In the past, if someone wanted to learn, they would have assist a presential course, to read abou in books, or research papers. However, the internet and smart devices have made learning available to everyone. Now, all you need is a click away because eLearning has harnessed the full power of the latest technologies. Language services have also made it possible to exchange information at a global level.
The pandemic has both had good and bad effects on eLearning. It has improved the existing eLearning movement and has made organizations that were on the sidelines use this opportunity to train their employees.
The benefits of localized corporate eLearning modules for training employees are many and varied.
Perhaps the most obvious benefit is that employees can access the modules at any time, from any location. This is convenient for employees who may not be able to attend traditional classroom-based training sessions. Additionally, localized modules can be customized to meet the specific needs of a company or organization. This type of customization is not possible with traditional classroom-based training. Finally, corporate eLearning modules can be used to train employees in a variety of different languages. This is important for companies with employees who speak different languages.
As remote work becomes more commonplace, it’s becoming increasingly important for global brands to invest in multilingual eLearning. Having employees who can effectively communicate with customers and colleagues in their target language is key to success in a multilingual environment.
eLearning courses that are multilingual can help employees learn in their native language, which can help achieve a goal. eLearning courses can also be customized to match the specific needs of each business, making them an invaluable tool for training and managing a multilingual workforce. At LenseUp, we have learned from our experience with various eLearning organizations that careful planning and execution are essential for the success of a multilingual eLearning course.
Here are 10 key strategies that will help you make your eLearning strategy a winner
1. Before creating a multilingual eLearning course, consider your target audience and what languages they speak. This will help you design content that is relevant and effective for your learners.
2. The initial content strategy is key to ensuring that your translated text accurately reflects the original course material, and how well it will be received by a global audience will depend on how well the original content is written. Adhering to international standards for English usage, avoiding idioms and phrases that are specific to a particular region or language, and considering the cultural sensitivities of your audience will make the language translation process easier
3. While creating the course, try to use fewer elements or ones that are culturally neutral. It can be challenging to find multimedia elements that are both culturally neutral and relevant, but visual learning is still great.
4. Designing eLearning courses with adaptability in mind allows for easy alterations to content. This is important because the amount of content can vary depending on the language. Additionally, eLearning courses should be designed with the future in mind. This means considering that the content might need to be added to or changed. And for that purpose, multilingual text-to-speech technologies are quite useful.
5. Audio is key. In most cases, text variation will mean audio variation. To ensure that the audio is timed correctly, you may need to add pauses or speed up the speech recording based on the language, the narrator’s pace, and visual elements.
6. To make your course accessible to all employees, add subtitles, closed captions, and multilingual audio. This will help those with hearing or visual challenges, as well as those who do not understand English. Closed captions are especially helpful when people are on the go, don’t have access to a headset, or are in a crowded place.
7. Localization, when possible. You may need to change aspects of your multimedia content to better reflect local customs and traditions when localization occurs. This can include using a different voice actor who is able to speak the target language with the proper accent, or altering visuals.
8. The right terminology. If you want to get the best quality translations and localizations, you should partner with an experienced language-service provider (LSP). Localization is a time-consuming and laborious task, and many companies prefer to handle their localization in-house. However, by partnering with a trusted LSP, companies can boost their productivity by outsourcing localization to native linguists skilled in the relevant industry. Previous research is key in order to understand the specific terminology used in every sector and field of activity.
9. When choosing a learning-management system (LMS), it is important to make sure it can handle characters and fonts specific to all target languages. Make sure your tools facilitate the division of presentation from content and make it simple to import and export linguistic resources from the development environment.
10. Use a TMS. A Translation Management System (TMS) is beneficial because it consolidates your source file and translations into one location, allowing you to manage your translations more effectively. In addition, a Translation Management System facilitates collaboration among teams. Furthermore, you can add translations to a translation memory and create glossaries to ensure consistent elearning translations.
We hope that the 10 strategies to ensure that the message and impact of eLearning won’t be lost in translation and will help to your company to bridge the language gap, as well as improve diversity and inclusivity.
