Beth Worthy
10/17/2019
E-learning translation projects come with some unique challenges.
Luckily, working with an experienced translation services provider can help you avoid most, if not all, of the challenges.
Read on for some of the most common challenges that you may face when you have to translate e-learning content.
When you provide E-learning projects to a translation company without issuing proper guidelines, mistranslations may occur.
For instance, words with more than one meaning can be a problem for some translation services.
Moreover, some industries like medical and legal use jargon that can be difficult for an amateur to translate.
Mistranslations can be detrimental to your E-learning project as they can lead to misinterpretations.
Apart from this, your audience may notice that the language sounds awkward.
To prevent mistranslations, provide a glossary of terms and their acceptable meanings before the start of your project.
Include the glossary into a translation management system for the transcriptionists to review and maintain the vocabulary when undertaking the project.
A professional translation agency should have a team of translators who will complete your project within your specified deadline.
Moreover, the translation should also be done accurately, such that you won’t need to further proofread or review it after the deadline.
To save time, hire an agency experienced in translating the subject covered in the audio.
For instance, if the content covers business, choose a business translation services company.
A document translation services company that specializes in particular niche translations will save you time and provide accurate transcriptions
Translation is hard work, and providing quality transcripts requires specialized skills.
Most businesses looking for translation services complain of the high costs of hiring the service providers. However, the high cost is easily justified.
Don’t underestimate the time and effort that goes into providing a flawless translated document.
In most cases, higher fees mean that the translation agency has top-notch translators. If you choose cheap translation service providers, your work is likely to be handled by machines. The result? Poor copy.
However, if you feel you aren’t getting value for your money from a business translation services provider, look for a different agency.
Alternatively, discuss the pricing with your translation agency. The firm may reduce the cost if you agree to an extended deadline.
To cut costs, many translation companies outsource their translation services to overseas freelancers.
However, one of the main reasons why businesses hire translation services companies rather than freelancers is because they expect the former to be more responsive than freelance translators.
A reputable translation company should have a team of native translators who can handle your project and deliver it within the deadline.
The agency should also assign a project manager to be in touch with you during the course of the project. The manager should be available to handle any concerns you might have about the project.
If you aren’t happy with the way that the company is responding to your concerns, let them know. If the situation doesn’t improve, look for a different translation company.
Companies that need vast amounts of e-learning work translated usually complain of inconsistencies of translation services companies.
Generally, if a translation company has to translate content to various target languages, the translators may feel like they are translating different content rather than different versions of the same audio.
If you require the same quality across different languages, inconsistency can become a problem.
To solve the consistency challenge, choose a single translator to work on your transcripts.
Using one translator will go a long way in ensuring your translated content is consistent across different languages.
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to work with one translator. This is especially true if you have a large amount of content that should be translated within a short time.
To get past this problem, prepare a user-friendly translation memory that can be integrated with your glossary of terms.
This will make it easier for translators to know how to translate the different phrases correctly.
Hiring a translation services company that has experience dealing with the different challenges and demands of E-learning translations will go a long way in ensuring you get quality transcripts.
Moreover, the translation process will be easier for you and the translators.