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Manage multi-language courses

Learn how to manage multi-language courses via the web app.

How do multi-language courses work?

We understand that for a global organization, your staff might come from different backgrounds and speak different languages. With SafetyCulture, you can localize the training experience by adding translations to your courses, so your team members can take training in a language they're comfortable with.

Take a look at this example of a course being started in English and Spanish using the same content:

What you'll need

Translate a course using AI

  1. Log in to the web app.

  2. Select Training iconTraining from the menu on the left-hand side.

  3. If you're on the "Learn" page, click Content at the top of the page and select Courses.

  4. Hover your cursor over the course and click View or Edit.

  5. If you're editing an existing course and it's published, click Edit iconEdit on the upper-right of the page.

  6. Select Set up at the top of the page and select Globe/translate iconLanguages on the left-hand side.

  7. In this section, ensure the course's actual language matches the first row of the "Translations" table. If not, click Update language and update the language accordingly. The selected language of a training course.

  8. Click Plus iconNew translation.

  9. In the pop-up window, select AI translation and click Next.

  10. In the "Translate to" field, search and select the language you want to translate to.

  11. We recommend that you leave the box on this step checked to link the translated version to the original course. This way, you can assign the course from a single source of truth. If you decide to uncheck the box, you'll need to manage the translated course's assignment separately.

  12. Click Translate.

  13. Once the translation is complete, click Close to translate your course into another language or click View translated course to go to the translated course and publish it.

If you're translating your course using AI, we recommend that you review the content after the translation to make sure it's correct and accurately reflects your topic.

Translate a course manually

  1. Log in to the web app.

  2. Select Training iconTraining from the menu on the left-hand side.

  3. If you're on the "Learn" page, click Content at the top of the page and select Courses.

  4. Hover your cursor over the course and click Edit.

  5. Click Settings iconSettings on the lower-left of the page.

  6. In the pop-up window, select More.

  7. In this tab, ensure the course's actual language matches the current selection in "More: Course language". If not, click Update language and update the language accordingly. The selected language of a training course.

  8. Click Download iconDownload course content in "Overwrite course content" and open the downloaded file.

In the Excel file, you'll find the existing strings in your course in column A, with column B to be used for the translated strings.

For each string in column A, add the translation to the corresponding cell in column B. We recommend editing directly in Excel rather than copying and pasting from an external source.

Please take note of the following as you prepare your translations:

  • Enter translated strings as plain text, and don't use any Excel formulas.

  • Remove all formatting from your translation, including text color, borders, etc. Learn how to clear cells of formatting in Excel.

  • Retain any code or Markdown formatting from the original strings to ensure your translated courses are visually aligned, including <span>, ##, **text**, etc.

  1. Go back to the web app.

  2. In the tab, click Plus iconNew translation. Then, select Manual translation and click Next.

  3. In the "Translate to" field, search and select the language your translated Excel file is in.

  4. In the "Upload Excel file" field, click Choose file and upload your Excel file.

  5. We recommend that you leave the box on this step checked to link the translated version to the original course. This way, you can assign the course from a single source of truth. If you decide to uncheck the box, you'll need to manage the translated course's assignment separately.

  6. Click Translate.

  7. Once the translation is complete, click Close to translate your course into another language or click View translated course to go to the translated course and publish it.

Now that your course is ready to be used in different languages, you can publish it and assign it to your team for them to take courses.

How are translated courses made available to users?

It depends on whether the translated course is linked to the original course or not. When you create a translated version of a course, you have the option to link the translated version to the original course, which determines how course assignments work.

Linked

Depending on the platform a user is on, the matching translated version will be shown to them instead of the original course by matching the following preferences:

If no translated versions match the user's browser or device language preference, the original course will be shown as the fallback.

Not linked

The translated course needs to be assigned manually for users to see a course in their preferred language.

If you're unsure whether the translated course is linked to the original course, you can go to the translated version to find out.

Check if a course is linked to a translated version or not via the web app.

Limitations

  • Multi-language isn't supported for the following lesson types:

    • Discussion

    • Assignment

    • Meeting

  • If a translated course isn't linked to the original course from when you created it, it'll appear separately from the original course in analytics.

Frequently asked questions

No, you'll need to update the translated versions separately. Depending on how you translated the course, you can update the translated versions in two ways:

AI translation

  1. Go to the original course and unlink the translated version. Unlink a translated course from the original version via the web app.

  2. Follow this article's instructions to add a new translation using AI.

  3. Publish the new translated version. You may also want to unpublish the old translated version so it's removed from your team's assigned training.

Manual translation (text change only)

If you just updated text in the original course and haven't made any structural changes like adding or removing lessons or lesson slides, you can overwrite the translated version's content:

  1. Go to the original course.

  2. Click Download iconDownload course content and open the downloaded file. Download the content of a training course as Excel via the web app.

  3. Follow this article's instructions to prepare the translations in the Excel file.

  4. Go to the translated version and overwrite the course content with the Excel file.

Manual translation (structural change)

If you've updated the original course structurally, including adding or removing lessons or lesson slides, you'll need to create a new translated version:

  1. Go to the original course and unlink the translated version. Unlink a translated course from the original version via the web app.

  2. Follow this article's instructions to add a new translation manually.

  3. Publish the new translated version. You may also want to unpublish the old translated version so it's removed from your team's assigned training.

No, it's not possible to link a translated version to its original course once you've created it.

We recommend that you create a new translated version and leave the checkbox on the language selection step checked to link the course.

The course linking checkbox when creating course translations on the web app.

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