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The popularity of e-learning is increasing with each passing year as it provides easy access to people to study a course of their choice efficiently. However, simply having e-learning content is not enough. The creators must ensure the content is available in a language the users can understand. One of the most significant barriers to course delivery is language. Even though English is considered the primary language, not everyone can understand English content. Hence, ensuring the e-learning content is available in the local language is crucial. Here is how the localization of e-learning content can benefit the students.
Better Accessibility
First and foremost, making the e-learning content available in a local language increases its accessibility. Unfortunately, only some students can speak or understand English. The problem further strengthens when the students try to understand a complex topic in a language they are uncomfortable with.
For example, the ethnic population of the Philippines are comfortable with their native language. Therefore, they should have the option to convert the content from English to Tagalog to utilize the benefits of e-learning better.
Moreover, when course content is available in a local language, the students will likely engage with the study material.
Improves Knowledge Retention
People prefer to think in their native language. Therefore, when study materials are available in a different language, one might have difficulty understanding the information. They must convert the learnings from a foreign to their native language to understand it better. The process becomes so tedious that retaining the information becomes daunting for the students.
However, when knowledge or information is available in the native language of the students, their retaining power increases. Consequently, they can grasp the concept better.
Maintains Authenticity Of Content
It is only sometimes possible to translate each word into another language because of the nuances of cultural diversity across the globe. For example, it is impossible to convert all the words from Tagalog to English by maintaining the authenticity of the term while considering the local context.
When creators use local language to roll out e-learning content, they preserve the authenticity of both the content and language.
Market Expansion Opportunity
Localization can help businesses to expand their market size by broadening the target audience. Companies developing content only in English miss a massive opportunity in the form of untapped local customers. Creating content in vernacular language will help businesses to increase their revenue by expanding their market.
Increases Regional Job Opportunities
When students can better grasp the learnings in regional languages, they can develop the necessary skills efficiently to land a job opportunity. In addition, when companies create content in regional languages, the people skilled in that language come in demand. It is the second way through which the localization of language creates employment opportunities at the regional level.
Ensures Inclusivity
The problem with language standardization is that it excludes many students. In contrast, making the e-learning content available in the local language promotes inclusivity. It ensures that everyone, irrespective of their socio-economic background and the language they speak, can benefit from online learning courses.
Effective Communication
Online learning leaves the maximum impact when it is a two-way process and involves communication. Therefore, effective communication is paramount to successful learning. Providing e-content in the local language ensures that the students can communicate confidently with the instructors in their local language to clear their doubts.
Using the local language in creating e-content has numerous benefits. It enhances the learning outcome of many students, especially those from minority language communities.
Currently, many edtech companies are focusing on personalized learning to improve learning effectiveness. However, it is possible to ensure that the students genuinely benefit from it; content creators should understand the importance of combining personalized language and content in vernacular language.
E-learning is bringing the required transformation in the education sector of many countries. It has already removed the geographical barriers, and now is the time to focus on removing the language barriers too. Only when both geographical and language barriers are removed students from across the globe will get equal opportunities and motivation to study. A few practical ways to produce content in a local language include focusing on both language and design, understanding the audience and their language, and, finally, voice localization.
