The Best Way To eLearning Translation
The best way to achieve successful translation of elearning courses is to enlist qualified resources to support the effort. Generally speaking this includes involving native speaking linguists, elearning application specialists (if integration or formatting services are required), and an experienced project manager to task all project members and ensure a successful end project outcome.
Translators: Professional translators typically have subject matter specializations in the types of projects they perform. For example a subject matter specialization might be finance, law, technical disciplines, or other even more specific specializations. Translators will also have a native language, the language they grew up speaking and writing.
It’s ideal for translators assigned to an elearning translation project to be both well versed in the subject matter of the elearning material, and be native speaking in the target language for translation. By target language we mean the language the text is going into. For example in an English-to-Spanish translation project, Spanish would be considered the target language.
Application Specialists: Not every elearning translation project requires more than language skills, although some do. Sometimes translated text requires integration into specialized elearning aplications such as Articlulate Storyline. Designed print materials can require formatting in desktop publishing applications such as Adobe InDesign. Specialist personnel perform these services once text is translated and proofread.
Project Managers: Project managers are the glue that bring together all pieces of an elearning translation project to a specified end deliverable. They effectively function as quarterbacks, drawing on the skills of specialists as needed to successfully complete a project. Project managers know the relative strengths of all project resources based on past experience, and are best positioned to assemble and manage the elearning translation process from beginning to end.
