will have been st art ed. Yout hs are oft en not ed for t heir com m it t ed approaches t o life. Hist ory has shown t hat yout hful energy has led t he act ion of m any agent s of change. By involving st udent s in proj ect s t hat m ay lead t o social change ( even if only at m icro- level) t he seed will have been sown and, as professionals, t hese t ranslat ors will envisage t heir work as a purposeful endeavour, possibly even as a service t o t he com m unit y t hey int eract wit h. This belief has been proved in a num ber of research proj ect s im plem ent ed at Escola Superior de Gest ão de Leiria where final year undergraduat e st udent s 100 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 have been act ively involved in accessibilit y proj ect s t hat have had act ual applicat ion bot h at a regional and a nat ional level 3 . I n short , in st at ing a case of t he use of AR in t he educat ion/ t raining of fut ure t ranslat ors, we definit ely share Kiraly’s ( 2000: 101) not ion t hat AR is “ a m ult ifacet ed approach t o seeking answers t o local problem s, and one t hat ( …) can be part icularly valuable for perpet uat ing innovat ion in t he oft en unreflect ive pract ice of t ranslat or educat ion.” 3 .3 . Act ion Re se a r ch in Tr a n sla t ion Te a ch e r s Edu ca t ion Knowing how t o t ranslat e is not synonym ous t o knowing how t o t each t ranslat ion, j ust as knowing how t o t each a foreign language does not am ount t o knowing how t o t each t ranslat ion. Nevert heless, as happens in t erm s of research, t he field of t ranslat or educat ion would have a lot t o gain from t he j oining of bot h skills – t eaching and doing t ranslat ion. The experience will be all t he richer if we are t o find in t hose who t each charact erist ics such as: self- crit icism , reflect ive t hinking, pre- disposit ion t o learn and t o im prove, a will t o adapt and change according t o t he t eaching and learning cont ext s in case. Teachers of t ranslat ion quit e oft en com e int o t he profession from a wide range of init ial educat ion/ t raining which is not specifically direct ed t owards t ranslat ion. I t m ay be t rue t hat a significant num ber of t eachers have been put t hrough t eacher t raining program m es, but t hen again, how m any have act ually been t rained in t eaching t ranslat ion? Most of us, involved in t ranslat or educat ion or t ranslat or t raining, nat urally com bine act ion wit h reflect ion. We plan our work, we act , we observe t he developm ent of t he act ion process and we reflect upon what worked, what did not work and what worked different ly from t he expect ed. These concerns, which are felt by m any t eachers and t rainers who are eager t o im prove t heir pract ices in order t o im prove t heir st udent s’ and t rainees’ out com es, have been at t he heart of m ost t eaching st rat egies t hat have been used by m any t eachers and in m any inst it ut ions educat ing and t raining t ranslat ors. We agree wit h Kiraly ( 2000: 6) when he st at es t hat t here is a need t o educat e generat ions of educat ors who know how t o do classroom research and how t o design classroom environm ent s t hat lead t o professional com pet ence. Wit h AR t he t eacher’s role is som ewhat different from t hat found in m ost t radit ional t eaching pract ises. The t eacher t akes on t he role of an init iat or or facilit at or act ing as a m ore knowledgeable fellow researcher in t he group. According t o Kiraly ( in Pym , 2003: 30) , “ rat her t han assum ing roles of knowers and learners respect ively, t eachers and st udent s becom e part ners, m em bers of a m ut ually support ive learning t eam .” St udent s involved in AR proj ect s t ake an act ive role in t heir learning process and learn t o ‘t hink’ and quest ion rat her t han t o ‘know’ 101 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 fact s and figures per se. The st im ulus of aut onom ous reflexive t hinking in an early phase will inevit ably lead t o reflexive professionals who have learnt how t o work collaborat ively as a t eam , pulling t heir weight and t aking personal responsibilit y for t he out com e of t he whole. But if we want t o have reflect ive st udent s, we need t o have reflect ive t eachers as well. Mayoral ( in Pym , 2003: 5) m ade t he point t hat : as t hings st and at present , our knowledge of t ranslat ion pedagogy is not sufficient ly est ablished, consist ent or agreed- upon for it t o becom e t he basis of a t raining program . We st rongly believe t hat t his sit uat ion could change if m ore of us got involved in classroom research wit h t he st rong com m it m ent of sharing t he findings t hrough, for exam ple, posit ion papers or j ournals. We can’t share Gouadec’s opinion t hat t rainers’ experience as t ranslat ors alone “ should clearly decide on t heir t eaching approaches” ( in Pym , 2003: 13) . There is surely m ore t o it . I f we are t o see “ t he m uch- needed paradigm shift in t ranslat or educat ion” proposed by Kiraly ( in Pym , 2003: 27) perhaps we should address t ranslat ion t eacher’s t raining seriously. The old quest ion of who should be t eaching fut ure t ranslat ors ( pract ioners or t eachers - oft en com ing from ot her areas) , can be abandoned if all are t aught t o t hink about t heir pract ices. I f it m ay be difficult t o st art from scrat ch – t here are t oo m any t eachers of t ranslat ion in t he m arket as it is – perhaps it is possible t o believe t hat by im plem ent ing AR in our t eaching proj ect s, as t ruly social- const ruct ivist educat ional experiences which will include: aut hent ic pract ice in act ual professional act ivit ies, a collaborat ive learning environm ent including not only int eract ion am ong st udent s but also t he ext ensive involvem ent of t he st udent s in every aspect of t he t eaching/ learning process, including syllabus and curriculum design, t ask select ion, sub- t ask ident ificat ion and assessm ent of t heir own perform ance and learning, as well as program m e effect iveness. ( I bid., 30) We will be cont ribut ing t owards life- long educat ion for we will be t raining ourselves as t eachers cont inually. We will be quest ioning our m et hodologies and pedagogical choices; we will be on t he way t o t aking a sm all st ep forward t owards a new t ranslat ion t eaching/ t raining paradigm . A shift from t he t eacher cent red m odel m ight m ean t hat a new generat ion of t ranslat ion t eachers be t rained. A good st art could be t o have t ranslat ion t eachers wit h knowledge of AR working t oget her and get t ing involved in classroom research. The report s of all t he act ion, t he reflect ion and t he innovat ion in which m any t ranslat ion t eachers are probably get t ing involved is m uch needed, for it is possible t hat m any of us have been carrying out AR even wit hout being aware of it . 4 . Fin a l com m e n t s 102 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 On closing t his reflect ion about t he possibilit y of ARTS we t urn t o it s opening lines t o realise t hat m ore t han t hree years have elapsed since we first st art ed quest ioning such a hypot hesis. I n fact , t hese years were, in t hem selves, yet anot her im port ant cycle in our act ivit y as act ion researchers in TS. We have researched int o our own research m et hods, hoping t o be reflexive and crit ical; we have quest ioned our beliefs and pract ices; we have sought t heory and evidence t o support our choices and we have act ively, even if m odest ly, cont ribut ed t owards change. We have worked in close collaborat ion; we have exchanged ideas on m any of our doubt s and views wit h fellow researchers in t he field of TS and in ot her fields. We have addressed each of t he problem s t hat cam e t o be in m ult iple perspect ives, in t he knowing t hat t here is st ill so m uch m ore t o see, change and do. We firm ly believe t hat m ore t han t heorising about AR in TS, it is im port ant t hat we act ually do it . Only so will it be possible t o underst and t o what ext ent it can be useful t o t he field. I f no m ore can be got from our experience, we hope t o have set forward a hypot hesis t hat needs t o be seriously addressed: t hat indeed t here is space for Act ion Research in Translat ion St udies. Ack n ow le dge m e n t s A word of t hanks t o all t hose who have read t his paper t hrough and who have offered us t heir com m ent s on t he subj ect . Am ong t hem , Professor Lam bert , who coordinat ed CETRA 2003 where we first set forward t he possibilit y of using Act ion Research in Translat ion St udies, Professors I an Mason, Jorge Díaz Cint as, Maria Teresa Robert o and Yvonne McLaren, supervisors t o our PhDs, and Professors Yves Gam bier, Ant hony Pym , Don Kiraly and Manuela Abrant es who also m ade our research richer for t heir com m ent s. Our grat it ude also goes t o t he JoSTrans’ reviewer who gave us t he opport unit y t o address our art icle anew, t hus helping us t o work t hough anot her im port ant cycle, t hat of re- evaluat ion and syst em at isat ion. Re fe r e n ce s • Albir, Am paro Hurt ado ( 2001) . Traducción y t raduct ología – int roducción a la t raduct ología. Madrid: Cát edra. • At kinson, Sue ( 1994) . “ Ret hinking t he principles and pract ice of act ion research: t he t ensions for t he t eacher- researcher” . Educat ional Act ion Research, Volum e 2- 3: 383- 401. • Beeby, Allison ( 2000) . “ Choosing and em pirical- experim ent al m odel for invest igat ing t ranslat ion com pet ence” . Maeve Olohan ( ed.) ( 2000) . I nt ercult ural Fault iness – research m odels in Translat ion St udies I – Text ual and cognit ive aspect s. Manchest er: St Jerom e: 43- 55. 103 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 • Brydon- Miller, Mary, Greenwood, Davydd & Maguire, Pat ricia ( 2003) . “ Why act ion research?” . Act ion Research, Volum e 1, I ssue 1: 9- 28. • Chest erm an, Andrew ( 2000) . “ A causal m odel for t ranslat ion st udies” . Maeve Olohan ( ed.) ( 2000) . I nt ercult ural fault iness – research m odels in Translat ion St udies I – Text ual and cognit ive aspect s. Manchest er: St Jerom e: 15- 26. • Coghlan, David & Teresa Brannick ( 2001) . Doing Act ion research in your own organizat ion. London: Sage Publicat ions. • Cohen, Louis & Lawrence Manion ( 1980, 1985) . Research m et hods in educat ion. London: Croom Helm . • Cravo, Ana ( 1999) . Prom oção da aut onom ia na aprendizagem da língua alem ã para fins específicos - est udo de casos no âm bit o da gram át ica. Universit y of Not t ingham . Mast ers Dissert at ion. • Díaz Cint as, Jorge ( 2004) . “ Subt it ling: t he long j ourney t o academ ic acknowledgem ent ” . The Journal of Specialised Translat ion. I ssue 1: 50- 67. Online at : www.j ost rans.org/ ( consult ed 03.04.2004) . • Dick, Bob ( 1993) . “ You want t o do an act ion research t hesis?” Online at ht t p: / / www.scu.edu.au/ schools/ gcm / ar/ art / art hesis.ht m l ( consult ed 17.01.2004) . • Ebbut t , Dave ( 1985) . “ Educat ional act ion research: som e general concerns and specific quibbles” . Robert G. Burgess ( 1985) . I ssues in educat ional research qualit at ive m et hods. London: The Falm er Press: 152- 174. • Gam bier, Yves ( 2003) . “ I nt roduct ion: Screen t ransadapt at ion: recept ion and percept ion” . The Translat or. Vol.9- 2: 171- 190. • Gum m esson, Evert ( 1991) . Qualit at ive m et hods in m anagem ent research. Newbury Park: Sage. • Hat im , Basil ( 2001) . Teaching and researching t ranslat ion. Harlow: Pearson Educat ion Lim it ed. • Hopkins, David ( 1985, 1993) . A t eacher’s guide t o classroom Buckingham : Open Universit y Press. research. • Jennings, Leonie & Anne Graham ( 1996) . “ Post m odern perspect ives and act ion research: reflect ing on t he possibilit ies” . Educat ional Act ion Research, Vol. 4- 2: 267- 278. • Kiraly, Don ( 2000) . A social const ruct ivist approach t o t ranslat or educat ion – em powerm ent from t heory t o pract ice. Manchest er: St Jerom e. • McKay, Judy & Pet er Marshall ( 1999) . “ 2x6= 12, or does it equal act ion research?” . Proceedings 10 t h Aust ralasian Conference on I nform at ion Syst em s: 597- 608. • McNiff, Jean ( 1988) . Act ion research – principles and pract ice. Houndm ills: MacMillan Educat ion. • McNiff, Jean et . al. ( 1992) . Creat ing a good social order t hrough act ion research. Bat h: Hyde. 104 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 • McTaggart , Robin ( 1994) . “ Part icipat ory act ion research: issues in t heory and pract ice” . Educat ional Act ion Research, Vol.2- 3: 313- 37. • McTaggart , Robin ( n/ d) . “ The Mission of t he scholar in act ion research” . Online ht t p: / / www.scu.edu.au/ schools/ gcm / ar/ w/ McTaggart .pdf ( consult ed at 05.01.2004) . • McWilliam , Erica ( 1992) . Post hast e: Plodding research and galloping t heory, m im eo: Kelvin Grove: Queensland Universit y of Tecnology. • Moreira, Maria Alfredo ( 2001) . A invest igação- acção na form ação reflexiva do professor- est agiário de inglês. Lisboa: I nst it ut o de I novação Educacional. • Neves, Josélia ( 2005) , Audiovisual Translat ion: Subt it ling for t he Deaf and Hard- of- Hearing. School of Art s, Roeham pt on Universit y, Universit y of Surrey. PhD Thesis. • Nida, Eugene ( 1964) . Towards a science of t ranslat ing. Leiden: E. J. Brill. • Nunan, David ( 1993) . “ Act ion research in language educat ion” . Julian Edge & Keit h Richards ( Eds) ( 1993) Teachers develop t eachers research. Oxford: Heinem ann: 39- 50. • Philip- Harbut t , Lisa ( 2003) . “ Look out t here’s an art ist in t he business school doing research” – a quest for an appropriat e m et hodology. Universit y of Sout h Aust ralia. Mast ers t hesis. Online at : www.ccd.net / resources/ Resources/ lph_t hesis.ht m l ( consult ed 02.03.2004) . • Pym , Ant hony ( 2002) . “ Translat ion st udies as social problem - solving” . Pre- print version 2.1. Paper based on an exchenge at t he conference Translat ing in t he 21 st cent ury: Trends and Prospect s. Thessaloniki, Greece, 27- 29 Sept em ber 2002. Online at : www.fut .es/ ~ apym / on- line/ t hessaloniki.pdf ( consult ed 21.02.2004) . • Pym , Ant hony et al. ( 2003) . I nnovat ion and e- learning in t ranslat or t raining. Torragona: I nt ercult ural St udies Group & Universit at Roviva I Virgili. • Reason, Pet er ( 2003) . “ Act ion research and t he single case: a response t o Bj orn Gust avsen. Online at : www.bat h.ac.uk/ ~ m nspwr/ Papers/ Com m ent onGust avsen.pdf ( consult ed 28.02.2004) . • Reason, Pet er & Hilary Bradbury ( Eds) ( 2001) . Handbook of Act ion Research – part icipat ive inquiry and pract ice. London: Sage. • Som ekh, Bridget ( 1993) . “ Qualit y in educat ional research – t he cont ribut ion of classroom t eachers” . Julian Edge & Keit h Richards ( Eds) ( 1993) . Teachers develop t eachers research. Oxford: Heinem ann: 26- 38. • Verm eer, Hans ( 1989) . “ Skopos and com m ission in t ranslat ion act ion” Laurence Venut i ( ed.) . ( 2000) . The t ranslat ion st udies reader. London and New York: Rout ledge: 221- 232. • William s, Jenny & Andrew Chest erm an ( 2002) . The Map – A beginner’s guide t o doing research in Translat ion St udies. Manchest er: St Jerom e. 105 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 BI OGRAPH I ES Ana Cravo was involved in t ranslat or educat ion for eleven years. She has a degree in Languages and Lit erat ures ( English and Germ an) by t he Universit y of Lisbon and a Mast ers of Educat ion in Supervision by t he Universit y of Not t ingham . She is present ly working on a PhD on Qualit y Cont rol in I nt erlingual Subt it ling under t he supervision of Prof. I an Mason and Dr. Yvonne McLaren at Heriot - Wat t Universit y. E- m ail: ana.cravo@sapo.pt Josélia Neves has a degree in Languages and Lit erat ures and a Mast ers in English St udies wit h a dissert at ion on t he film adapt at ion of Henry Jam es’ works. I n t he past 12 years she has been involved in Translat or Educat ion and Training at Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gest ão de Leiria, in Port ugal, where she has developed a num ber of proj ect s in t he field of audiovisual t ranslat ion, wit h a focus on accessibilit y t o t he m edia. She has recent ly com plet ed her PhD on Subt it ling for t he Deaf and Hard- ofHearing t o Roeham pt on Universit y, under t he supervision of Prof. Jorge Díaz Cint as. E- m ail: j oselia@net cabo.pt 1 On reviewing lit erat ure we realised t hat som e aut hors call ‘act ion research’ a m et hod ( Cohen & Manion 1980, 1985: 216; Hopkins, 1985, 1993: 47; Moreira, 2001: 25) , som e a m et hodology ( Som ekh, 1993: 28) ; som e an approach ( McNiff, 1988: 24; Nunan, 1993: 41; McTaggart , 1994: 313; Jennings & Graham , 1996: 268) and ot hers a paradigm ( McWilliam , 1992, quot ed in McTaggart , 1994: 325) . But we also find aut hors who use m ore t han one of t he above designat ions t o refer t o AR. Hat im ( 2001: 3) opt s for t he t erm m et hodology, lat er t o use approach ( ibid.: 189) . On t he ot her hand, Hopkins ( 1985, 1993: 46- 47) , for exam ple, uses bot h t erm s m et hod and m et hodology and, from what he says, one m ay infer t hat different approaches t o AR m ay lead t o different m odels ( he refers t he m odels developed by Kem m is, Elliot t , Ebbut t and McKernan) . Yet , Dick ( 1993) int roduces AR as a paradigm and he describes four act ion research m et hodologies ( nam ely: part icipat ory act ion research, act ion science, soft syst em s m et hodology and evaluat ion) . 2 Aut hors, such as Gum m esson ( 1991, quot ed in Dick 1993) , m ent ion t he “ herm eneut ic spiral” ; ot hers, as Dick ( 1993) and Philip- Harbut t ( 2003: 95) , t alk about “ cycles wit hin cycles” ; ot hers st ill, as McKay & Marshall ( 1999: 603) m ent ion t he “ dual cycle process” , and Coghlan & Brannick ( 2001: 20) speak of a “ m et a cycle” . Furt her t o t his, At kinson ( 1994: 395) m ent ions “ lit t le m ini cycles of rapid decisions wit hin t he larger cycle” and envisages t he exist ence of “ incom plet e cycles t hat can go from one t o a series of unplanned act ions wit h lit t le or no reflect ion” . 3 These proj ect s have all been carried out wit hing t he subj ect of Translat ion Tecnologies or as part of st udent s’ end of degree int ernship and have ranged from providing SDH on 106 The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue7 - January 2007 a com m ercial t elevision channel ( Proj ect o “ Mulheres Apaixonadas” – 2003) ; providing live subt it ling for t he European Deaf Foot ball Cham pionship Draw ( 2004) ; providing accessibilit y feat ures wit hin t he cont ext of m useum s ( Museu Escolar – Leiria 2006) ; and providing live subt it ling for Sunday Services and audio- descript ion in t he Fát im a Shrine ( 2006) . 107