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In modern academic environments, providing fair and inclusive assessments is crucial. While this can include many aspects, promoting inclusivity in language becomes a significant consideration in bilingual and multilingual countries. Ensuring students are not disadvantaged due to language barriers is a key concern.

Canada is a prime example, priding itself on its bilingual status, with English and French both being recognised as official languages[1]. An important goal of Canada’s Official Languages Act[2]  is to ensure the equality of English and French in federal institutions as well as in Canadian society.

Challenges when Delivering Bilingual Exams.

Delivering exams in multiple languages adds complexity.  It’s imperative to maintain fairness and consistency across both languages. Accurate translation is essential to preserve not only the original intent and meaning but also to maintain difficulty to avoid any unfair advantage. If any meaning or nuance is lost in translation, it could result in one language version being easier than the other.

Another challenge is version control. When an exam or question is updated in one language, the same changes must be applied across all versions.  In situations where institutions run separate exams for each language, this can increase the risk of errors. It’s not hard to imagine a scenario where an amendment is made in one language but missed in the other. This risk increasing when the process involves a manual, human element.

Lastly, running separate exams for each language results in lengthy analysis and extra work comparing two or more data sets. This increases the risk of discrepancies in scoring or interpretation.

Additional Considerations for Medical Educators

For Medical Schools across Canada, offering bilingual exams is an essential part of creating an equitable academic environment. Bilingual exams ensure that students are assessed on their knowledge and competencies, rather than their ability in a second language.

This inclusivity is especially important in medicine. Language can impact a student’s ability to understand the complex terminology often associated with the medical field. Additionally, as they progress in their careers, it could impact their ability to communicate effectively both in clinical settings and the wider community.

Fortunately, advancements in exam software are making it significantly easier to overcome these challenges. Making it easier to deliver multiple-language exams with accuracy and consistency.

 Introducing the eSystem Translation Module

The eSystem exam software is a comprehensive exam management solution. Offering the seamless creation, management, administration, analysis and reporting of exams—all within a single, user-friendly platform.

To support exam delivery in multiple languages, the Translation Management Module was developed. Created in collaboration with an existing customer –  a prominent Canadian medical school – this feature streamlines question translation and ensures an efficient, seamless process for managing multiple language and bilingual exams. The key features and benefits are explored below.

  • Streamlined Question Translation

Users can easily create new questions for translation or translate existing ones directly within the system. When a question is ready for translation, it appears in the original language on the left, with a corresponding box for the translated version on the right:

To save time when managing a large number of translations, there are bulk actions available. With just a few steps, multiple questions can be selected to set up new languages, change default languages or mark them as ‘ready to translate.’ This feature can accommodate up to 20,000 questions at once, making it an efficient solution for high-volume translation projects.

Recognising that sometimes institutions need to employ the services of external translation experts, there are also export and import options. All questions requiring translation can be exported and later imported back into the system once the translation is complete.  When importing there is an option to either add them as new questions or to apply them to existing ones, with the eSystem matching them using unique question codes. This feature removes the need to grant external parties access to the exam management system.

  • Comprehensive Audit Trail

As previously identified, one of the key challenges when working with multi-language exams is maintaining consistency across versions. The eSystem Translation Module has a complete audit trail, so it’s possible to easily track any changes made.

Furthermore, there are additional checks in place to safeguard against anything accidentally being missed. The eSystem runs checks to ensure that there are no missing or outdated translations and it will flag if there is a problem. Removing the human margin for error element.

  • Translation Workflow

To help facilitate the translation process and enhance collaboration, the workflow feature enables users to send status updates, such as marking items as ‘ready to translate,’ ‘ready for review,’ or ‘approved.’ Ensuring that the process remains efficient and organised at every stage.

  • Bilingual Assessments Ensure a Fair Candidate Experience

Ensuring a fair and equal exam experience in each language was of utmost importance. For the bilingual exams being run by the Canadian medical school, this meant that the exam experience in French should mirror that in English and Vice Versa. There should be nothing that could disadvantage any candidate taking the exam regardless of language choice.

So, in addition to exam questions, the eSystem exam delivery navigation text — the text which guides candidates through the exam — also required translation. Translations for French Canadian and Polish have been completed, with the ability to easily add other languages in the future based on customer need.

When a candidate logs on to the eSystem delivery platform they see the exams available for them and can select their language preference. Removing any language barriers so they can focus on their responses and engage more confidently with the exam content, ultimately leading to a more positive and effective exam experience.

  • Simple, Accurate Reporting, Fast

Once the exams are complete, various reports are available to provide valuable insight into exam and question performance.

The question performance report includes an option to ‘split by language,’ making it possible to see how a question performs across different languages. This helps identify potential discrepancies and ensure fairness. This data is crucial for pinpointing language-specific issues that could affect exam outcomes, allowing for more equitable assessments.

Building a Fairer Future for Multilingual and Bilingual Assessments

By facilitating easier bilingual exams for a Canadian medical school, the eSystem has demonstrated how technology can address the challenges of multilingual assessments. While this is relevant to Canada’s bilingual landscape, the need for solutions that support multiple languages extends to other regions. By harnessing tools like the eSystem Translation Management Module, institutions can ensure more equitable assessments. This in turn allows students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills without the constraints of language barriers.

Get in touch

If you would like to find out how we can help you create and manage multilingual exams Contact us. Call our sales team at +44 (0) 1223 851703 or email info@speedwellsoftware.com.

[1] The Official Languages Act (1969) established French and English as Canada’s official Languages. The 1988 act offered more detail about how bilingualism should be put into practice.

[2] https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/official-languages-act-1988-plain-language-summary