Why It’s Important to Localize eLearning Videos
eLearning has been around a long time. Even before the impact of COVID on remote work, many companies were using it to deliver content and train their staff and customers around the world. Now that, post-COVID, many companies and employees prefer to continue working remotely, eLearning video localization has become more important than ever.
Here are 5 important reasons to localize your eLearning videos:
1. Expand Audience Reach
When you offer your eLearning videos in multiple languages, you reach wider audiences. This is particularly important if you have a diverse workforce or operate in global markets. Reaching a new set of learners who previously would not have taken your courses because they didn’t know the original language or found it difficult to understand the content, broadens your audience significantly. And because you can disseminate content more efficiently to help them learn and retain knowledge, you’re helping them improve their performance and possibly even boost productivity.
2. Enhance Learning and Comprehension
Everyone learns better in their own language. When content is available to learners in their native tongue, they are more likely to understand and retain the information presented. This is particularly important when the content is complicated, overcoming language barriers makes it easier for your workforce to retain important course information. Your employees will not only appreciate the efforts made by your company to help their development, but they will become more confident. eLearning videos in one’s mother tongue can enhance the learning experience, leading to improved knowledge retention, better engagement, and higher training effectiveness.
3. Ensure Cultural Relevance
Localizing e-Learning videos makes them culturally relevant to target audiences. This is important to avoid disparities that might be confusing and reduce comprehension or even offend the viewer. Adapting the content to local customs, norms, and cultural references can enhance the learners’ engagement and understanding of the material. It also helps to avoid potential misinterpretations or misunderstandings that could arise from using content that is not culturally appropriate. Certain numbers, colors, hand gestures and names may have a positive or benign meaning in one country or culture, while they can connote something negative or unacceptable in another. For example, an image of a thumbs up might be considered a sign of encouragement to an American reader, but in the Middle East, it’s a rude gesture. Cultural nuances are important to your employees and when you adapt eLearning video content to align with the norms of the targeted audience, it sends a positive message that you respect cultural diversity within your workforce.
4. A Competitive Edge
Providing eLearning videos in other languages gives you a competitive advantage, especially in a post-COVID world when many people are still working remotely. It demonstrates your commitment to inclusivity, diversity, and effective training, which can enhance your reputation as a global player and an employer of choice to attract top talent. Moreover, you can gain a competitive edge when you provide eLearning video content in multiple languages over competitors who may not provide such options, particularly in markets with diverse language requirements.
5. Compliance
Localizing eLearning materials can help businesses comply with local laws or regulations in different countries where they are operating. There are many countries with more than one official language or simply have populations with diverse languages, and it might be necessary to have training content translated into those languages. Additionally, certain industries or sectors may mandate compliance and regulatory requirements for training materials to be provided in multiple languages. Translating eLearning videos can therefore help your company meet these requirements and, because people learn more efficiently in their own language, ensure that employees are properly trained. Translating and localizing your eLearning videos can benefit your company in several ways. Not only does it expand your audience reach, improve learning and ensure cultural relevance, it can give you a competitive advantage and also help you stay compliant with local laws and regulations. Providing eLearning content that is accessible, relevant, and effective for global audiences can help organizations seamlessly achieve their training and business objectives. eLearning localization has specific complexities and, here at VideoLocalize, we have extensive experience in this area and can help ensure your video content will be engaging and inclusive for all your learners. As specialists in high volume video localization, we can translate and localize your entire eLearning video library efficiently using our own automated synchronization technology, saving you time and money.