8 Pro Tips for Smoother eLearning Localization

8个专业技巧让电子学习本地化更顺畅

2020-08-25 15:50 Andovar

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In an age of internationally active organizations and rapidly growing multicultural communities, the demand for localizing training content into multiple languages continues to grow at an astounding pace. As a scalable solution that can be rapidly deployed worldwide, eLearning in particular has become the standard for international training programs, whether for school education, safety, sales or product use (to name just a few key areas). After all, creating a global standard has many benefits – especially when handled in the right way. Does this mean that preparing your eLearning content for global deployment is as easy as translating your modules? Not exactly. There are a few things you should keep in mind if you just want to make the next round of localization a smoother process. Here are a few tips that can help.   1. Consider localization during the design phase When designing a course for global deployment, keep in mind that translations can expand text length by 20-30%. Make sure there is some flexibility in the design of your materials to allow for this fact. On-screen content, as well as any videos requiring lip-sync are especially important areas to consider in the early stages so that adjustments can easily be made later if necessary.   2. Don’t embed content in graphics or video While there are workarounds for embedded content, using live text enables the use of translator workbench tools or cut-and-paste solutions instead of the more expensive approach of using video technicians or desktop publishing specialists to edit embedded content.    3. Provide your localization partner with all of the source materials Whether for the quotation or for the actual project, it’s always best to provide your existing or prospective localization service provider (LSP) with the full set of files, as well as workflow processes and storyboard details. These all factor into the project and its costs, and providing your LSP with a complete picture will help eliminate any uncertainties. If you provide all source materials, you can also expect to receive a firm price quote and delivery schedule much faster. No matter what industry you are in, predictability is good for business.   4. Work to maintain cultural neutrality - or allow for adaptation Beware of highly creative content, or acronyms that may be hard to translate, and carefully consider your use of images and even colors. If using neutral content isn’t suitable to your needs or that of your client’s, then allow for some flexibility so that linguistically and culturally suitable adaptations can be created by your language partner.   5. Finalize your courseware before you localize This may seem like common sense, but a frequent beginner’s mistake is to kick off localization into multiple languages before finalizing the source version. The best approach is to ensure that your course is fully developed, tested and approved before localizing. This way your pain in bug fixing is limited to one language, instead of having to deal with the issue multiple times to cover each localized version.   6. Consolidate recurring themes or elements Recurring elements, such as the “next” or “back” buttons, should be built into a page template so that they can be localized once and still function across the entire module in multiple languages. This will avoid having to make the same change multiple times over, saving on file engineering or desktop publishing, as well as reducing overall turnaround time.   7. Audio considerations In addition to being careful about timing for on-screen content (both for text and lip-synch VO), it’s also important to develop a comprehensive pronunciation guide along with your translation termbase. Additionally, make sure that you perform a final review and complete all changes and adjustments to your voice-over script before you sign off and send it for recording. These two steps can go far in saving you from costly and unnecessary extra retakes.   8. Partner with a professional LSP with the right technical and linguistic experience While the tips above are all useful in helping you to localize your coursework smoothly and efficiently, issues are bound to come up on occasion. Working with a professional LSP with the right experience will help ensure that your partner can manage every element of the project that you require – from file preparation, translation and cultural adaptation to voice-over, Flash or HTML5 integration and testing. A trusted partner with the right experience takes the guesswork out of your localization projects, provides useful guidance on how to improve inter-organizational workflow, and advises on managing cultural issues in a way that suits your company’s voice and goals.   The Andovar Advantage As a leading provider of localization for eLearning, we take great pride in our ability to offer translation and localization services that are culturally sensitive, accurately relay your messaging and are tailored to the learning needs of your organization, no matter the location or language. We offer a full suite of localization services, including language translation, culturalization and transcreation, and voiceover and subtitle implementation. If you're ready to take the next step then we can help you get started. If you'd like to find out more about eLearning localization in general, or if you just have any additional questions you'd like to ask one of our professionals in more detail, please don't delay - contact Andovar today!   hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(6085627, 'd6d8f849-fbb0-4979-9a70-14ca813543cf', {});
在国际组织活跃和多元文化社区迅速增长的时代,将本地化内容培训转变为多种语言培训的需求继续以惊人的速度增长。是无论针对学校教育、安全、销售还是产品使用(仅举几个关键领域),电子教学作为一种可在全球范围内快速部署的可扩展解决方案,已成为国际培训计划的标准。毕竟,创建一个全球标准有很多好处--尤其是在处理得当的时候。 这是否意味着为全球部署准备在线学习内容与翻译模块一样简单?不完全是。如果您只是想让下一轮本地化过程更顺利,那么有几件事您应该牢记在心。 这里有几个可以帮助你的小技巧。 1. 在设计阶段考虑本地化 在为全球部署设计课程时,请记住,翻译可以将文本长度扩展20-30%。请确保在材料的设计上有一定的灵活性,以考虑到这一事实。屏幕上的内容,以及任何需要对口型的视频都是在早期阶段需要考虑的特别重要的领域,以便以后如果需要的话可以很容易地进行调整。 2. 不要在图形或视频中嵌入内容 虽然有嵌入式内容的解决方案,但使用实时文本可以使用translator workbench工具或剪切粘贴解决方案,而不是使用视频技术人员或桌面出版专家编辑嵌入内容这一更昂贵的方法。 3. 向本地化合作伙伴提供所有原始资料 无论对于报价还是对于实际项目,最好向您现有或预期的本地化服务提供商(LSP)提供全套文件、以及工作流过程和故事板细节。这些因素都包含在项目及其成本中,为您的本地化服务提供商提供一个完整的图景,从而有助于消除任何不确定性。如果你提供所有的来源材料,你也可以期望更快地收到一个坚定的价格报价和交货时间表。无论你在什么行业,可预测性对业务都是有好处的。 4. 努力保持文化中立----或允许适应 当心高度创造性的内容,或可能难以翻译的首字母缩略语,仔细考虑你对图像甚至颜色的使用。如果中性内容的使用不适合您或您客户的需要,那么考虑一些灵活性,以便您的语言伙伴可以在语言和文化上创建适合的改编。 5. 在本地化之前完成课件定稿 看起来像是常识,但初学者经常犯的一个错误是,在最终完成源版本之前就开始将本地化转换为多种语言。最好的做法是在本地化之前确保您的课程得到充分开发、测试和批准。这样,您在修复漏洞方面的痛苦就只限于一种语言,而不必为了覆盖每个本地化版本而多次处理这个问题。 6. 合并重复出现的主题或要素 应将重复出现的元素(如“下一步”或“后退”按钮)内置到页面模板中,以便它们可以本地化一次,并且仍然可以用多种语言在整个模块中运行。这将避免多次进行相同的更改,节省文件工程或桌面发布,并减少总体周转时间。 7. 考虑音频 除了要注意屏幕内容的时间安排(无论是文本还是对口型VO),开发一个全面的发音指南和翻译术语库也很重要。此外,请确保您在签署并发送语音脚本以进行录制之前执行最终审阅并完成所有更改和调整。这两个步骤可以让你从昂贵和不必要的额外重考中解脱出来。 8. 与具有适当技术和语言经验的专业本地化服务提供商合作 虽然上面的提示都有助于你顺利有效地本地化你的课程,但问题肯定会偶尔出现。与具有适当经验的专业本地化服务提供商合作将有助于确保您的合作伙伴能够管理您所需要的项目的每一个元素--从文件准备、翻译和文化适应到画外音、Flash或HTML5集成和测试。 一个具有正确经验的值得信赖的合作伙伴可以帮您解决本地化项目中的猜测问题,就如何改进组织间工作流程提供有用的指导,并就如何以适合您公司的声音和目标的方式管理文化问题提供建议。 Andovar优势 作为一家领先的电子学习本地化服务提供商,我们为我们提供翻译和本地化服务的能力感到非常自豪,这些翻译和本地化服务具有文化敏感性,能够准确地传递您的信息,并针对您所在组织的学习需求量身定做,无论您的地点在哪或语言如何。我们提供全套本地化服务,包括语言翻译,文化转换,画外音和字幕实现。 如果您准备好采取下一步骤,那么我们可以帮助您开始。如果您想了解更多关于电子学习本地化的信息,或者如果您有任何其他问题想向我们的专业人士提出更详细的问题,请不要耽搁--今天就联系Andovar! hbspt.cta._relativeURLS=true;hbspt.cta.load(6085627,'D6D8F849-FBB0-4979-9A70-14CA813543CF',{});

以上中文文本为机器翻译,存在不同程度偏差和错误,请理解并参考英文原文阅读。

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