Medical e-learning Translation - Seven Lessons for Smooth Localization

How a localization kit can help save time and enhance learning for trainees

After localizing 750,000 words of an e-learning course in the area of medicine for healthcare professionals and the general public involving video, subtitling, dubbing and implementing SME changes… here are the seven lessons learned to streamline and localize the online course.

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Why is e-Learning localization important? Adapting e-learning courses to the local reality is essential for a better learning experience.

If I attend a course in my native language, everything becomes easier to understand, allowing me to retain information and subsequently learn. Therefore, to ensure that your online training courses are constructive and impactful in learning, you must understand your trainees and adapt your materials as much as possible. In this way, trainees will learn more quickly and achieve a more in-depth understanding of the content. 

   
The result is a better transfer of the content in question into (professional) life.

• What gets localized in e-Learning?

E-Learning (or online courses) is a method of remote learning which is asynchronous, based on a digital platform that guides students during the presentation of concepts and explanation of content. Each individual can learn at their own pace when it is most practical.

It includes all the subject materials needed for the completion and progression of the course. These materials can come in countless formats, depending on the type of content, target audience and organization goals. For example, they can include PowerPoint presentations similar to those found in classrooms, dubbed or subtitled videos, didactic manuals and virtual notes, animations, exercises, tests, and an environment for interaction and answering questions.

For the course to be as successful as possible, all materials must be adapted to the local reality of trainees: language, experience and context.
 

• What to include in a localization kit 

Suppose you are in charge of better adapting your organization’s e-learning courses to each local audience. In that case, we strongly recommend creating a localization kit to help linguists enhance the experience and learning of trainees.
 

What should be included?
 

1. A document explaining the most complex terms and concepts
   
   An e-Learning course is a vast collection of content dispersed over different materials, which makes searching for a specific term or concept highly complicated and time-consuming. As such, creating a dictionary of more complex terms and concepts is advisable, which helps to organize ideas and facilitate comprehension among trainees and translators.
    
2. List of acronyms and abbreviations
    

   It is common to use acronyms and abbreviations in specialized complex documents such as an online course in the area of medicine. For this reason, it is advisable to provide trainees and translators with a separate list of project abbreviations and acronyms and their meanings.

   In this way, at the time of e-learning translations, the translator can localize them so trainees can understand the content without significant difficulties, thereby facilitating learning.
    

3. Exact description of target audiences of course
    

   This relevant point in any translation becomes even more critical in the specific case of e-learning courses. Given the lack of real-time communication with the teacher, the seamless adaptation of the texts' language/vocabulary/tone to the target audience is fundamental.

   Imagine a first aid course for the general public (generally without formal medical training) that is translated using intricate medical terms and complex language. A teacher could explain these terms in a traditional classroom setting and make the content understandable to students. Such in-person explanations of confusing issues is impossible in an e-learning course, and the content will not be adequately understood by most of the students, potentially leading to the improper use of techniques or disinterest or failure in the course.

4. Access to content in the format to be shown to trainees
   
   The localization team (especially translators) must have access to the e-learning platform so that they can understand the exact context of the text’s final version. This is the only way to know whether the text to be translated refers to a button, if it is an explanatory text of something shown on the screen, if it is part of the same item or if it is a list of different items, etc. Understanding the context helps the translator make the right choices to ensure that the content is explicit and easily assimilated by trainees.
    
5. All materials already translated
    

   The translation of an e-learning course includes a vast range of materials, such as a student manual with hundreds of pages, videos or slide presentations with key points, and an exam to pass each topic.

   Imagine that the manual has been translated first. After several weeks it was time to translate the presentations or videos, followed by the exams two months later and finally, the translation of the platform itself at the end of four months.

   For the best experience/learning, each of the materials needs to match the previous ones regarding choices involving writing style and vocabulary. For this reason, all previously translated materials should be provided so that the translator can ensure consistency and training which is clear, regardless of when it was translated or by whom.

6. Establish a clear hierarchy between instructions and feedback of the SME

   Given the high degree of specialization of the topics, it is common for courses to be approved/validated by a local SME.

   Suppose the SME requests changes which contradict the instructions provided for the translation. In that case, this will result in unnecessary “back and forth” clarification requests among everyone involved: SME, localization manager, PM and translators.

   Although the dialogue between everyone involved is healthy in finding the best solution, it can also be a source of inefficiency, which delays content availability. Therefore, it is best to clearly define each individual’s authority in the event of contradictions. Who has the most power? SME, instructions, glossaries. Even more so if different SMEs are involved. This is because each one can have different preferences which are mutually incompatible. One may ask to change the term “B” instead of the term “A” while the second prefers the term “C” instead of “A”.

   An excellent way to avoid wasting time is to ask the SME to validate the instructions and glossaries before the translation project, thereby keeping the entire team synchronized.

7. Courses with videos – greater richness, but more complex localization

          -  Should videos be subtitled or dubbed?

The translator must know whether the video text to be translated will be subtitled or dubbed. The first implies limitations on the number of characters that must be followed while translating, but in the case of voice-over, it is best to choose the words best suited to verbal communication simply.
 

          - We recommend creating a TM exclusively for translating video content.

Why? Frequently, content already translated for other course materials cannot be reused for translating audio or subtitles since it is not subject to the same time restrictions for voice-over and/or room for characters. Using the same TMs will complicate the translator’s task and result in additional work at the time of quality assurance for the subtitling or dubbing since there may not be enough room on the screen or enough time for the voice-over. In such a case, the texts will have to be corrected.
 

          - Text incorporated in videos or images

It is vital to set guidelines for how to deal with materials and content shown in the video which are not translated:

Should they be kept in the original source language in the audio or subtitles, or will they be localized in the translation, keeping only the image/video with the original language?

Such may be the case of images shown with background text, or even the names of people and titles, for example.

         -Names of people shown/referred to in the video.

Should they be adapted or kept the same as the original?

If real people are shown in the videos, it is easier to keep their original names to facilitate comprehension. In the case of a fictitious person, to help convey knowledge, “João” should be adapted to a local name so that it resonates more with trainees: John, Juan, Jean, Hans, Gianni, etc.
 

Online e-learning courses are an excellent teaching method allowing each individual to learn at their own pace when it is most convenient.

Adapting them to each language, country, region and target audience is a complex task. Correctly anticipating the challenges and handling the particularities will help ensure trainees' better learning.

Clear and pertinent content guarantees proper learning, enabling people to apply the knowledge acquired and execute the desired change/improvement, regardless of their linguistic or regional preferences.