How to Prepare Your E-Learning Content for Translation: A Practical Guide for L&D Teams

Key Takeaways

• Source content quality directly determines translation quality. A poorly written source course produces a poorly written translated course, regardless of translator skill.
• Text embedded in images must be recreated as editable text before translation. Translating image-embedded text requires redesign work in addition to translation, adding time and cost.
• Many languages expand in word count relative to English. French, German, and Spanish can run 15 to 30 per cent longer. Building text boxes and layouts that allow for expansion saves significant rework after translation.
• Idioms, slang, and culture-specific examples create problems for translators and reduce course quality in the target language. Plain language source content translates faster, at lower cost, and to a higher standard.
• XLIFF is the most efficient file format for e-learning translation. Exporting from your authoring tool in XLIFF before sending to a translation agency saves time and reduces the risk of formatting errors on reimport.
• Providing a glossary of key terms before translation begins prevents terminology inconsistencies across modules.

The quality of a translated e-learning course depends as much on what happens before translation begins as on the translation itself. L&D teams that prepare their content well get better translations faster and at lower cost. Those that hand over poorly structured source files spend time resolving formatting problems, inconsistent terminology, and scope questions during the project.

This guide covers the practical steps L&D teams can take before briefing an e-learning translation project.

Step 1: Audit Your Source Content Before Sending It

Before sharing files with a translation agency, review the source course with translation in mind.

Remove or simplify idioms. Expressions like "hit the ground running", "think outside the box", or "bring to the table" are familiar to English speakers but do not translate directly. A translator must either explain the idiom (making the translation wordier) or find an equivalent in the target language (which may not exist or may feel forced). Replace idioms with plain language that says what you mean directly.

Review cultural references. Examples drawn from UK workplace culture, British law, or British consumer behaviour will not be relevant to learners in Germany, Mexico, or Japan. Identify references that are UK-specific and decide whether to generalise them, replace them with target-market equivalents, or flag them for localisation review.

Check for consistency in terminology. If your course uses the same concept under different names in different modules (for example, "line manager" in one place and "direct manager" in another), resolve this before translation. Inconsistent terminology in the source produces inconsistent terminology in the translation.

Look for text embedded in images. Text overlaid on photographs or diagrams must be treated separately from on-screen text. The image must be recreated with the translated text in position, which requires DTP work. Identify all image-embedded text before briefing so this can be scoped and priced correctly.

Step 2: Choose the Right Export Format

The file format you send to a translation agency significantly affects how efficiently the project runs.

XLIFF is the recommended format for e-learning translation. XLIFF (XML Localisation Interchange File Format) is the standard interchange format between authoring tools and translation software. It separates the translatable text from the formatting code, allowing translators to work on content without touching the structural markup. The translated XLIFF file reimports cleanly into the authoring tool with formatting intact.

Most major authoring tools support XLIFF export. If yours does, use it. It reduces the risk of tags being accidentally deleted or corrupted during translation, and it produces a cleaner reimport.

If XLIFF is not available, use exported Word files carefully. Some teams export course text to Word for translation. This works but requires the translator to maintain formatting tags exactly as they appear in the original. Brief your agency explicitly on this requirement, and review the reimported content carefully for tag integrity.

For subtitle files, use SRT format. SRT files contain the subtitle text alongside timestamp data. Translating in SRT format preserves timing information so that translated subtitles can be reimported without requiring video re-editing, provided the translation is timed appropriately to the audio.

Step 3: Account for Text Expansion

Many languages produce longer text than English when the same content is translated. This is not a translation error. It is a structural feature of the target language.

Approximate expansion rates relative to English:

• French: 15 to 20 per cent longer
• German: 20 to 30 per cent longer
• Spanish: 15 to 25 per cent longer
• Italian: 15 to 25 per cent longer
• Russian: 10 to 15 per cent longer

Japanese and Mandarin contract relative to English, typically producing 30 to 50 per cent shorter text. This can leave layouts with large empty spaces.

If your course is built with fixed-size text boxes, expanded translated text will overflow or be cut off. Before sending content for translation, check that text boxes are set to expand with content rather than overflow. In most authoring tools this is a text box property setting. Review this across all slides and interactive elements before handing over files.

For narrated courses, text expansion also affects voice-over timing. A script that runs to 30 seconds in English may produce a French voice-over of 35 seconds. Slide timing that is locked to the English narration may need adjusting for each language version.

Step 4: Prepare a Glossary

A glossary of key terms, provided before translation begins, is one of the highest-value preparation steps an L&D team can take.

A glossary specifies the approved translation for technical terms, product names, branded terminology, and any terms that have a specific meaning within your organisation. Without a glossary, translators must make their own judgements about how to handle these terms, and different translators across different modules may make different choices.

For compliance and technical courses in particular, terminology consistency is not just a quality preference. An inconsistency between how a regulation is named in module one and module three, or between the course and the accompanying workbook, reduces learner confidence and can create genuine compliance risk.

A glossary does not need to be elaborate. A simple two-column document listing source terms and their approved target-language equivalents, for each target language, is sufficient. Your translation agency can maintain and extend this as a translation memory over the lifetime of your relationship.

Step 5: Clarify Scope Before Briefing

Translation agencies price e-learning projects based on scope. An unclear brief produces an inaccurate quote and often results in scope changes mid-project that delay delivery and affect budget.

Before briefing, confirm and document:

What is included in the translation scope. On-screen text, voice-over scripts, subtitle files, quiz content, feedback messages, supporting PDFs, and any other text elements should be listed explicitly.

What requires localisation beyond translation. If regulatory content needs replacing for the target market, or if imagery needs review, or if examples need adapting, this is localisation work that should be priced separately from translation.

Whether voice-over recording is required. Translated scripts require recording in the target language if the course uses narration. Voice-over is a separate service from translation and should be scoped and priced independently. For more on this, see our post on multilingual voice-over for e-learning.

File format for delivery. Specify what format you need the translated content returned in, so the agency can factor any file conversion or DTP work into the quote.

Turnaround requirements. Realistic turnaround for a full course translation depends on word count, number of languages, and whether voice-over recording is included. Agreeing turnaround upfront prevents misaligned expectations at delivery.

Global LTS works with L&D teams and training providers on e-learning translation and localisation across 120+ languages. We handle XLIFF, SCORM, and all major authoring tool formats, and our translators include subject-matter specialists in compliance, healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, and technology.

Contact us for a free quote, or see our e-learning translation services page for more detail on how we work.