AI Translation

Standard Pro

AI Translation creates multi-language versions of your courses. Slate translates all text content while preserving your course structure, formatting, and interactive elements. Translation is powered by Google Gemini.

The 15 supported languages below describe the language of the course content learners see, not the Slate authoring interface, which is currently available in English only.

Plans

Translation is a paid feature. Both AI translation and the manual export and import workflow require a Standard or Pro plan. Free accounts cannot use either.

Shared courses

If someone shared a course with you, only the course owner can add a language with AI translation. Translating spends the credits of whoever starts it, so the control is reserved for the person who owns the course. With edit access you can still open existing translations, edit translated text, and use the manual export and import workflow, which costs no credits.

Supported languages

Slate supports translation into 15 languages:

• Chinese (Simplified)
• Danish
• Dutch
• English
• French
• French (Canada)
• German
• Hindi
• Italian
• Japanese
• Portuguese (Brazil)
• Portuguese (Portugal)
• Spanish
• Swedish
• Welsh

You can translate a single course into multiple languages. Each translation is stored alongside the original content.

Opening the Translations page

You can open Translations from two places:

• The Translations option in the course’s three-dot menu on the dashboard
• The Translations button in the Course Overview header

The page lists every language attached to the course, with the source language at the top and each translation below it. Above the list, Slate shows the source language and the total word count.

Adding a language

1. Click Add a language at the top of the languages list
2. Pick a target language
3. Review the source word count, estimated credit cost, and your remaining balance
4. Optionally expand Review before translating for the word limit, professional review note, and excluded content
5. Click Translate to start

Slate translates all text content in the course, including block text, button labels, knowledge check questions, and feedback messages. Code blocks, document blocks, and transcript files (SRT/VTT) are excluded.

A progress bar appears while translation runs. When it finishes, the new language joins the languages list. Long courses translate reliably: Slate processes the content in batches and retries individual batches if needed, rather than failing the whole course on a transient error.

Word limit

There is a maximum of 15,000 source words per translation. Courses above the limit need to be split into smaller courses or trimmed before translating.

Credits

Translation costs 100 AI credits per 1,000 words, with a minimum charge of 100 credits per translation. The estimated cost is shown in the dialog before you confirm.

Reviewing and editing translations

After a translation finishes, switch to the target language from the language picker at the top of the editor. Slate replaces the source text with the translated version in both the Course Overview and the Lesson Editor, and a banner at the top of the page confirms you are viewing the translation.

While viewing a translation you can:

• Edit translated text in place - titles, subtitles, alt text, captions, tab and accordion labels, knowledge check options, feedback, and most other translatable fields are editable directly in the block editor
• Edit course, section, and lesson titles - the course title and description, section titles, and lesson titles (including the cover, conclusion, and assessment rows) are click-to-edit in the Course Overview
• Replace media for a single language - videos, audio, documents, and subtitle files can differ per language, covered in Per-language media below
• Move between languages at any time - the language selector stays on screen, and your selection persists across refreshes and deep links
• Return to the source - the banner includes a one-click “Switch to source” button

Everything you edit in a translated view is saved to that language only. The source course is never changed. A title that has not been translated yet opens as an empty field with the source text shown as a placeholder, so translated text is always distinguishable from a source fallback. Clearing the field removes the translation for that title, and the source text falls back in.

Structural changes, such as adding or deleting blocks, reordering, or changing a block’s type, are only available while viewing the source language. Slate hides those controls in translation view so edits stay focused on the language you are working in.

Professional review of AI translations is recommended before publishing, especially for specialized or technical content.

Per-language media

Text is not the only thing that can differ between languages. While viewing a translation you can:

• Replace the video - paste a URL, switch provider, upload a file, or pick from the Media Library, and the video applies to that language only. A note above the block shows whether the language is using its own video or the source language video, and Replace for this language swaps it without touching the source. Removing the replacement returns that language to the source video.
• Add language-specific audio - a translated language can carry its own audio file, whether uploaded, recorded, or generated with AI narration.
• Upload a translated document - see Document Block. When no translated file exists, learners get the original language file.
• Upload translated subtitles - subtitle files are not translated by AI, so upload an SRT or VTT file for each language on the video block.

Images are shared across every language. Alt text and captions are translatable, but the image file itself can only be changed in the source language, where it applies to all languages.

Keeping translations up to date

Editing the source course after you have translated it does not update the translations. Slate keeps the languages structurally in sync, so a block, lesson, or section you add to the source appears in every language, but the new text arrives untranslated and shows the source wording in the translated view.

To bring a language back up to date, you can:

• Translate in place - switch to the language and type over the source text in the block editor. Best for a handful of changes.
• Use the manual export and import round trip - export the strings from the translated language, and any untranslated entries come through carrying the source text for your translator to fill in, then import the completed file back.
• Delete the translation and translate the language again - a full translation at the usual credit cost, which also replaces any manual edits you made in that language.

There is no per-language “translate what’s missing” action yet, so where you can, finish larger source revisions before translating rather than after.

Glossary

When you translate a course, Slate builds a glossary of key terms in the background and uses it to keep terminology consistent across the translation. The Translations page surfaces these glossaries in a Glossary card under the languages list, so you can see the source-to-target term pairs Slate used.

If your course has translations into more than one language, a small language picker on the Glossary card lets you browse the glossary for each language separately.

A customizable glossary editor, where you can add or override terms before translating, is coming soon as a Pro feature.

Deleting a translation

Each row in the languages list has a three-dot menu with a Delete translation option. Deleting a translation removes it from the course (and its glossary) but does not affect the source content. If you translate the same language again later, it will use credits again.

Manual translation

If you work with a translation service, expand Manual translation at the bottom of the page to export the source strings as a JSON file and import the completed translation back into Slate.

• Export from lets you export from the source language or any existing translation
• Export strings downloads a JSON file containing every translatable string in the course
• Import translation uploads a completed file and adds the translation to your course

Multi-language exports

When you export a translated course, Slate produces a single export package that contains all language versions. Learners select their preferred language when they open the course.

This applies to SCORM, xAPI, and cmi5 exports. The LMS delivers one package, and language selection happens within the course itself.