The Impact of Navigation and Language on

An important part of designing e-learning software for international markets is to take cultural aspects and language skills of the target groups into account. The aim of the present study was to examine effects of used navigation on participants from cultures with different levels on Hofstedes cultural dimension of power distance. Another aim was to examine the effect of the language of the user interface and the content during the work with a web based training (WBT) module. An online experiment was conducted to identify differences between the influences of the navigation styles (open routes versus prescribed routes) and the language of the user interface and the content of the WBT modules (first language versus English). 173 subjects from three different language areas worked with a WBT module. Subjective measures like duration, the achievement of knowledge as well as objective measures like assessment of usability and mental workload were assessed. The presentation of user interface and contents in the first language affected only the subjective assessment of usability and some aspects of mental workload. The results of participants with a low power distance level showed no effects caused by the navigation style on objective measurements or the assessment of usability. However, the open paths showed a lower mental workload. The results of this study clarify the need for further research into how culture affects international e-learning