Localizing E-learning

Overcoming language and cultural barriers is more than finding a good translator

JAMES FAGAN
(James Fagan is president and CEO of Bowne Global Solutions. He can be reached at jim.fagan@bowneglobal.com)

Feedback and measured results showed that your company's e-learning course informed and motivated employees in the United States. But when you went global with it, ratings and effectiveness plummeted. What went wrong?

Experience with global corporations that use e-learning to reach multilingual, culturally diverse workforces has shown that far more is involved in going global than simply finding a translator. E-learning companies and their global clients need to focus on three areas as they localize e-learning courses: the content, the e-learning environment and the internal business process that brings localization into play.

The content. Companies working in different regulatory and governmental environments are often aware of common pitfalls, even though it's not a stated role of the company to review content. Labor law in Europe, for example, differs from that in the United States. European companies may not be able to require employees to take a course offered during breaks or lunchtime. In the United States, companies focus on the topic of sexual harassment in training, while the topic isn't even on the radar screen in other countries. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) workplace safety rules are different from regulations in other countries. The European Union has requirements that span member countries. Content must be checked to be sure it's correct outside of the country of origin.

Courseware that teaches customer relations practices also may not translate well. How much casual conversation can be indulged in during a call and what kinds of questions can be asked all differ from culture to culture. Americans are used to answering questions about their jobs and identification information. Eastern Europeans, however, may regard such questions with suspicion, while Asians may consider them intrusive.

The environment. How content is delivered profoundly affects an e-learner's ability and willingness to absorb the message. Culturally tone-deaf material, even if linguistically accurate, can cause reactions ranging from confusion to alienation. Graphic design, tone, symbolism and cultural fit are just some of the things to be aware of.

Graphic design. An e-learning course that looks attractive in English, has animation synched with audio and works well with fast connections may encounter problems when it's localized. English text translated to Romance languages grows by 25%. Translated to German, the text grows by 30%. This can be a problem in the little bubbles that express thoughts above a mascot's head, in densely packed PowerPoint slides or as audio tries to keep up with the display. If e-learning is going to be accessed in countries where fast connections are rare, courses may need to be designed to be downloadable for work offline.

Tone. How you say something is as important as what you are saying. In the United States, the tone used to address employees is often informal, even when dealing with upper management. In countries and cultures where employees may be used to far more formality, they may see language meant to be friendly and open as patronizing or disrespectful. In the Western world a hard-sell approach is not out of place. Other cultures may find aggressive or assertive posturing offensive and may prefer a more subtle, soft-sell approach.

Symbolism/iconography. Some e-learning is infused with personality by the use of "mascots" that guide users through the content, but symbolism does not always travel well. A "cute" mascot in one culture — a cowboy or a cartoon rodent — may be annoying or distasteful in another. In France, Asterix, a cartoon warrior who fights Roman legionnaires, is a far more compelling symbol than Mickey Mouse, but not many Americans are familiar with Asterix.

A checkmark may indicate that a task has been completed — or that the work has been done incorrectly. A four-leaf clover is meaningless for those who do not associate it with good luck.

Cultural fit. References that work well in one country may fail in another. Baseball provides many sayings in the United States and Japan, but in other parts of the world, "three strikes and you're out" does not resonate. Logos and brand names need to be carefully reviewed to ensure that the words, the look, the color and the symbolism are meaningful and appropriate rather than baffling or insulting.

The process. As you can see, localizing e-learning content is far more complex than simply translating the words, and anything that is complex is usually more expensive. The good news is that by using a systematic approach to the business processes involved in creating e-learning courses, the cost of localization can be reduced.

Localizers often discover at the beginning of a partnership with a company that content is developed without regard to later localization needs. In fact, the localization people are usually the last to be brought into a project. Savings from co-development and cost savings from taking shortcuts are lost when a project is not approached from the beginning with the end in mind: a product that works in many languages. One effective approach is to use controlled English (standardized, simplified words that are translated uniformly) when content is created. Another is to develop "dashboards" and applications that plug into developer tools to make localization an embedded part of the content development process.

E-learning courses can go global. Companies that want to train employees abroad should look for translation partnerships that will help them do more than simply find the right words. They need translation partners who will help them overcome cultural and language barriers and create effective content that is culturally relevant in many parts of the world.


This article reprinted from #71 Volume 16 Issue 3 of MultiLingual Computing & Technology published by MultiLingual Computing, Inc., 319 North First Ave., Sandpoint, Idaho, USA, 208-263-8178, Fax: 208-263-6310.