Introduction
Delivering e-learning courses in multiple languages offers inclusive, accessible, and effective training to a global audience.
Multilingual content not only enhances learner engagement and comprehension but also supports compliance, improves user experience, and promotes consistency across regions. This article outlines instructions and best practices for developing and managing e-learning courses in multiple languages within your platform.
Configuring languages for a course
To configure multiple languages for a course, log in to your platform, then access the Admin menu from the gear icon and click Course management in the E-learning section.
On the course management page, find the course in the list and click on its title to enter the course configuration area, then move to the Properties tab, Details vertical tab, Course language section.
Use the options in this section to set the default language and optionally add additional languages, choosing from those officially supported by the platform (not only from those you activated in the Localization tool), by activating the Enable content management in multiple languages option.
The platform will display the course to learners in the language they selected in their My profile area. If that language is not available, the course will be shown in its default language. Learners can switch languages using the dedicated dropdown in the course player.
The languages in which the course is available are displayed on the course card in catalogs, channels, on the My courses and learning plans page, and on the course overview page.
Default language
The default language serves as the fallback language if content in a user's preferred language is not available.
Setting a course default language is required, and you can select only one. You cannot remove the default language, but you can change it.
Additional languages
Activate the Enable content management in multiple languages option, then click Select languages to choose the languages in which the course training materials are available. You cannot select more than 30 additional languages. Press Save changes to confirm.
Upon saving, the platform will show the selected language as available in the course player and will create a folder named after each of the selected languages (including a folder for the default language) in the Training material tab of the course configuration area, where you can store localized content.
Please note:
- Language folders are not visible to learners. Their content appears as individual training materials in the course syllabus, together with the training material not included in folders.
- You cannot delete or rename the language folders.
- You cannot include language folders in other folders.
- Any training material available before the languages’ activation is kept outside the language folders, but you can move it inside any folder.
- If a language folder is empty, the corresponding language is not listed as available for selection to learners. However, the language name will still appear as available on the course card. We strongly recommend activating a language only when the corresponding training materials are available.
If you add an additional language, the platform will propose it to the learners who have that language selected in the My profile area, as long as the language folder includes content. In this scenario, if learners have already started the course in a different language, they will keep their enrollment status and progress despite the language switch.
Completion rules for a multilingual course
A course offered in multiple languages is considered complete when the learner finishes all training materials outside of the language folders, along with all materials within the folder that match the language they selected for the course.
Once a course is completed in one language, the completion status does not change if the learner retakes the course in a different language.
Warning
- If a learner changes their selected language after completing some training materials, the platform will recalculate the course progress percentage and completion status based on the content consumed in the newly selected language.
- If any of the training material is marked as end object marker, then the course is considered completed when the learner completes this content.
Disabling additional languages
If you disable the Enable content management in multiple languages option, the platform will remove all localized training materials and language folders from the course. The training materials outside the language folders will be kept.
If you disable one of the languages, the platform will delete the corresponding language folder and its content.
If the removed language is the learner's preferred language, the platform will offer the course in the default language. In this scenario, the learner’s progress and completion status will remain unaffected.
Multilingual course progression tracking in reports
Reporting for multilingual courses does not currently account for language-specific progression. Learner progression is calculated across all training materials in the course, independent of language selection. Course completion, however, is evaluated solely against the content contained within the learner’s selected language folder.