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Which E-learning Courses MUST Be Translated and Why

In recent years, the number of non-Anglophone users of the Internet has increased considerably. The report Internet World Users By Language states that English speakers constitute only 26.3% of the global Internet-using population. The phenomenal growth of the “multilingual Internet” is compelling companies to translate their online content into various languages, and web-based learning materials are no exception.

Technically speaking, the content of any e-learning course can be translated. However, many companies prefer to translate online courses only on compliance aspects and products. Let us examine in detail why the following types of courses need to be translated.

Online Compliance Courses

Compliance courses help an organization impart knowledge on the statutes and mandatory procedures, stipulated by the concerned regulatory authorities, and various standards that are followed within the organization. Compliance training, in most cases, is used to prevent:

Violations of Code of Conduct

Every company, worth its name, has a Code of Conduct in place. All employees of an organization need to abide by its code of conduct. This is very important to safeguard the reputation of the firm.

A multinational company (MNC) must translate e-learning courses on its code of conduct, into the languages of its staff, to ensure it is understood well, and it is common knowledge that good understanding of the company’s code of conduct leads to better adherence.

Workplace Harassment

Many people have misconceptions about rules pertaining to conduct at the workplace. It is widely believed that starting and circulating rumors about fellow workers and using profane language at work is not a violation of law. However, these actions are punishable and can even lead to the termination of employment.

Proper training on norms about acceptable behavior goes a long way in dispelling misconceptions and ensures staff members act in a professional manner. This can be done effectively by rendering e-learning courses on workplace harassment laws into the native languages of employees. Learners, who hail from diverse cultural backgrounds, can effectively comprehend the essence of these statutes, if the training is imparted in their native languages.

Injuries and Other Safety-related Issues at the Workplace

Good safety training plays a key role in ensuring the well-being of your staff and improves their performance. It educates them on the dos and don’ts of industrial safety and provides knowledge of the precautions that are to be taken to avoid accidents at the workplace.

As an increasing number of companies in “safety-critical” industries such as petrochemical, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical sectors move their operations to Asian and other non-Anglophone countries, the significance of translating online safety training materials is fast growing. Personnel better understand safety concepts and procedures, if safety training is delivered in their native languages.

Bribery and Other Unethical Business Practices

Several countries have laws to fight corporate corruption. The United States has enacted the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) to deal with issues of graft, while the UK passed the Bribery Act. Various international stipulations, such as the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and OECD’s Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions too address the problem of corruption in global business.

Globalization has made it necessary to provide training on these anti-bribery laws as people are recruited by MNCs to work in foreign countries. It is important that online courses, used to deliver anti-corruption training, are rendered into the native languages of the personnel. This is because learners understand laws better, when they are explained in their mother tongue.

E-learning Courses on Products

Today’s companies must launch products rapidly and ensure they reach customers effectively, to survive in a fiercely competitive business world. Good product training plays a key role in the success of your products and thereby, of your firm. You must translate e-learning courses on products because:

Translated Online Courses on Products Increase Profits

Proper product training to salespeople and service technicians helps enhance the bottom line of a company. By translating e-learning courses on your products into the mother tongue of these staff members, you can ensure they understand the features and benefits of the products effectively, and needless to say, this results in better learning.

Product Information Can Be Provided to Dealers and Customers Effectively

Dealers and other channel partners must be well-aware of the features of your products to explain their benefits to customers. Likewise, customers need to know how to use the product efficiently.

As your company expands to markets in different countries, business associates and buyers in these nations may not understand the features of your product if training is imparted only in English. So, it is better to render your online product training courses in the native languages of the people in your extended enterprise.

Thus, we see that web-based courses on compliance aspects and products must be rendered in the mother tongue of learners. Which e-learning courses do you translate? We’d love to know.

The State of Learning: 2023 and Beyond