Studies show that learning in one’s second or third language is generally not as effective as learning in one’s first language. As a result, comprehension is reduced and meanings are misinterpreted. Even fluent individuals are susceptible to comprehension difficulties, which reduces training effectiveness and global performance. While localization improves retention and performance of your global training initiatives, it requires more than just finding a good translator.
Know Your Target Culture and Adapt
Different ethnic groups have different learning needs. Language, group dynamics, social interactions, and other factors have a direct impact on learning styles and the effectiveness of an e-learning product within a given culture or locale. For example, a female narrator may not work that well for a Middle Eastern office that has a more male-orientated business culture. But, changing a female narrator to male is a piece of cake if you catch it ahead of release. Other cultures also present their own unique challenges. For example, Japanese people often prefer instructor-led courses. While this may be a complicated preference to accommodate for global companies that are committed to using e-learning, one option is to include a virtual instructor. The key to both of these situations is knowing about the differences upfront. By keeping these nuances in mind from the start, learning managers can boost retention and engagement, as well as reduce time to market and cost of development.
Neutralize Content
Let’s be honest, adapting the course for every country and cultural nuance, while ideal, is rarely feasible. It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish and what your budget is. That said, by staying reasonably neutral, you can design Web-based training that will be appropriate and effective for multilingual and multicultural audiences from the beginning. Start by assessing content for culturally inappropriate or confusing analogies, metaphors, puns, idioms, and slang, and inappropriate cultural references such as gender-specific roles, humor, ethnic, geographical and historic references. For example, using a cultural reference such as the Taj Mahal or McDonald’s is fine and can create depth and richness to a course; however, if it is intended to provide context for a meaning, it will confuse translators and target learners. For instance, a phrase such as “we turn staff like McDonald’s” will be difficult to translate accurately and almost definitely will not have the intended effect on the learner. In addition, it is important to use a concise writing style in English by avoiding gerunds, passive voice, and long sentences.
It is also a good idea to use culturally appropriate photographs or multicultural photos. For example, an American mailbox with a red flag does not symbolize mail to many cultures. Swapping a graphic for a specific region is not a significant cost; however, if the graphic or screenshot is complex or used all over the course, it can start to add up. Creating multicultural images that broaden the appeal will mean images don’t have to be reinvented or updated in several individual places. The visual appeal of the course should not be ignored to achieve this, but where possible, use globally acceptable imagery to reduce cost and development time on the back end.
Review for Cultural Appropriateness and Method of Delivery
Identify a core team of supporters, including regional specific representation, that will support and participate in kickoffs and review cycles throughout the project. Have the learning objectives reviewed by an in-country representative to ensure alignment with regional goals. Even if the content works well in English, the local region may have its own expectations regarding challenges or specific areas of improvement it is trying to achieve. It is easier and more cost effective to accommodate minor corrections and changes in goals if they are known in the pre-production phase. Get at least one regional representative to review the storyboard. A review of the source material is much more helpful than you can imagine. Better to know ahead of time if the locals don’t like the English content or feel it is not aligned to their approach. Getting their input now will dramatically affect the quality, take-up, and impact of the course by getting the buy-in from a regional stakeholder willing to set and support a learning direction.
Hold On to Your Assets
Establish a single location to hold and store course production assets, such as original JPG files, Word documents, and other source materials, that will be used in the course creation process. This dramatically affects cost and turnaround. The source art and materials used to create content such as “talking heads” often is discarded once the source is completed. Recreating these assets for the translated version is often unnecessary and always adds time and cost. Setting up a location for these files will make the request clear and provide an auditable location to ensure everything is ready to go when the localization efforts start.
Make sure the course production team knows what source materials are needed, as well as where and how to send them for translation. External and internal resources that develop courses can easily support translation efforts if they have visibility of the needs. Knowing the content will be localized and that source files will need to be managed radically reduces the time and cost of getting these files through production.
Make Room for Changes
The screens and course formatting should be designed to allow for text expansion or contraction by dynamically resizing graphical elements, column/frames, and input fields. Some languages (such as French or Spanish) can expand about 25 percent, while others (such as Chinese or Japanese) contract 10 to 15 percent. The user interface (UI) and content layout should allow for this fluctuation to avoid last-minute rebuilds or redesigning for specific locales. Graphics should be layered rather than embedded text. Graphics or screenshots that have text on them should be created with layers, and the source (often Photoshop files) should be provided to the translators to work directly within. Graphics that have embedded text need to be reworked and take a lot more time and money. In the worst-case scenario, they may even have to be redone from scratch to support all of the languages of the project.
These tips are not the only factors to consider when localizing your e-learning programs. But they are important when assessing the cost, schedule, and consumption goals of your courseware. Taking care with these issues upfront will give your project a higher possibility of success. Plus, your audience will appreciate and benefit from the effort.
Nic McMahon is chief operating officer at VIA, which helps companies create, culturally align, and monitor global content across people, channels, and geographies, delivering activities such as e-learning, translation, and community insights under one umbrella. He has more than 15 years of experience helping organizations succeed globally through localization, learning, and global resourcing initiatives.
