Language Accessibility Guidelines

As Skillshare grows internationally we welcome classes from teachers in languages other than English. Read on to learn how you can ensure your classes are accessible to the new audiences of students learning with us on Skillshare.

In this article:

Guidelines for Class Localization

Localization refers to the process of making content accessible to a particular language or audience. In terms of classes on Skillshare this means:

  • All video lessons are automatically transcribed and subtitled, and
  • All written elements of a class, such as class and lesson titles, and class and project descriptions, will be translated within the platform, depending on a student’s preferred language settings on Skillshare.

All classes in English are currently localized in French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, and we are working on localizing classes taught in these target languages as well.

Here are some things to keep in mind to ensure your content on Skillshare can be accurately localized by our automatic translation processes:

  • Be sure to select the correct language for your class in the Class Details section of the Class Creator tool.
  • Your class, including all recorded video and audio; class and lesson titles; and class and project descriptions should be in one language only and match the language you selected in the Class Details section of your class as above. The automated process that localizes your class cannot accurately interpret bilingual content.

Guidelines for Teaching Non-English Classes

In addition to classes in English, we also accept classes in the four other languages supported on our platform: French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish.

While our Class Quality Guidelines do not permit class content from being shared between classes, you are permitted to create a new, standalone version of a class you currently teach in a different language or create a new class offering to complement your existing classes.

Keep in mind that classes in English (and eventually classes in French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish) will be automatically localized for students based on their language settings on Skillshare. If you feel comfortable teaching in more than one language, you may want to consider whether there is sufficient demand to create a new version of a class you already offer for a new language market, or whether it makes more sense to create a brand new class on a different topic!

In addition to our existing Teacher Policies, we’ve prepared the following guidelines for non-English classes.

Video Content

  • All recorded video and audio should be in one language only and match the language you selected in the Class Details section of the Class Creator tool. The automated processes that translate your class cannot accurately interpret bilingual content.
  • Any video content that depicts in-person demonstrations, software demos, or screencasts can be reused only in a new, complete version of a class, as long as you record a new voiceover in the target language. Per our Class Quality Guidelines, you should include narration throughout your lessons.
  • Any video content that depicts you or another speaker on screen (i.e., “talking head” format) would need to be re-recorded in the target language.

We will be piloting dubbed video content (i.e., providing a voiceover to a video that does not match the teacher) with a selected list of teachers in Summer 2022, but dubbing is otherwise not permitted on the platform at this time.

Subtitles

  • All classes in English already have multilingual subtitles in French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. We are also working hard to enable subtitles on any classes taught in one of these four target languages, along with the ability for teachers to edit subtitles on classes in these target languages.

Class Merchandising

  • All class merchandising, including your class description, project description, class title, and lesson titles, should be in one language only and match the language you selected in the Class Details section of the Class Creator tool. The automated processes that translate your class merchandising cannot accurately process bilingual content.
  • While we recommend that class and lesson titles in English use title case, titles in French, Portuguese, and Spanish should be written in sentence case: the first letter in the sentence or clause should be capitalized, and all other words in lower case. Titles in German should also be written in sentence case as above but with all nouns and proper nouns capitalized, following the conventions of German grammar.
  • If you are creating a new, complete version of a class you already offer on Skillshare in a different language, we recommend you use a different cover image for each class so they are easily distinguishable on your profile and in our catalog, no matter what language a potential student is using to browse our site.

Vocabulary

  • For consistency across our platform we suggest you use this vocabulary in your classes on Skillshare:
English French German Portuguese Spanish
Class Cours Kurs Curso Clase
Lesson Leçon Kurseinheit Aula Lección
Project Projet Kursprojekt Projeto Proyecto

 

  • For German compound words, write them as one word or hyphenated — do not separate them with a space. Examples: Grafikdesign, Produktivitäts-Tool, iPhone-Photographie, Social-Media-Marketing. Duden.de has a helpful article (in German) that outlines the general grammatical rules for compound words.

Other Considerations

Student Engagement

  • Like with any new class on the platform, regardless of what language you're teaching in, you’ll need to promote your class with your community once it’s live to ensure student engagement.
  • If you already have a large, established following of students who enjoy your English-language classes, you may consider sending a discussion announcement to your followers right after you publish a class in a new language to let them know it is available. Unlike class content and teacher profiles, bilingual announcements and discussion posts are OK!

Teacher Profiles

  • Similar to classes, your teacher profile page should be in one language so it can be properly translated across our platform.
  • If you teach in multiple languages, i.e., a class in English and a class in Spanish, consider adding a separate section to your teacher profile for each language so students can browse your classes easily.

Resources