Support for Access to Audiovisual Media (SAAM): An Impactful Service-Learning Project

This article describes the SAAM project at the University of East Anglia in which students of translation and other disciplines provide translation and subtitling services to NGOs and charities. It analyses the pedagogical value of the project and the benefits that both the volunteers and the organisations derive from their involvement in it. It points out that students significantly improve the technical and translation skills learned in class, feel more confident and have the opportunity to meet other students with the same interests as themselves. Organisations, on the other hand, save the costs of hiring external subtitling services and are able to reach groups such as speakers of other languages and people with hearing difficulties.