eLearning for Foreign Learners

The interactive nature of eLearning is ideally suited for foreign learners. Whether by utilising visual learning to assist in understanding the material, or having the option to take the course in multiple languages, eLearning facilitates a wide audience, overcomes the language barrier, and delivers the material consistently and effectively across the world.

For learners using English as a second language, visual and interactive media available through eLearning is a great way to compliment the curriculum. With eLearning, we are able to present not only graphics, but also animations, videos and sounds in addition to on-screen text. Soon, we will be able to use VR (virtual reality) content to make this experience even more immersive. With the addition of visual media, we can demonstrate, illustrate, animate and present the material in an effective way.

We all know the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Perhaps an animation, then, is worth a thousand pictures! In addition to text, being able to show the concept not only helps to make it clear to native English speakers, but it greatly helps those whose first language is other than English. As an example, I would like to cite a series of tutorials by a Korean 3D artist found on YouTube. Whether the artist speaks English or not, we don’t know. He doesn’t speak in his short tutorial videos. Nevertheless, he is able to illustrate highly complex technical concepts in the 3D animation software Maya simply by showing us how it’s done.

Another benefit of eLearning is that you can easily repeat and replay the module, or individual slides, videos, quizzes or activities. This is something that is not possible in a traditional classroom environment; if the teacher explains something, you must pay close attention or you may not have the chance to hear it again.

Furthermore, it is not difficult to publish the same module in multiple languages. It takes some work, surely, but we are able to preserve the same functionality, interactivity and learning standards. People from all around the globe can be trained using the same standardised course, in their native language. This is great for multinational corporations with offices across the world, but also great for bringing eLearning to people in rural areas, second and third world countries, or distributing a curriculum to the international community.

Lastly, it is worthwhile to say that interactive content really helps in presenting the curriculum in an interesting way, make learning more fun and engaging, which also aids in better material retention. What more could an educator ask for?

If you are interested in learning more about our company, Pathways Training and eLearning, please visit our website here.