What Are The Challenges of E-Learning Translation?

Due to technological advancement, the corporate world is rapidly evolving. To keep up with the pace of rapid technological changes, companies are spending lots of money on training and development. Through training sessions, they make sure that people unlearn previous things and learn new ones. Initially, training modules are conducted at office premises. Now the situation is entirely different. Due to globalization, organizations have to deal with a diverse workforce that is working in different parts of the world. Here you require e-learning programs to train your employees. You must be wondering how to give training to people that speak different languages. Don’t worry, E-learning translation services are available to assist you. Developing the e-learning module and translating it into multiple languages is not as easy as it seems. For this, you should hire a translation services agency.

Why do you need to hire an E-Learning Translation Company? 

If you use Google Translate, the results can be confusing.  It can make the learners confused and they might not understand the content. Even if the word-to-word translation of the content is good, still you have to face many challenges in e-learning translation. 

If the voice-over does not match the animations or the text is not accommodated according to the visuals then your audience will not able to learn anything properly. Therefore, here you require the assistance of a professional translation services company to get e-learning modules translated properly. The translation company will also assist in the e-learning module creation along with the translation process. They will alter the content so that it can be easily translated and keep the target audience engaged. 

Let's have a look at e-learning translation challenges.

Interactive Session

The e-learning modules are designed in a way that helps the learners to interact. Interactivity keeps the audience captivated and engaged. However, the translation of the interactive module is more difficult than the static content. The interactivity is created in the content by using different categories in the storyline. When the file is exported for the translation then the categories involved in the storyline can be lost. This can distort the interactive session and the content can lose its intended message.

Voiceover and Scripts

Voiceover is used to increase comprehension and engagement in the content. In the e-learning scripts, technical language is used according to the topic. Here the specialist translator is required to translate idioms and phrases that are hard to translate 

Dealing with voiceover is another challenge. Non-native speakers cannot understand the meaning of the content. Their tone and tempo can affect the speech. The translated voiceover comes in different styles. Therefore, it becomes very difficult to master the voiceover and script translations. 

Animations 

When the content is translated into another language then it can affect its timings. The voiceover in the animation should be adjusted. If the translator is not fluent in the language then matching the script with animation becomes very difficult. The well-timed animation increases the learner's comprehension of the topic. The content which is integrated with a voiceover can help in achieving the learning objectives. 

Formatting 

Formatting is very important in making a learning module presentable. Translation can cause some challenges in the user interface of the slide. Some languages like German have longer words than English. So when they are translated they create a mess on the slide. The translated version should fit the slide without affecting its design.

Visuals 

Captivating and engaging visuals are very effective in e-Learning. If graphics and photos are with text then they must be translated in a way that makes them fit in the visuals. The problem arises if you use visuals that are specific to any region. For Instance, Americans will not understand any reference from Asia even if the audience is good in English. Altering the visuals according to the target audience takes a lot of time and brings delays in eLearning translation projects. So be very careful in including the visuals in the e-learning module from the start.  

How to Make Your E-Learning Translation Project Successful?   

E-learning translation demands input from both sides. You should decide your translation and localization objectives from the start of the project. For this, you should inform the translation agency about the languages into which you want your content to be translated. Adding new languages at the end can cause confusion and delays. All the stakeholders should be included in e-learning content from the start. If the person from the quality team is not involved from the start then it will cause many problems. For instance, if you are developing an e-learning module for call center agents then input from the quality assurance department is a must. This is because they are the people that evaluate the call center agent's performance.   

Wrapping Up 

An e-Learning translation project has to go through different stages to get ready for delivery. The translation services company should be clear about the translation objectives and they should not compromise on quality. The training and development department should set a realistic timeline for each phase of the translation project so that they can deliver the e-learning module on time. By working with an e-learning translation company, you can overcome e-learning translation challenges.