Language Equivalency for Configured Courses

By default, Skillsoft provides courses in multiple languages. If you assign the English version of the course to a global audience, when a learner launches the course, it displays in their default Skillsoft Platform language provided the course exists in that language, otherwise it displays in English.

The platform allows you to configure a course and each of its language versions differently. One configuration may include an introduction, a policy statement or a summary, or any combination of these components, a different language of the same course may not have any of these components or a subset of them. Each course can have multiple configurations.

Behavior for configured courses

If you want the learner to see a course in their default Skillsoft Platform language, when that course has multiple configurations, you must create a configuration for each language version and link them together through a language map. In some cases, you may need to create a configuration for a language that does not include any custom components, but you need the configuration to complete the mapping.

Prior to April 21, 2026, if you created multiple configurations for different languages, you had to submit a request to Skillsoft to have those configurations mapped. If you already created configurations for each language and need to complete the mapping, you can still submit a request to Skillsoft for assistance in mapping your language configurations.

For language configurations you create after April 21, 2026, see the instructions below for how to do it yourself.

Create the Language Mapping

The language mapping tells the platform which configured language version to display to a learner when you assign an English version of a configured course. Each configuration retains its original course number, but each configuration gets a new course ID. The platform needs to know which course ID's correspond to each other so it displays the right configuration.

You can create a brand new language mapping or update an existing mapping if you need changes.

To create a new language mapping:

  1. From the admin view of the platform, select Content > Content Configuration.
  2. If you do not see the configuration to map in the list, you can create one first. Then from the list of configurations, locate the one to map, and select the More actions menu for the configuration.
  3. Select Manage Translations.

    Please note, if you previously created multiple language configurations, you can stop this process and submit a request to Skillsoft to map those configurations for you.

  4. You will see a list of translations that exist for a configuration. If no translations exist, you’ll see a notice explaining as much.
  5. Select Create new translation. A dialog box displays.
  6. From the Language drop down, select the language for the translation. Note, the language selection is limited to the languages of the base course. So if the base course is only available in English and Spanish, those will be the only options available.
  7. Enter a unique title for the course.
  8. Select Create translation. The Edit Configuration page displays.
  9. AI is used to automatically translate all of the custom strings you created for the original course (i.e., the one you’re creating a new translation for). This includes topic titles, custom text, closed captions, audio descriptions, and anywhere that you may have entered custom text.

    Note: Videos, policy documents, and similar media files cannot be automatically translated by AI, so if you want those items to match the new language in the translation, you will have to upload translated versions for them

  10. When you are done reviewing and editing the translated configuration, you can save, preview, and publish it like you would any other configuration.
  11. Once published, you will need to add the configured course to a custom channel or journey so your learners can find it.

If you are configuring courses that sync with another LMS and use content rule sets to control what content is synced, ensure the rule sets include the appropriate configurations, such as translated versions, if applicable.