The Benefits And Drawbacks Of Dubbing Your Online Course
When most people think of dubbing, old foreign movies come to mind. The visuals are often out of sync with the audio, which turns even tear-jerkers into comedies, but there are plenty of perks eLearning dubbing can bring to your online training program—from cutting compliance risks to stretching L&D resources. The trick is to avoid the most common cons so that you respect the subject matter and improve knowledge transfer, without making your employees laugh for all the wrong reasons. So, let’s look at the benefits and drawbacks of dubbing your localized online training program.
Delving Into The Pros And Cons Of Dubbing In eLearning
1. Pro: Expand Your Audience Reach
eLearning dubbing allows you to reach more people within your organization. Employees from all corners of the globe get the same benefits from training instead of having to rely solely on subtitles. It’s also great for eCommerce if you plan to sell your online training course to generate extra income. Just remember to survey your audience to identify their language preferences so that you don’t exclude any key audiences or go overboard and include dubbed online training translations for regions that are less popular. For example, you only have one employee who speaks a certain dialect, so subtitles are more cost-effective.
2. Con: Additional Costs
Dubbing your localized online training course is more costly since you have to pay for the local narrator, translated script, and recording/editing tools. Not to mention, deploy different versions of the course to your worldwide workforce. However, you can mitigate those expenses by outsourcing and setting a realistic budget to avoid hidden fees. Account for upkeep, too, since you may have to revise translated content periodically to reflect new policies or protocols. For instance, you have to pay the voice-over artist to expand your compliance course when new regulations go into effect.
3. Pro: Improve Knowledge Retention
Online training translations help employees understand the subject matter and retain information. Dubbing takes it a step further by appealing to different learning preferences and pairing text with audio. Employees who don’t comprehend the subtitles can rely on dubbed audio to clear things up and avoid confusion. They’re more likely to remember the characters or narrator explaining the concept than reading about it on the screen. Another benefit is that on-the-go employees can listen to the course anytime, anywhere.
4. Con: Takeaways Can Get Lost In Translation
Common sayings usually sound awkward in other languages. “Horse of a different color” may be perfectly understandable and familiar for some, while others may be confused by the old adage. Thus, one of the cons of dubbing online training is that things get lost in translation. Luckily, you can avoid this by hiring a local expert who understands the equivalents, such as how to say that something is unrelated or irrelevant in their native tongue. They can also ensure that dubbed content is culturally acceptable to avoid causing offense. You want everyone to know that their language and societal norms are respected rather than trivializing them with poorly dubbed audio that seems out of touch.
5. Pro: Reduce Compliance Risks
A notable perk of online training translations and dubbing is that every member of the team understands the topic. The audio conveys the gravity of the situation or draws their attention to significant risks they must be aware of. For example, they don’t just read about the COI breach, as the characters/narrator tell them a story that pertains to their work duties. This mitigates risks and keeps your company image intact. You can also include localized online training issues that resonate with your team. For instance, regional laws or tasks that only certain employees must perform based on their physical locale.
6. Con: Lack Of Authenticity
Even if employees do understand the key takeaways, dubbing your online training course may force them to disconnect emotionally, especially if the narrator lacks context and can’t convey the right tone. For this reason, it’s essential to hire the right person for the job. Someone who understands the nuances of the language and has a basic grasp of the subject matter. That way, they can make the content feel authentic instead of forced. And don’t forget about dialects and accents. Some may be more difficult for employees to understand based on their background.
7. Pro: Improve Online Training ROI
Improved knowledge retention, employee engagement, and compliance translate into better online training ROI. You also don’t have to develop separate versions of the course from scratch. Use the same video clips and modules and simply switch out the audio track to cut costs and save time. Dubbing can even help you retain your top talent so that you don’t have to pay to train their replacements since everyone gets the personalized resources that they need to succeed, regardless of their preferred language. As they say, it costs money to make money. In this case, those additional fees improve your bottom line and make online training more accessible.
Conclusion
Dubbing online training does come at an additional cost, and things can get lost in translation. However, there are ways to avoid the cons and maximize the perks if you know which mistakes to avoid. Hire a localization team that understands the language, backgrounds, and cultural norms. Use a rapid authoring tool with templates so it’s easy to update content when rules or online training objectives change. Lastly, set a budget and dubbing timeline to improve ROI and prevent lengthy delays.
Our exclusive eLearning Content Providers for Dubbing directory features the leading companies that can help you improve knowledge retention and expand your reach. You can sort companies by industry, solutions, and specialization areas to choose the best option for your budget.
