With the rise of globalization and remote work, global training is essential for the growth of many organizations. Whether you want to share internal training courses with multilingual employees or benefit from the global e-learning market, you need to localize e-learning videos. Why does localization matter in global education?
The use of video in e-learning is transforming how learners engage. Videos make e-learning more accessible and interactive. They engage multiple senses so they cater to different learning styles. Videos can convey even complex information in ways that are easy to understand.
Storytelling and real-world examples make learning more relatable. There’s no question that videos provide an effective way to learn but you need to localize e-learning videos for them to be most effective.
Reasons to localize e-learning videos
- Learning in their native language with culturally relevant examples results in better comprehension and engagement for learners. When you localize e-learning, familiar scenarios and references improve learning outcomes.
- When you localize e-learning videos, learners don’t have to waste time trying to decipher unfamiliar terms and it’s easier to absorb and retain knowledge.
- Cultural misunderstandings can easily occur if the language, tone, style, and context of your videos are out of alignment with the culture of your audience.
- Show you value your global audience with your commitment to diversity and inclusivity. Localized content feels more personal to viewers which results in more trust. Offering multilingual content can make your videos more competitive.
- Localization can also help to ensure that your e-learning materials comply with local laws and educational standards.
- Localized video content can increase search engine visibility in different regions. This can drive more organic traffic.
The Cincopa platform allows you to prepare future-ready courses for training remote workforces and tapping into the global e-learning market.
Key elements of video localization
1. Overcome language barriers
All course material must have accurate video translations. Presenting content in viewers’ native languages increases engagement and improves overall connection.
Whether you’re live streaming videos or offering video-on-demand, the terminology you use must be consistent and appropriate to the language of your target audience.
Subtitles for learning make content accessible to people with hearing disabilities and non-English speakers. Multilingual video training is essential for global organizations with remote workers.
2. Adapt content to reflect cultural norms
All graphics and images in your videos must be culturally appropriate and relevant. You must avoid any cultural references or idiom use that could be offensive or irrelevant to the target audience.
3. Make technical adaptations
Ensure that your e-learning platform is compatible with the devices and operating systems of the target audience. Many learners access e-learning videos on their mobile devices so they must be mobile-friendly. Make content accessible to learners with disabilities by providing transcripts, subtitles, and alternative text for images.
4. Ensure regulatory compliance
Content should comply with laws and regulations in the target area. It is important to protect the data of learners in accordance with local regulations. Content must meet the necessary standards for accuracy and quality.
How to translate and subtitle videos effectively
Video translation is converting spoken or written content into another language.
- Use AI-powered tools to generate translations automatically. The transcript provides a basis for voiceovers and subtitle translations of the video content.
- Review the transcript for accuracy and eliminate errors. It may help to get native speakers and cultural consultants to review translated content. They can catch any awkward phrasing and other errors. Their understanding of cultural context, idioms, etc. can result in more nuanced translations.
- Localize interactional elements such as animations, quizzes, etc. Localizing these elements involves more than just translating text. It may require adjusting the functionality and timing to suit different languages. The translated text may be longer or shorter than the original text.
- Video editing software will help you synchronize the translated text with the timeline of the video. This ensures that the translation matches the speech and visuals in the video.
- Subtitles are written translations of the audio of the video. They offer a cost-effective way to assess audience engagement without having to invest too much upfront. They should be easy to read with the use of appropriate fonts and placement. Try to avoid jargon or slang that might not translate well.
- Voiceovers overlay a narrative-style translation onto the video. This can be a quick and affordable solution for localization but can lack the tone and emotional depth of the original video. For content that requires a specific tone or dialect, consider hiring a voiceover artist to record the translated video.
The Cincopa video hosting platform makes localizing video content easy with transcript management, multi-language subtitles, and video player customization.
Tips for culturally sensitive visual/audio adaptation
Understand your audience
For e-learning localization, you need to understand your audience. This requires you to conduct some research.
- Surveys can help you to gather information about the cultural backgrounds and learning preferences of your audience.
- Focus groups and interviews can give you insights into their experiences and perspectives.
- Video messaging provides another way to get feedback directly from your audience.
- Educators and cultural experts can give you valuable insights to help ensure your content is accurate and authentic.
Adapt your storytelling
Adapt any visual storytelling to ensure visual elements resonate and communicate with your audience. If you’re mindful of sensitivities, you can create narratives that transcend boundaries. Using the linear structure of a classic story gives you a framework that can resonate across different cultures. Infuse your storytelling with familiar cultural references and shared values that resonate with diverse audiences.
Share universal emotions
Emotions like anger, sadness, and happiness are universal. However, you need to make sure that the visuals, language, and music you use in your videos convey emotion in a way that resonates with the specific culture.
Avoid stereotypes and clichés
Use authentic, realistic characters, scenarios, and dialogues to reflect the experience and identity of your audience.
Platforms and tools that support localization
Many platforms and tools are available to help you adapt your video content for different languages and cultures.
1. Technical aspects
The platform you use must be able to handle all the technical aspects of delivering quality videos at speed to a global audience.
Many learners use their mobile devices for e-learning so videos must be mobile-friendly.
A platform with a content delivery network (CDN) ensures that learners can receive videos from a server closest to them in a distributed network of servers.
Tools that automate translation and generate subtitles offer a scalable and budget-friendly way to localize e-learning videos.
2. Centralization and integration
A platform must allow you to centralize your video management and integrate with other tools you use to automate your workflows.
3. Customization
The platform should enable you to customize videos and the video player to suit the preferences of local audiences.
4. Collaboration
Tools that enhance collaboration can help such as making it easy to add users and manage roles and permissions.
5. Analytics
It’s important to test and iterate before you publish videos to make sure they won’t cause misunderstandings or controversies. You can use many different methods to test them. Some of these are surveys, feedback forms, and focus groups. The Cincopa platform offers advanced analytics that allows you to make data-driven adjustments and improvements.
Conclusion: Making your training truly global
Learners from different backgrounds across the world must be able to connect with your e-learning videos. You need to localize your videos to appeal to them. This requires respecting the language and culture of recipients. You must offer videos that will engage them and feel relevant to them. The Cincopa platform makes localization easy and scalable for global learning. Go to the home page and you can sign up for a free trial.
