Diversity through Languages
To understand this article, you must understand the language into which it is written or translated. However, what happens when you see a potentially great article, but it is not in a language you understand? You may probably gloss over it because the language barrier inhibits you from properly engaging with the material.
You may wonder, why are we focusing on languages? What is the importance of talking about languages? Language is one of the primary ways in which we, as humans, communicate. It typically consists of sounds, writing symbols, and gestures used by a particular group. Language also helps people to build connections because it is one way they share a common identity. Another interesting way of looking at the importance of languages is also the preservation of them. By ensuring some languages are not lost, we can somewhat preserve the culture of that group of people, including their values and traditions.
Hopefully, the importance of language is clear; however, you might still be wondering how this relates to Edtech. That is an interesting question. Within the Edtech space, platforms are being created for users. However, the users need to be able to understand the material and navigate through the platform comfortably. One way this can occur is through creating a platform in the language that the user understands. Let us expound on this to understand the benefits fully.
As an organization, you might be looking to scale. This is the same case with Chalkboard Education. We have grown to have a presence in multiple regions and countries. However, when expanding, you must ensure that your platform is accessible to all locations of the expansion. And one tool to enable this is ensuring that your content is in the language of that country or region.
Also, one of the key things a company should strive to do is connect with its users. Users who feel connected beyond purchasing their services are more likely to return and be satisfied. Language is one way that shows that you are interested in ensuring that you tailor your services to all your users. This is likely to build a connection with your users and, in the long term, may boost sales.
Currently, with Chalkboard Education, we have our platform in several languages, including English, French, Spanish, Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese (Simplified). This has helped to remove the language barriers we initially had. Those language barriers limited the number of potential users we could onboard, but as we add more languages, we are constantly increasing our potential global reach.
Similarly, if you implement multilingual support within your platform, you give your company a competitive edge. And the more languages you include, the more competitive you become. There are currently over 7,000 languages in the world! Imagine the possibilities and number of languages you can explore among these languages.
Lastly, think of diversity. Aside from every other benefit mentioned, think of the celebration of diversity your company achieves through multiple languages. None of your users are the same. They are all unique, and one of that uniqueness is the different languages each of them speaks. It is motivating and uplifting to be the company that praises this uniqueness by acknowledging and adding their languages to your platform. That is one way to celebrate diversity.
Thinking of the next addition to making to your platform? Why not celebrate diversity by making your platform accessible via multiple languages? Connect more with your users, expand your reach and become more competitive while you do this.
About Chalkboard Education
Chalkboard Education provides a mobile-based, offline-first Learning Management System tailored for underserved communities' training. Lightweight, inclusive, and complete with full analytics capabilities, Chalkboard Education helps you reach your beneficiaries everywhere in the World seamlessly. Currently used in 12+ countries in Africa, South and North America, Chalkboard Education is available worldwide.
