How To Develop Multilingual eLearning Course Materials

The world has become a global village, and there are numerous occasions when our cultures and languages cross each other. Hence, multilingual eLearning is the need of the hour.

Whether you're an educator, parent, teacher, or learner, multilingual teaching can open up so many benefits and opportunities that it's no longer a choice—it's a necessity.

More and more businesses and educational institutions are globally using multilingual eLearning, which has helped them grow exponentially. Educational institutions are better able to cater to a diverse student population, and businesses are able to expand across the seas to new international markets.

In this post, we will talk about the importance of multilingual eLearning, its benefits, and the right practices for ensuring that your content reaches a broad audience. 

What is Multilingual eLearning?

A multilingual eLearning platform is just like any other eLearning tool, except it lets you create courses and training materials in multiple languages. 

According to UNESCO, 40% of school-aged children globally do not have access to education in a language they understand. As a result, basic literacy and comprehension rates are dropping in multilingual countries. 

With multilingual eLearning software, you can overcome these language barriers and make learning accessible to everyone, no matter where they're from.

Multilingual eLearning is not about learning a second language. It involves integrating multiple languages into educational content to enhance learning. When the material is presented to the learners in their native language, they better understand its contents and develop essential skills. 

This approach is designed to improve their cognitive and social abilities.

Benefits of Multilingual eLearning

Now let's talk about some of the key benefits of multilingual eLearning.

Enhances Global Reach

Multilingual eLearning increases your global reach. You can expand your operations to an entirely new continent and better address the diverse educational needs of people around the world. 

Your learners, too, can better engage and resonate with the content when it is delivered in their local language. 

Improves the Learning Experience 

Multilingual eLearning often adapts the course to the culture.

This way, the learners are better able to comprehend the information. With examples and perspectives given in the local language, they will find the information more relevant to their lives and will be able to apply the concepts more practically, too. 

Caters to Different Learning Styles

Language and culture go together, and often, there are different learning styles in different cultures or languages. When the content is made accessible in the language, you can also cater to different learning styles so each learner engages with the material in a way that suits them best. 

For example, some cultures focus more on collaborative learning or a team approach, while in others, people like to work individually. 

This way, you can adapt the instructional material and tweak the learning objectives to match the learners' preferences from different backgrounds. This will allow you to create a holistic, inclusive, and effective learning environment for everyone.

Compliance

There are different legal requirements or regulations for delivering educational material in different languages. 

With multilingual eLearning, organizations can comply with regulations and avoid legal action. When employees are given instructions in the language they understand, they will be more committed to those rules, may also feel more respected, and may feel a sense of belonging in the organization. 

6 Multilingual eLearning Software to Develop Courses

Here’s a list of the best 6 multilingual eLearning software to make learning accessible and inclusive. We’ve also included their key features and pricing. 

1. Coursebox

Coursebox is a revolutionary multilingual eLearning platform that's changing the way we learn and teach. This powerful eLearning tool allows you to create engaging, interactive courses in over 100 languages, making education truly accessible to a global audience.

With Coursebox, you can easily design courses tailored to specific language groups. The AI-powered features streamline the entire course creation process, from generating outlines to creating assessments. 

Struggling with course structure? No problem. Coursebox's AI Curriculum Generator will help you create a well-organized learning path in seconds. With their AI Rubric Generator, you can ensure fair and objective assessments for your learners.

Coursebox also offers interactive eLearning elements like quizzes, simulations, and AI-generated training videos to keep students engaged. Overall, it’s the ultimate tool to create impactful and multilingual learning experiences.

Features

• Convert videos, PDFs, and documents into editable quizzes
• AI-powered test and quiz creation
• Versatile testing options
• AI-graded assignments for quick feedback

Pricing

• A free version is available
• Expert: $83/month (billed yearly)
• Teams: $417/month (billed yearly)

Visit this page to explore more pricing options.

2. Rise 360

Rise 360 is a pretty decent multilingual eLearning solution. While it doesn't have a built-in feature for creating multi-language courses within a single project, it does offer a practical workaround.

You can export your course content as XLIFF files, a standard format for translation. This allows you to send the content to professional translators or use translation tools to translate it efficiently. Once translated, you can import the translated content back into your Rise 360 course.

Features

• Pre-built course themes
• Create bite-sized content for microlearning
• Collaborative authoring
• Diverse assessment features

Pricing

• Articulate 360 Standard: $1,749/user per year
• Reach Pro: $3,600/per year for 1,200 active learners

Visit this page to explore more pricing options.

3. 360Learning

360Learning offers a smooth multilingual experience. With support for over 14 languages, including English, French, German, and Spanish, you can easily create and deliver courses to a global audience.

The Globalization Solution is a game-changer. It makes it easy to manage multilingual training programs, getting rid of the administrative headache. You can create and distribute your eLearning content in various languages from a single platform, staying consistent across different versions.

Features

• AI-powered suggestions for custom quizzes
• Web-based file embedding and surveys
• Gamification techniques for corporate learning
• Virtual classrooms and screencast demos

Pricing

• A free trial is available. 
• Team Plan: $8/user per month (up to 100 users/month)
• Business Plan: Custom price

Visit this page to explore more pricing options.

4. Lectora

Lectora takes a practical approach to multilingual eLearning. Its built-in Translation Tool makes exporting course content for translation a breeze. You can export your content in formats like RTF or XLIFF, making it easy to manage and localize your course content.

Lectora also supports multi-language publishing, allowing you to create separate versions of a course for each language. Once you've finished your main course, Lectora can generate additional language versions using the translated files.

Features

• HTML5 support
• Complex decision-making scenarios within courses
• Compliant with WCAG 2.0
• Supports SCORM, xAPI, and AICC standards

Pricing

• Starts at $117/month

5. Camtasia

On Camtasia, you can add captions in multiple languages to your videos. All you need to do is export your existing captions and create additional caption files in different languages, such as SRT or VTT formats. Then, upload these files to your Camtasia project, and viewers can choose their preferred language during playback.

Camtasia also allows you to modify the XML file that contains metadata about your captions. By copying existing caption elements and changing the language code, you can easily add additional languages to your videos.

Features

• Includes transitions, annotations, and effects
• Users can add quizzes directly to videos
• Supports editing multiple audio and video tracks
• MP4 for easy sharing across platforms

Pricing

• Camtasia Essentials: $179.88/year
• Camtasia Create: $249/year
• Camtasia Pro: $599/year

Visit this page to learn about the pricing options. 

6. Adobe Captivate

Adobe Captivate allows you to easily export your course content as .doc or .xml files, making it a breeze to send to translation services. Once translated, you can import the content back into Captivate and preserve the original formatting.

Captivate also includes text-to-speech capabilities with multilingual voice options. This is perfect for adding audio narration in different languages. You’ll make your courses not only more accessible but also more engaging.

You can also add closed captions in multiple languages to videos and interactive content. This way, all learners can follow along, regardless of their mother tongue or hearing ability.

Features

• Software simulations for interactive tutorials
• Responsive courses for all devices
• Interactive videos and quizzes

Pricing

Visit this page to explore more pricing options.

Tips to Enhance the Multilingual eLearning Experience 

Let's look into some key tips to improve multilingual eLearning. 

• Host cultural events or languages (you can do this even online) where students will be happy to share parts of their heritage with others. 
• Make language buddies or pair learners with others who are using the same language so they can support each other. 
• Rotate the buddies periodically to give your learners more exposure and enhance their learning in different languages.
• Always use analytics to track students' progress so you can see whether the course is performing as expected or needs further amendments.
• Use visuals and sounds, including videos, music, and images, to make learning more engaging.
• Be mindful of cultural differences and sensitivities, especially when using symbols, visuals, or references.
• Keep the terminology for technical terms consistent throughout the content to stay the same in all languages.
• Use multilingual voiceovers, subtitles, and captions in your multimedia.
• Encourage user-generated content and create discussion forums in native languages so people can better interact with each other on the platform.

Conclusion

Multilingual eLearning is more than an educational tool. It is a way to celebrate diversity, connect the world, and prepare your learners for today's challenges. 

With the amazingly simple and easy-to-use tools available on Coursebox, designing a multilingual course is really easy. You can achieve all the benefits of a truly interconnected, multilingual world.