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Babbel

Foreign Language Elearning Application

Published on 04/27/2009

Rated 3 out of 5 stars by AppAppeal Editor

15 comments for this app

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What can you use the app for?

Babbel is an online tool to help you learn languages. The software itself was developed by software experts and language professionals. The experience is very good with a lot of audio clips and visuals to keep the user entertained. It also has social networking features which allow friends from all around the world to stay in touch; it also gives you the chance to practice your foreign languages. Babbel offers courses in Italian, Spanish, French, English and German with many more languages supposedly in the works. Babbel makes it possible to learn a language while still staying in touch with friends. Learning with Babbel is much more like a game than a chore and its great fun. You can continue reviewing the material until you have mastered and retained all of the information. These training sessions last between 2 and 5 minutes. Babbel was developed based on Adobe’s Flex framework which makes it quite a reliable and robust application.

What is the history and popularity of the app?

Babbel was founded in August 2007 and is based in Berlin, Germany. The public beta was launched in January 2008. In June 2008 Babbel acquired FriendsAbroad.com and in April 2009 Babbel launched its first paid service which is a Spanish course for German speakers.

What are the differences to other apps?

Unlike some other online language learning websites babble offers free language learning tools. It doesn’t offer as many languages as some, and most of the languages are European. The material offered is involving which will make sure you don’t get bored or feel like you are working too hard.

How does the web app look and feel to use?

The application has quite a nice design; you do need to have flash installed in order to use the site. If you don’t then you will see a different version of the homepage and a small message telling you that you need flash, this is very easy to miss so can be quite frustrating. When you have signed in you will see your dashboard, this contains lots of useful information. It also allows you to start lessons and practice your chosen language. There are also social networking features built into the site which make practicing your language even easier. Some pages of the site load very slow.

How does the registration process work?

Registering for an account is very easy; on the main page of the site you will see a small registration box. You simply need to enter the information including the language that you speak now and the language that you want to learn. When you click on the register button you will then have to enter a username and your email address. You will then be sent a confirmation email which you have to read and click a link inside to confirm your email address.

What does it cost to use the application?

Most Babbel features are free for all users to use, in 2009 they did launch their first paid course for 29 Euros.

Who would you recommend the application to?

Babbel is ideal for anyone that wants to learn a new language in a fun and exciting way, sitting down in a classroom isn’t for everyone and this might be just what you need to pick up that new language.

Babbel Features

Learn European languages
Contact people all around the world
Practice the language
Paid premium tools
Chat with other users
Send text to native speakers for feedback

Babbel pricing

Permanently free version

Mobile versions

Iphone app

Languages

English

Spanish

French

German

Italian

15 comments for this app

Website

http://www.babbel.com/

15 comments (newest first)

Mark
on 16 Nov 2011 at 08:21

(Rated 5 out of 5 stars)

Excellent online language learning program - highly recommended! I am using it for both German and Spanish and it is wonderful. Good price too.

Jacob Levy
on 26 Oct 2011 at 08:07

(Rated 1 out of 5 stars)

These guys are a bunch of con artists. They don't let you cancel you subscription, the customer service are rude and go out of their way to insult you, avoid at all costs if you don't want to lose your money! I had to open a dialog with my credit card company to get my money back after they illegally deducted it from my account after I cancelled my subscription. I wish there was a way to give 0 stars out of 5.

AAA
on 22 Sep 2011 at 14:46

Don't bother if you're trying to learn Swedish. It's probably fine for other languages, but if you're going for Swedish, avoid babbel. Mistakes galore that they won't bother to fix, despite the hundreds of feedback messages about it. The website has the potential to be great, but the fact that it's littered with mistakes makes it useless. Try Pimsleur instead. Very effective.

moroni
on 17 Aug 2011 at 02:19

A warning to those trying to learn Portuguese on Babbel. All they really offer is the beginner's course. I got through that in a few days and hoped to progress to intermediate. No luck. That was it, besides a few specialized vocabulary, etc. courses. Since it is a monthly paid service, I thought I could progress as far as I wanted, no dice. The strange thing is, though, right after I joined my credit card number was used for unauthorized purchases - and I used Paypal! Maybe it's just a coincidence. Glad I only paid for one month. Otherwise, it was a pretty good course. I actually learned a lot.

Anne Ramalho
on 11 Jul 2011 at 00:04

Thanks to Babbel, they sent a very nice letter notifying me of cancellation. Just write to sales@babbel.com

Anne Ramalho
on 08 Jul 2011 at 05:08

Didn't work - any other suggestions?

Anne Ramalho
on 08 Jul 2011 at 05:06

(Rated 1 out of 5 stars)

I am trying to cancel my account with no luck. I will try your advice with this link ttp://www.babbel.com/payment/present_prices?learn_lang=ENG&country_iso=GBR

Betti
on 25 Jun 2011 at 13:26

(Rated 4 out of 5 stars)

I am using the Babbel website, someone said the price was a little high, but I found it very reasonable - 6 months for £30? Count me in! Much better than Rosetta Stone charging £349 for the same amount of time! Also, I completely understood pricing and the conditions alongside it, and wasn't worried at all. However I will agree that they shouldn't do the whole automatic re-subscription thing.

Rachel
on 11 Jun 2011 at 21:49

I just checked the Babbel site and contrary to what some reviewers above say, it does appear to provide clear pricing info here and an email address to write to if you wish to cancel: http://www.babbel.com/payment/present_prices?learn_lang=ENG&country_iso=GBR Perhaps its a recent addition. Agree though that the "Babbel Community" aspect of the program will probably be used by many as a flirt/dating opportunity. Personally though, I wonder how much similarity this has in comparison with the Rosetta Stone??? It does appear somewhat similar from the interface pictures I saw on its website.

Nathan
on 05 Jun 2011 at 18:40

I just sampled the site, and it looked very well-designed to me. One learns by listening, reading, speaking, writing, and through some visuals, too. There is solid reinforcement of what is being learned. It has the great merit of being a language learning site that is both user-friendly but also demands involvement and learning. I would probably actually use this service, unlike many other ways of learning language I have investigated. I agree, though, that automatic re-subscriptions are a very poor business practice. Babbel should cease this immediately. There are too many horror stories about eternal payments to some companies, and stories of how long and complicated the process was to force them to cease automatic withdrawals. Why does babbel.com want to be associated with this practice?

Twakowa
on 03 Mar 2011 at 12:06

i am not at all comfortable with giving my credit card info when am not sure how i can get the subscription canceled and whether when i do cancel it, how long it takes effect. its just not transparent to me....but from the free trials it is a very very fun way of learning new langauges. too bad about the payment stuff though. too vague for me to subscribe.

Don Lenard
on 25 Dec 2010 at 00:02

(Rated 1 out of 5 stars)

I just checked and the babbel.com website doesn't give pricing info. Furthermore, it only accepts credit card payments, which are automatically renewed unless you cancel. Both of these are huge red flags that any consumer should run away from. When will companies learn to provide a good service with transparent pricing, instead of treating their customers as idiots to be cheated?

Don Lenard
on 25 Dec 2010 at 00:02

Christopher
on 29 Oct 2010 at 05:00

I've only been using it for a short period (1 week) in conjunction with iphone app, but for me it's actually been quite a good experience. Variety in learning, tracking and social network. Only obvious down side is cost (a little high) and far too many people using it as a sort of flirt/dating site.

Anonymous
on 21 Feb 2010 at 00:46

Not impressed by Babbel.It is very hard to cancel. The application does not accept changes.

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