In an increasingly connected world, corporate training content needs more than just translation—it needs localization.
It’s a fact: companies today operate in international, multicultural contexts. Corporate training must therefore adapt to this reality, not just by translating content, but by localizing it—that is, customizing it based on the target audience.
Localization is what makes an onboarding, safety, or skills development course truly effective and engaging for learners, wherever they are.
What is localization in elearning?
As mentioned, localization goes beyond translation. Translation means converting a text from one language to another; localization means adapting content to a specific audience, taking into account language, culture, context, and local references.
In online training, this involves not only revising texts, but also examples, images, cultural references, communication styles, and even the graphic interface—ensuring everything feels familiar and natural to the learner.
A course designed for an Italian audience, for example, might include legal references, work customs, or communication models that simply wouldn’t resonate with a team in India, Brazil, or Senegal.
Why is it important?
Good localization makes training clearer, more effective, and more engaging.
It’s not just about improving the user experience: adapting training content to the local context can be the difference between a course being completed—or abandoned.
From a business perspective, this translates into:
- greater effectiveness of training programs, even across international offices or distributed teams;
- consistency in corporate messaging, reducing the risk of cultural misunderstandings;
- enhanced diversity and inclusion by embracing different corporate cultures.
Moreover, in regulated sectors or those subject to local laws (such as health and safety, GDPR, or compliance), accurate localization is often not just best practice—it’s a legal requirement.
Key elements to localize
In an elearning course, it’s crucial to identify the key elements that need localization. Training content typically combines text, visuals, audio, and interactive elements—all of which must be considered in the adaptation process.
Some authoring tools already allow for multi-language translation at the click of a button. However, while these translations may be linguistically accurate, they are not necessarily well localized.
Here are the main aspects to focus on:
- Written text: not only lesson content, but also instructions, quizzes, button labels, and feedback messages.
- Narration and subtitles: professional voice-over in the user’s native language enhances the learning experience. Subtitles must be synchronized and culturally appropriate.
- Images and graphics: visuals that work in one context may be inappropriate or confusing in another. Even interface design (colors, symbols, layout) might need adjustments.
- Examples, metaphors, case studies: anything tied to local context should be adapted to be familiar and relevant for the target audience.
- Communication style and tone of voice: some business cultures prefer formal and direct language, while others favor a more empathetic or informal approach.
Well-done localization is invisible: the user doesn’t realize the content has been adapted because everything feels natural and tailored to them.
Challenges and solutions
Localization brings several challenges, especially when working at scale or on complex courses. The most common include:
- Version management: keeping content aligned across multiple languages and synchronizing updates can become complex without a structured workflow.
- Translation quality: relying on automated tools or non-specialized translators can compromise clarity and message effectiveness.
- Cultural competence: knowing the language isn’t enough—you need a deep understanding of the cultural context to avoid misunderstandings or inappropriate tone.
To address these challenges, companies can:
- collaborate with linguists experienced in elearning or with local teams;
- create shared glossaries and style guides to ensure consistency in terminology and tone.
Case study: localizing an onboarding course for an international workforce
Let’s consider a manufacturing multinational needing to adapt its onboarding course for new hires in Brazil, Poland, and Morocco.
The original course was developed in Italian, with local legal references, culturally specific examples, and a fairly informal tone. Localizing it involves several layers of work:
- Professional translation of content, with attention to the appropriate tone of voice for each country;
- Adapting examples (e.g., replacing references to coffee breaks with social moments more familiar to the local context);
- Revising images, to reflect environments and people closer to the local reality;
- Voice-over recording by native speakers, to keep the delivery natural and engaging.
The result? Onboarding feels more authentic and relevant to participants—likely improving course completion rates and reducing the number of questions from new hires.
Conclusion
Localization in online training is much more than well-done translation: it’s a strategic investment for companies that want to offer inclusive, effective, and brand-aligned learning experiences.
In a world where skills cross borders, training also means knowing how to listen and speak the language—both culturally and professionally—of your learners.
If you're planning to expand your training programs internationally, localization should be part of your strategy from the very beginning. The benefits, in terms of learning and impact, will speak for themselves.
