Positives
- Variety of exercises
- Cultural context
- Review reminders
- Native speaker voice actors
- 20-day money-back guarantee
Negatives
- Limited language portfolio
- No 24/7 customer support
With millions of active subscribers all around the world, Babbel sits at the top of the industry as one of the best-selling language learning apps. The courses use real-life situations, which means students are ready to have conversations within the first three weeks. Babbel offers complete writing, listening, and speaking exercises to teach vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and cultural trivia. There are also various extras, such as games, podcasts, and live classes. Unfortunately, Babbel only teaches 13 different language courses, but they’ve been carefully created by a team of over 150 language experts. You can try one class for free, but to gain full access to Babbel’s teaching methods, you’ll need to subscribe. There is no free trial but you can take advantage of the 20-day money-back guarantee.
Features
Even though Babbel has a limited portfolio of 13 languages, it does cover the most popular ones, such as Spanish, French, Russian, and German. More importantly, each course has been meticulously designed by a team of language experts to ensure an efficient learning experience.
If you want to learn a language, practice is key. So, there’s no better way than to start speaking right from the get-go with exercises based on real-life situations. Babbel uses voice recognition to check whether you’re saying the right words and using the correct pronunciation. It would be even better if Babbel was able to pinpoint exactly where you are making a mistake, but unfortunately, that’s not possible.
Slowly Building up to an Immersive Experience
Immersion is considered the fastest way to learn a new language. Babbel knows that and gently builds up to an immersive experience where everything is written in the language you’re learning. But don’t worry – this only happens in the more advanced classes. So, beginners have the comfort of their mother tongue while getting the knack of the language they’re studying.
Babbel Vocabulary Exercise
Babbel Grammar Exercise
Babbel Speaking Exercise
Babbel Dialogues
There’s plenty of variety when it comes to the exercises, which makes the learning process especially enjoyable. There are the more typical lessons for vocabulary memorization – such as matching words to the correct images – but students also get to complete dialogues and explain what’s happening after listening to a conversation. Plus, Babbel teaches you about the culture, people and history of a language, and much more.
Making Learning Engaging
How often do people start learning a new language only to drop it after a few weeks? It’s essential that courses are engaging and make you want to return to class. Babbel has created some features with that in mind.
It’s possible to review the content learned so far – something that Babbel reminds you of via email. Another pleasing addition is the calendar. It shows the studying days and review exercises you’ve done, making it easier to keep tabs on your schedules. Podcasts, videos, games, and a few other options are also there to make the learning process more interesting.
Babbel My Activity
Babbel Live Interface
Babbel Minigame Example
Babbel Podcasts
Finally, Babbel Live lets you take live classes with a group of up to six students. Although this requires a more expensive subscription, the language learning app offers an unlimited number of classes per month. The online lessons are available 24/7 and follow Babbel’s main course structure. This way, it’s easy to complement your daily exercises with a professional teacher whenever you want.
Course Structure
Babbel lets you decide what type of course structure you prefer. It’s possible to follow the designated path or you can jump between levels. Each lesson takes around ten minutes, and if you stick to a regular schedule, you’ll be able to have basic conversations within three weeks. Moreover, the software provides specific courses for different objectives in the ‘more courses’ tab, such as travel, work, and mental workout. When you go for this option, Babbel selects the lessons you haven’t done yet that better correspond to what you’re looking for.
Babbel Course Overview
Babbel Extra Courses
Babbel Placement Test
Babbel Certificate
Students coming back to their studies can take a placement test. However, this feature still needs some improvement, as it only includes a few auto-evaluation questions and ten quick exercises – not enough to give a sense of what they know.
Platforms
The only way to access Babbel on a computer is through a browser, but you can access the platform on mobile by using the Android or iOS apps. The account synchronizes between devices, enabling you to leave a class halfway and continue it later using another supported device.
Babbel looks great on the computer. The design is fresh and modern, and it’s easy to browse between classes and extra content. The same can be said about the mobile apps. Taking classes on the go is effortless, and your course overview is one tap away. Everything is available on mobile, including extra courses, live classes, videos, podcasts, practicing exercises, and minigames. We also like that Babbel gives the option to skip speaking classes altogether, which is perfect for those times you want to focus on other types of exercises – such as when you’re on public transportation.
Pricing
Just like its learning process, Babbel’s pricing structure is simple. The Standard plan – which comes at a monthly, quarterly, biannual, or annual subscription – offers full access to one language course. Usually, prices range from $6.25 to $13.95 per month, but Best Reviews readers get the option to get a lifetime subscription that comes with a special 60% discount.
Students who want to learn more than one language at a time will be happy to know about Babbel Complete. For as little as $129 per year, Babbel offers access to all its language courses. Due to its impressively low price, Babbel Complete is worth the investment even if you only want to learn two languages simultaneously. Last but not least, Babbel Live allows you to take an unlimited number of live classes for one language – as well as have full access to the platform – for only $49.92 per month.
There is no free version of the software, but it’s possible to try the first lesson of any of the available courses at zero cost. Additionally, you can count on a 20-day money-back guarantee to test the platform for yourself.
Customer Service
Although Babbel doesn’t offer 24/7 support, it does have various channels to get in touch with customer service. The best way to have a more direct conversation is by using the live chat or calling the company. The phone lines are open during weekdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time. Emailing Babbel is also an option and you can expect a response within 24 hours. Moreover, Babbel is active on both Facebook and Twitter, so if you’re more of a social media person, you can reach out by tweeting the company or sending a direct message on Messenger. And those who prefer to do their own research can easily navigate through Babbel’s knowledge base. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, you can ask a chatbot to point you in the right direction.
Bottom Line
After trying out Babbel, it’s easy to understand why so many people use it. Besides the excellent course structure that rapidly teaches you how to speak a new language, the software is modern and user-friendly. Although Babbel would indeed benefit from having a wider range of courses, each language program is meticulously built by a team of experts, teaching far more than just the language. Students also learn about the language’s culture, people, history, and more. Additionally, due to the wide variety of materials provided (such as podcasts, videos, and minigames), Babbel keeps its courses fresh and engaging. In short, Babbel teaches you how to speak, write, and act like a native. Babbel costs as little as $6.25 per month and offers a 20-day money-back guarantee to test the platform.