To deliver your eLearning content efficiently to a global audience, your company needs to work out the best approach for eLearning translation and/or localisation. What is eLearning translation? How will your business benefit from it? What tools can you use to translate or localise your eLearning courses?
This guide answers all of those questions, and points you to a step-by-step tutorial if you use one of the eleven authoring tools covered at the end.
Overview
- eLearning translation vs. eLearning localisation: key differences
- Why translate your eLearning materials
- How to translate eLearning content efficiently
- Best tools for efficient eLearning translation and localisation
- Best tips for eLearning translation and localisation
- See how Redokun handles eLearning translation specifically
- Frequently asked questions
- Translation tutorials for specific eLearning authoring tools
eLearning translation vs. eLearning localisation: key differences
When you bring your eLearning courses to a new local market, you can either translate or localise them. Both options aim to make your content work in another language, but they are not the same thing.
What is eLearning translation?
eLearning translation is the process of converting your course content, word for word, into another language: on-screen text, narration scripts, subtitles, quiz questions, and any downloadable materials that go with it.
By translating your eLearning courses, you make them accessible to global learners while preserving the original, universal message of your source content.
What is eLearning localisation?
eLearning localisation goes a step further. It adapts the course for a specific audience, not just its language, which can include:
- Replacing example currencies and units with local ones
- Replacing culturally specific references or images
- Adjusting date and number formats
- Re-recording narration with a local voice actor rather than translating a script
eLearning translation or eLearning localisation: which should you choose?
Translation is usually enough when the course content is universal, such as compliance training or a product feature walkthrough that works the same way everywhere. Localisation is worth the extra investment when the course leans on region-specific examples, currencies, imagery, or cultural context that won't land the same way in every market.
| eLearning translation | eLearning localisation | |
|---|---|---|
| Short definition | Converts course content into another language, word for word | Adapts the course for a specific audience and market |
| Suitable course types | Compliance training, technical product training, universal skills courses | Sales training with region-specific examples, marketing courses, culturally sensitive content |
| Examples | Translating on-screen text and narration scripts into German | Replacing US dollar pricing examples with euros for a course going to a French audience, and re-recording narration with a French voice actor |
Why translate your eLearning materials
The case for translating training content is a scale argument as much as anything else. The global eLearning market is projected to reach $320.96 billion in 2026, on its way to $539.88 billion by 2028 at a 14.1% compound annual growth rate (The Business Research Company). Corporate eLearning specifically is projected to reach $44.6 billion by 2028, up from $22.5 billion in 2021, a 10.5% year-on-year growth rate.
The return on doing it well is well documented too. IBM found that every $1 it invested in online training returned $30 in productivity, saving the company $200 million after switching to eLearning (Shift Learning). Separately, companies with extensive eLearning training generate 218% higher revenue per employee than those without it (Deloitte), and eLearning courses have been shown to increase retention rates by 25–60% compared with traditional training methods (eLearning Industry).
Translation is part of what makes those numbers possible for a global workforce. CSA Research surveyed 8,709 consumers across 29 countries and found that 76% prefer buying products with information available in their own language, even when they're comfortable in a second language. That's a buying-behaviour statistic, not a training-specific one, but the same preference applies to workplace learning too: a course a learner has to mentally translate as they go is a course that's harder to retain, whatever their English level.
Translating your eLearning materials into the languages your learners actually work in tends to deliver:
- Greater reach across a global or multi-market workforce.
- Higher completion and satisfaction rates, since learners engage more with content in their own language.
- A more productive workforce, because training actually sticks.
- A more inclusive learning experience for teams who don't work in English day to day.
How to translate eLearning content efficiently
Most eLearning authoring tools don't let you translate directly inside the platform. Instead, you export your course content into an exchange file, translate that file, then import it back. It's a three-step process.
Step 1: Extract the course content into an exchange file
Your authoring tool exports your course content into one of a few standard exchange file formats:
- XML (Extensible Markup Language): a plain text format that uses tags to define and structure data. Learn more in our detailed guide to XML translation.
- XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format): an XML-based format built specifically for translation workflows. (The acronym's official name uses American spelling because it's the fixed name of an OASIS technical standard.) Read more in this guide to XLIFF translation.
- JSON (JavaScript Object Notation): a lightweight format commonly used for data interchange, including some newer authoring tools' exports.
Pro tip: in some authoring tools, such as Articulate Rise 360, duplicate your course before exporting the content as an exchange file. This keeps your original course from being overwritten by the new language version.
Step 2: Translate the exchange file
Once you have the exchange file, there are three ways to get it translated:
- Manually, in a text editor: workable for a short course, but slow and error-prone for anything longer, since you're translating raw code alongside the actual copy.
- Hire a translator or agency: reliable, but usually means sending the raw exchange file back and forth and hoping nothing breaks in the process. See where to find a good translator and estimate the likely cost.
- Use dedicated translation software: a translation management platform strips out the code and shows your translator only the actual course text, then reassembles the file correctly on export.
Step 3: Import the translated file back into your authoring tool
Once translation is complete, you import the finished file back into your authoring tool and republish the course in the new language. This is also the step where problems from the translation stage appear, most commonly broken formatting or overset text, which is why getting Step 2 right matters.
- Want to see this process for a specific authoring tool? Jump to the tutorials at the end of this guide.
Best tools for efficient eLearning translation and localisation
Tool 1: Translation management systems (TMS)
A translation management system brings the whole process, file handling, translator coordination, consistency checks, and format preservation, into one workspace instead of a chain of emails and manual file handoffs. It also helps you avoid many common localisation problems before they happen.
Tool 2: Machine translation (MT)
You can use machine translation engines such as DeepL, Google Translate, and ChatGPT to generate a first-pass translation in real time. It's a useful starting point for a human translator to review and confirm, not a substitute for review on content that represents your brand or has compliance implications.
Tool 3: Translation memory (TM)
Translation memory automatically stores every confirmed translation as a reusable segment. When the same or similar text appears again, whether in a later module of the same course or in next year's refresher version, the TM suggests the existing translation instead of starting from zero. This is what makes updating a course across multiple languages fast: your translators only handle what's new or changed, not the whole course again.
Tool 4: Glossary
A glossary is a list of approved terms, such as product names, technical terms, and brand language, and their specific translations for a given language pair, so every translator uses the same word for the same concept, every time.
Best tips for eLearning translation and localisation
Tips for the pre-translation stage
Tip 1: Plan for translation or localisation in advance. Retrofitting translation onto a finished course is slower and more expensive than designing with it in mind from the start.
Tip 2: Review your eLearning translation budget. Factor in not just the translation itself but review time, voice-over costs if you're localising, and a buffer for revisions.
Tip 3: Optimise the language and imagery of the original course. Use concise writing, avoid slang, idioms, and synonyms for the same concept, and choose culturally neutral images where possible. This makes the source course easier to translate accurately and cheaper to localise later.
Tips for the in-translation stage
Tip 4: Anticipate text expansion. Translated text is rarely the same length as the original. English to German can run 35–45% longer, English to Hindi 15–30% longer, and English to Greek 5–10% longer. Leave room in your layout, or expect to adjust it.
Tip 5: Watch for images with embedded text. Text baked into an image isn't detected by most translation workflows, so it needs to be identified and handled separately, either by recreating the image or overlaying translated text.
Tip 6: Translate multimedia course attachments and extra course materials. Job aids, workbooks, and supplementary PDFs are easy to forget, but a course that's translated everywhere except its handout undermines the whole effort.
See how Redokun handles eLearning translation specifically
Everything above applies whatever tool you use to manage the process. If you're ready to see what it looks like end to end, Redokun handles the exchange file formats covered in this guide, XLIFF, JSON, and more, directly: upload your exported file, translate it in a shared web editor with Translation Memory and Glossary support, and export it back in the same structure your authoring tool expects.
FranklinCovey used Redokun to translate its interactive courses and found the difference immediately. In their International Project Coordinator's words: "what used to take us three weeks now takes us a week or a few days."
See how Redokun handles eLearning translation →
Frequently asked questions
What should I look for in a quality eLearning translation service?
Look for three things specifically: support for your authoring tool's exchange file format (XLIFF, JSON, or XML) without manual reformatting, a Translation Memory so repeat and updated content doesn't get retranslated from scratch, and a review step with a human translator rather than machine translation alone for anything customer-facing or compliance-related.
What are the typical requirements for eLearning translation?
At minimum, you'll need the course exported in a supported exchange file format, a translator or translation team for each target language, and a way to review the translated file for formatting issues (particularly text expansion and overset text) before it goes live. If you're localising rather than just translating, add region-specific assets, such as local pricing examples or a local voice-over artist, to that list.
How long does eLearning translation usually take?
It depends on course length, the number of target languages, and whether you're translating or localising, but the exchange-file-and-TMS workflow described in this guide is what typically takes eLearning translation from a multi-week agency turnaround down to days, as in FranklinCovey's case above.
Is AI translation good enough for eLearning content?
Machine translation is a strong starting point, especially combined with a Translation Memory and Glossary to keep terminology consistent, but it isn't a substitute for human review on content that represents your brand, covers compliance topics, or will be assessed for comprehension. Use it to speed up the first draft, not to skip the review step.
Do I need eLearning translation or eLearning localisation?
If your course content is universal, compliance training or a product walkthrough, for example, translation is usually enough. If it leans on region-specific examples, currencies, or cultural references, localisation is worth the extra investment. See the comparison table earlier in this guide for a fuller breakdown.
Translation tutorials for specific eLearning authoring tools
If you use one of the authoring tools below, these tutorials cover the export and translation process specifically for that platform.
- 360Learning course translation guide
- Adobe Captivate course translation guide
- Articulate Rise 360 course translation guide
- dominKnow One course translation guide
- Easygenerator course translation guide
- Elucidat course translation guide
- Evolve course translation guide
- Gomo course translation guide
- iSpring Suite Max course translation guide
- Lectora course translation guide
- Storyline 360 course translation guide
Summary
If you want to expand your business and reach new markets with your educational content, eLearning translation and localisation are worth mastering.
Plan your translation goals ahead, use the right tools for the job, and apply the tips above to get the best results.
Redokun is here to help your business manage translation projects of any scale. Start your 14-day free trial today, or see how Redokun handles eLearning translation specifically.
