One of the keys to improve and adapt your eLearning courses to their intended audiences is to localize them. And when it comes to eLearning localization strategy, a first major step must be considered: the internationalization process.
Before we go deeper into this subject, let’s make sure we understand the difference between Localization and Internationalization, two key concepts which are closely related when it comes to linguistic and cultural adaptation.
What’s the difference between Internationalization and Localization?
Internationalization (often abbreviated as i18n) is the process of creating a source product that is global and readily consumable across multiple countries. Its aim is to reduce the need for adaptation later during the localization process.
Aside from the technical aspects of internationalization, such as globally usable fonts and images, locale-specific date formats etc., it sometimes is difficult to avoid using cultural references while developing the first version of an eLearning course. Fortunately, there are specific methods and ways to keep this to a minimum to make the localization process easier, faster, and less expensive for our clients.
Localization (l10n) is the process of making a product or a service specific to a region by considering its locale specifications. Translating a product into a specific language is only one step of the localization process, which also involves cultural aspects that go beyond the written content, such as adapting graphics and videos. For example, if you want to localize a course that will be used in Europe as well as in Asia, the content will need to be translated into each language, but other references such as images, graphics, even the “tone” of the course, as well as its user interface should be culturally adapted to each location.
On the other hand, Internationalization (i18n) is the process of making a product as global and readily consumable across multiple countries as possible, with little adaptation necessary during localization. We know sometimes it is difficult to avoid using cultural references while developing the first version of an eLearning course. However, there are specific ways to keep them to a minimum to make the localization process easier, faster, and affordable for your company.
Curious to learn more? Check out our three must-know tips before developing your eLearning courses.
Tip #1: Plan your eLearning localization strategy
Before you start creating eLearning content, you need to define your intended audience and markets. This will help identify the cultures your course will need to be adapted to, as well as the languages they will be translated into. For example, if you are planning to develop a course for both Brazilian and Portuguese audiences and markets, you will need to translate the content into two different Portuguese variants – the Brazilian and the European versions.
If you are interested in learning more about this step, check out our eLearning page on BeatBabel’ s website.
Tip #2: Make your content neutral and clear
In order to make the translation and localization processes smoother for your teams, here are a few guiding principles you can follow while creating the original content of your eLearning courses:
Use direct and short sentences: Having clear sentences in the original language will make everything more understandable and will avoid ambiguity in the translation. Also, avoid using idioms, phrasal verbs or jargon since these elements can be hard to understand even for a native speaker and some terms might be impossible to translate into certain languages.
Avoid cultural references: If possible, avoid using culture-specific references such as daily routines, events, sports or even Internet memes as much as you can. These elements are often lost on other cultures and translating them can be mission impossible!
Use terminology consistently: When a term first appears, explain it in a clear and short way and use it consistently throughout the course to avoid any confusion. This will also help translators when making the terminology decision that will apply to the course.
Decide how to address the course participant: It is common to address your participants in the US by their first name, but that may not be appropriate in other cultures where “Bob” needs to become “Herr Schultz”.
Tip #3: Create “localization-friendly” graphical content
Graphical work is one of the most time consuming – and expensive – steps in the localization process. When designing your eLearning course, create and/or use media that will be easily localizable. Make sure your development and design teams are following these rules:
Ensure the text elements on images and videos are editable: This will help the localization team extract the content that needs to be translated and the translation can be easily adapted on the original media, requiring less graphical work and time.
Do not overload the slides and graphics with text: Text swell can vary depending on the language, so make sure to not overload slides and graphics with non-essential textual content. This will avoid your design team having to make extra formatting adjustments.
Be careful when using onscreen visual effects on text: Animations, different colors as well as bolder characters to highlight specific words in a sentence can definitely improve your eLearners’ experience and understanding of the content, but keep in mind that this does not work for every language. Chinese, Arabic or Hebrew, for example, have different writing systems and applying bold or italic can be challenging or have the opposite effect. The text will be harder to read!
Wrapping it up!
Internationalization is a process that requires time to plan for the ideal strategy and to coordinate all the actions with the development, design, and translation teams prior to the creation of your eLearning course. At the same time, it is the key factor that defines cost and time needed to localize and to help your eLearning courses go global!
If you are interested in getting more tips and information about internationalization and localization, please visit the official eLearning Industry website. Also, follow BeatBabel on Twitter and on Facebook!
Some useful links:
Global Market Insights
eLearning Industry