Elearning Localization
Localization of e-learning materials can play an important role in achieving success on international markets.
Due to globalization, a growing number of companies not only operate on several markets, but also employ workers from various countries and cultures. This results in the need to create e-learning materials dedicated to employees from different parts of the world. Technical progress, in turn, has led to a situation where educational content must meet much higher standards – it should be engaging, highly substantive and of interest to the recipient.
With dedicated e-learning platforms and tools, a company’s procedures and policies can be quickly applied to its regional subsidiaries, from the US to China. However, it is the localization of e-learning materials that will make them fully effective.
Localization of e-learning content consists not only of translating it into a new language, but also of adapting it to a recipient from a different culture. It should therefore include such basic elements as conversion of measurement units, currencies or date format. However, it is also necessary to adapt certain behaviors to those that are more likely and credible in a given country. An example? A car driving on the left instead of the right side of the road, if we send materials to the UK.
Moreover, e-learning content should be localized in such a way that the employer is able to carry out a universal evaluation of employees. Simply put, the evaluation of the effect of training should be carried out identically in Saudi Arabia and in Poland.
The ideal solution would be to prepare a distribution plan for the materials at the moment of their creation. Training materials should be properly prepared for localization and translation. If you know that in the future you would like to train employees in Japan, consider designing an application or website in the manner that would be suitable for a different alphabet and/or reading direction.
Secondly, select the right supplier. Summa Linguae has already implemented several large localization projects with regard to e-learning materials. Apart from our experience and knowledge, we also have a large database of translators specializing in this type of project. Moreover, the production of e-learning courses may also require the translation of financial documents or the analysis of multilingual data. It is more viable to outsource such services to a single supplier.
Sharing materials in an editable source file is a great convenience when cooperating with a translation agency. If you only have a published version, you may need to develop a localized version from scratch or make significant changes to the software in the source language.
At Summa Linguae, we translate and localize e-learning materials such as:
Contact us now to get started with elearning localization at Summa Linguae Technologies.