Working Methodology
Depending on the time and technological resources available for teaching software localisation, courses can be structured in different ways. However, covering theoretical contents at the beginning of courses and have practical sessions at least with one L10N tool towards the end of courses is recommended.
Theory
Particularly with software localisation, it is very important to first understand the principles and processes involved in order to be able to start using L10N tools. Without the knowledge of basic aspects such as the different components of software applications, which file formats, processes and stages are involved in localisation, what aspects are important for translation, etc., the use of L10N tools cannot be recommended.
Practice
Once the basic theoretical principles are covered, these can be put into practice using a specific L10N tool. Students can work individually or in groups according to class objectives, number of students and the number of available PCs. The idea is to simulate a localisation scenario and find out how processes normally involved in software localisation can be supported by a given L10N tool. The main focus of these courses should be placed not on translation, but on theoretical localisation principles and functionalities of tools.
Since not all components of a software application can be localised in such a general localisation course – mainly because of time restrictions – , it is recommendable to use a small and simple software application (such as Wordpad, etc.) in order to show the basic principles and problems of software localisation.
Excercises
Some aspects which can be covered in these exercises are:
- using tools for translating menus, dialogues, string tables
- resizing of buttons and parts of dialogue boxes
- quality assurance using features like checking duplicate hotkeys, checking if text overlaps or falls outside buttons etc.
- Potential examination of update scenarios, where in the middle or toward the end of a project updates are made to the software which have to be considered in translation
- Possible alignment of previous versions of software
Course Organisation
The course can be organised in different ways:
- Introductory courses about software L10N principles in face-to-face scenarios
- Hand-outs can be prepared by teachers and given to students for them to work with tools independently –preferably in a PC lab
- Students can make short presentations reporting problems encountered when using L10N tools in practise