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Translating Lessons and Managing Language Versions

Guide to generating, translating, and managing multilingual lessons in Mindsmith.

Written by Zachary Allen
Updated this week

Mindsmith includes several tools for translation and localization so you can adapt content for a global audience without creating unnecessary complexity. This guide explains what languages are supported, how to generate and translate lessons, and the different options available for managing multilingual content.

Jump to Section

  • Languages Supported in Mindsmith

  • Generating Content in a New Language

  • Translating Existing Lessons and Courses

  • Importing and Exporting Translations

  • Glossary Management

  • Learner Language Switching

  • Feature Availability by Plan


Languages Supported in Mindsmith

Mindsmith currently supports generating and editing lessons in 53 languages. This means you can create new content directly in the target language or translate existing material later.

Languages Currently Supported

  • Arabic

  • Bahasa

  • Bengali

  • Bulgarian

  • Cantonese

  • Chinese (Simplified)

  • Czech

  • Danish

  • Dutch

  • English

  • English (UK)

  • Estonian

  • Finnish

  • French

  • Galician

  • German

  • Greek

  • Haitian Creole

  • Hausa

  • Hebrew

  • Hindi

  • Hungarian

  • Icelandic

  • Igbo

  • Italian

  • Japanese

  • Kannada

  • Korean

  • Latvian

  • Lithuanian

  • Malagasy

  • Malay

  • Marathi

  • Norwegian

  • Polish

  • Portuguese

  • Portuguese (Brazil)

  • Romanian

  • Russian

  • Slovak

  • Slovenian

  • Spanish

  • Spanish (Latin America)

  • Swahili

  • Swedish

  • Tamil

  • Telugu

  • Thai

  • Turkish

  • Ukrainian

  • Urdu

  • Vietnamese

  • Yoruba

If the language you need is not listed, you can reach out to Mindsmith Support to request additional options.

Language features vary by subscription tier:

  • All Plans: Generate content in supported languages and translate lessons or courses into new files in a different language.

  • Business+ Plans: Manage multiple language versions within a single lesson or course, utilize glossaries, XLIFF import/export, and enable automatic adaptation to the learner's device settings.


Generating Content in a New Language

When you know from the outset that a lesson should be delivered in a specific language, you can set this at the storyboard stage.

  1. Open your storyboard.

  2. Go to Lesson Settings.

  3. Choose your preferred language from the Lesson Language dropdown.

  4. Generate your lesson.

All lesson text, including AI-generated audio narration and video captions, will be created in that language from the beginning. For example, selecting French here means your compliance training module will be produced directly in French, avoiding the need for later translation.


Translating Existing Lessons and Courses

You may need to provide an existing lesson or course in a different language. Mindsmith offers two approaches, each designed for different localization scenarios.

1. Multi-Language Versions Within a Single Lesson

On Business+ plans, you can house multiple translations within a single lesson using the Manage Lesson Translations option. All language versions stay linked together, so analytics and tracking remain unified inside your SCORM packages, while each translation can still be edited independently.

To access Manage Lesson Translations:

  1. Open the lesson editor.

  2. Click the settings gear icon in the top-right corner.

  3. In the Lesson Settings modal, open the Preview Information tab.

  4. Next to Lesson Language, click Add language versions.

This opens the Manage Lesson Translations window, where you can:

  • Set the main language of the lesson.

  • Add new language versions from the supported list.

  • Import or export text for translation using the XLIFF workflow.

Screenshot

💡 Tip: Multi-language versions adapt automatically to learners' device settings. If a learner's browser or phone is set to Spanish, they will see the Spanish version of your lesson without needing to select it.

2. Creating a New File in a Different Language

If you want to create a separate translated copy of a lesson or course, you can use the Translate option from the kebab (⋮) menu. This generates a brand-new file in the selected language, which can then be managed and edited entirely independently.

To create a new translated lesson or course:

  1. From your Dashboard, locate the lesson or course you want to translate.

  2. Hover over the content and click the kebab menu (⋮).

  3. Select Translate Lesson (or Translate Course) from the menu.

  4. Choose the target language from the dropdown.

  5. Confirm, and Mindsmith will create a new file in that language.

Screenshot

This method is useful if you expect language versions to diverge significantly. For example, you might need to adapt region-specific compliance policies, change out image tiles, or alter quiz question tiles for different audiences.


Importing and Exporting Translations

Mindsmith supports translation workflows through XLIFF 1.2 import and export. This allows you to work seamlessly with external translation services or internal localization teams.

To use this option:

  1. From the Manage Lesson Translations window, choose Import/Export.

  2. Select a target language.

  3. Click Download XLIFF to export the lesson text for translation.

  4. Once translated, upload the XLIFF file back into Mindsmith using the Upload XLIFF option.

This approach is extremely helpful if you rely on professional translators. It ensures that all complex formatting across your text, questions, and interactive tiles remains intact when the content is re-imported.

Screenshot


Glossary Management

On Business+ plans, organizations can enforce specific terminology across their AI translations using custom Glossaries. This ensures that brand names, specific acronyms, and industry terminology are translated consistently every time.

  1. You can import glossaries in bulk using a standard CSV file format.

  2. The file maps your source terms to your desired target language terms.

  3. Once uploaded, Mindsmith automatically applies these translation rules whenever new content is translated for your organization.


Learner Language Switching

When you utilize multi-language versions within a single lesson or course, learners have full control over their viewing experience.

  1. While viewing a lesson, learners can click the Globe icon in the top navigation or sidebar.

  2. A dropdown menu will display all available languages for that content.

  3. Selecting a new language instantly reloads the content into the chosen language, without losing their progress.


Feature Availability by Plan

Feature

All Plans

Business+

Generate and edit content in 53 languages

Translate lessons into a new language file

Multi-language versions within a single lesson

XLIFF import/export

Glossary management and custom terminology

Learn more about plan comparisons and feature-by-feature availability here.


Key Takeaways

  • Content can be generated directly in different languages using Lesson Settings.

  • On Business+ plans, multi-language versions keep translations unified within a single lesson or course, automatically adapting to learners' device settings.

  • Learners can manually change their language at any time using the Globe icon.

  • The Translate option from the kebab menu creates a new, separate file in the selected language.

  • XLIFF import/export allows teams to handle translations outside of Mindsmith and re-import them flawlessly.

  • Language support covers 53 languages, and new languages can be requested through Support.

These tools reduce the complexity of managing multilingual content and make it easier to serve global learners from a single platform.

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