Over the past decade, the eLearning industry has grown exponentially, and that is for an exciting reason! As organizations rapidly expand on a global scale and spread in more than one country, region, or continent the demand, inevitably, will significantly increase for training programs that suit all users, be that employees or customers’ unique cultural nuances.
There are many different accommodations that need to be thoughtfully developed to deliver the same essential training with the exact user experience in multiple languages for your global users.
Proper Training for Everyone
Whether your product or service is software-based or a physical product, apart from providing the basic details, it is crucial to provide proper training for your users so your product is discussed and used as intended. A good practice is not to limit the training to a frontal teacher/student technique. This is where specialized multilingual eLearning can have the most positive influence. Not only can eLearning courses be localized for multiple languages, but it is also known for being more effective and efficient than traditional learning. Localized content allows for improved comprehension and higher retention.
Incorporating eLearning & L10N
The most effective eLearning programs start with your tone and length. Your technical writer that plans the course will need to consider keeping the eLearning course entertaining (fun), not too long to keep your learner’s attention, and informative to gain the knowledge they need, without being tricky and unnecessarily stumping your learners either in UI/UX or the content being delivered. If your product or service is significant, and you have a lot of content to cover with your users, it is an excellent consideration to split up one larger course into a few bites sized lessons. There are some cases you will want to include an exam or quiz, which could be essential for gauging employee comprehension of important organizational messages.
When selecting a platform to write the content on, it is essential to think about what the organization’s needs will be in the future and plan ahead by using a tool that will support the requirements you need from the eLearning, like quizzes and languages the end-users require. It is important to check support for Asian languages and right to left languages like Hebrew and Arabic if the target audio uses these languages. If the source content of the course is written in English, when the technical writer compiles the course it can be helpful to use simplified English so the translation process will be smoother.
*Simplified Technical English is a controlled language developed in the early 1980s to help second-language speakers of English unambiguously understand technical manuals written in English.
Localized eLearning Courses
At Morningside, a Questel Company, we have delivered over a thousand localized eLearning courses over the past decade on various platforms like Articulate RISE/Storyline, Adobe Captivate and more. As an experienced language services provider (LSP), we can provide turnkey solutions. We review the source course before translation and advise about issues that may help reduce the budget and TAT of the course localization. By using our workflow, our localization engineers are able to ensure clear, accurate translation, seamless integration, and user-friendly deliverables providing the same user experience as your source content.
Morningside’s eLearning Workflow
Morningside’s eLearning localization group has years of experience localizing complex eLearning projects. Our team includes expert linguists, desktop publishing and typesetting specialists, voiceover talent, and project managers experienced in providing multilingual eLearning localization services. We have subject matter expertise in dozens of fields including engineering, marketing, finance, and IT. Whether you need to translate a course module or localize a virtual learning environment (VLE), Morningside’s team delivers consistent, high-quality content across a wide range of eLearning formats and applications. Keep in mind that Localizing eLearning is more than just the translation and should include:
- Image localization
- Screenshot replacement
- Videos Localization – Dubbing/Subtitles
- Layout correction
- QA
Some clients also include an in-country review (ICR) phase, where the local distributor is checking the localized course and provides feedback.
When Morningside is requested to provide a turnkey solution, we will take care of all the aspects of the Localization project for you and provide you with hassle-free product you can provide your employees or clients.
About Morningside
Morningside is a recognized leader in eLearning translation, providing a full range of language and multimedia services to help you deliver instruction and content to employees, end-users, and customers around the globe.
Our full suite of multimedia services includes desktop publishing (DTP), voiceovers, subtitling, and more. We provide a one-stop solution for your multimedia localization project, from transcription & translation to testing & QA. Whatever the complexity of your project, we offer customized solutions that meet your budget and deliver the completed project on time and in any format you require.
Whether your focus is educating and orienting a global workforce or delivering on-demand research and collaboration, Morningside has the expert knowledge and proven experience to help you make the most of your global learning and training programs. We provide fast turnaround times, unparalleled accuracy and 24-hour customer support, with a proven track record of delivering projects on time and on budget.
Ehud Ganor, Senior Localization Engineer for Morningside, a Questel Company, has worked for Morningside as a localization engineer for four years and in software programming and localization for 22 years. He is an experienced Localization Engineer with a demonstrated history of working in the translation and localization industry. Projects involving – Multilingual, Online Help, SDL tools, Linguistics, and Internationalization. Software Programming focused on C++ (ATL/ActiveX). Software Programming (Practical Engineer) from Hadassah College Jerusalem.