eLearning Translation Vendor

Content creators spend countless hours designing material that will engage and empower internal and external audiences. How do you make sure this training will be well received when crossing international borders and will be meaningful to those taking the training?

When translating content for an eLearning course it is important for the end-user to understand the goals in which the training was designed to accomplish. However, it is equally important for your translation vendor to understand these outcomes as well. A direct translation of the content simply is no longer good enough and will no longer suffice.

Taking a Different Approach to Translating eLearning Content:

When considering who to choose as a translation partner, there are several things to evaluate: Quality, turnaround time, and cost-effectiveness are the big three that people generally consider. However, eLearning is different, then say marketing or legal content, it requires an intimate engagement from its target audience and must be perceived as if it were created for every individual that comes in contact with the course. The outcomes of the course must be considered at every stage of content creation and it is no different when translating the material.

Your content is relatable, be sensitive to cultural cues and look as if it was created by the locals, in order to achieve the desired outcomes. Therefore, when translating eLearning content, the question that should be taken into heavy consideration is what will the vendor do to help ensure the desired outcomes of the training are reached? How will they approach the situation to make sure these outcomes are not “lost in translation”?

Choosing the correct vendor to assure your translation will be effective can be tough, but asking the correct and sometimes tough questions will take your international training to new levels. As stated earlier, a direct translation will no longer cut it, and it is time to demand more from your translation vendor. At Global eLearning, we have said goodbye to the status quo and have developed a unique set of processes designed at attaining the desired outcomes of the eLearning module while enhancing the quality and enjoyment of an international audience.

Matt Patterson