The world is changing rapidly, and borders and miles seem to be non-existent in the realm of business operations and transactions. More and more companies have employees working all over the globe delivering goods and providing services to each corner and everywhere in between. With this global expansion comes the need to train and educate qualified employees in multiple languages. At Translation Source we provide eLearning translation and localization services to help you reach all of your employees around the world. In this article we’ll help you understand translation and localization in eLearning and give you some tips to implement it in your organization.
Why do an eLearning translation?
eLearning translation becomes necessary when companies have employees who would benefit from learning the training materials in their target language. Sending a team member with a translator to present the training is not only inefficient but can also be costly if multiple target languages are needed. An easier solution is to translate the English course into the target language(s) needed so that it can then be completed by all employees.
What are the benefits of eLearning translations?
Besides improving employee training efficiency and keeping overhead low, eLearning translation has many benefits:
- Gives all team members and clients around the world access to your company’s eLearning material and ensures they can learn its content.
- Demonstrates that your organization is committed to training employees in an inclusive way, thus gaining respect in your industry.
- Increases the accuracy of your content by not having to rely on in-person instructors and translators.
What is eLearning localization?
eLearning translation and localization are two separate but equal parts to the process of ensuring your content is accessible and relevant to all of your employees. While translation ensures that the content of an eLearning course is in the target language, localization ensures that the content is appropriate and relevant to its target culture. Not only does the audience need to be able to read/hear the content in their target language, but they also need to be able to understand the connotations in the content. Localization fully adapts the content to a specific locale or region by looking at everything from date, time, and numerical formats to the cultural appropriateness of images, slang and colloquial language, and even back-end coding and compatibility.
Why is eLearning localization important?
eLearning localization gives your content the look and feel of being created specifically for your target audience while still reflecting your organization’s unique vision and message. There are many other benefits to localizing your content including:
- Ensures employees are given culturally appropriate content so they are not confused or offended
- Empowers employees across cultures to see themselves in the content
- Improves learning engagement across locations so it is easily comprehended and understood
Four tips for a successful eLearning translation and localization
You now know that an eLearning translation and localization is the best move for your organization to provide all of your employees with clear, culturally appropriate content that aids them in performing their jobs well. Following are four tips to ensure the process is smooth and all your bases are covered.
Identify your target audience
Clearly identifying who will be using the eLearning course is a vital part of the translation and localization process. But knowing the language choice is only the beginning of that process. There may be one targeted language, but there are different cultural preferences depending on where the course will be used. For example, if your course needs to be translated into Portuguese, knowing exactly where the course will be used is important. Will it be used primarily in a European country? Or will it be used in an African country where Portuguese is spoken? The culture between these two locations differs greatly and needs to be taken into account. It’s also important to consider the dialect for the location where the course will be used. Users must be able to hear and see themselves in the course for it to be relatable.
Be mindful of characters
Incorporating narration is always a good way to create an engaging eLearning course that captivates your users. Many courses will have a main narrator and then include character audio to diffuse the monotony and add interest. You must keep in mind that when courses are translated, each of those additional characters will require additional audio talent, thus costing you more. While this may be in your budget for one additional target language, it can add up fast as the number of languages increases.
Avoid using images with embedded text
Along those same lines, another budget breaker can be using images embedded with text. While adding text to images or graphics might seem like a no-brainer when the original course is being created, when the time comes to translate the course, you may need to reconsider. Assuming you have access to the source image, the process of getting the text into the target language and onto the image can be time consuming and costly. Without the source image you’re looking at an even more laborious task of recreating the entire image altogether.
Conduct a final review of completed translated courses
Once the course translation is complete and put back together in its final form, it’s important to compare it to the original version to make sure everything is in its correct place. It could be helpful to compare the original course to the translated course screen by screen to ensure images and graphics are in the same place and appear on the screen at the same time.
Don’t speak the target language? As long as you can follow along with the transcript and the sound of the words, you can make sure that all the text has been included.
Call in the experts
With a world that seems to be shrinking it’s more important than ever to have accessible and appropriate eLearning materials for your employees. You might be wondering how your company can pull off a successful translation—especially if your team is comprised of Native English speakers. At Translation Source we do the hard work for you. With our hand-picked team of linguists translating in over 100 languages, we can work with your organization to develop an eLearning translation and localization strategy from start to finish. Contact us today to get started.
