Do you get FOMO when choosing language learning resources? I do. Every time I start learning a new language I think to myself “Which app will I use?”. Recently I started learning Spanish, so I did some research about which app to use, and of course Babbel is always in contention.
So why might you choose Babbel?
Babbel always feels like the ‘serious’ choice for apps. As a serial language learner, I often feel like I should choose it. While not the prettiest app, Babbel claims to have a ‘world-class didactic method’ at its core. So what does that mean, why you should care, and what does Babbel offers the language learner.
What Is The Babbel App
The Babbel app (and website) is a language learning platform designed to take you from absolute beginner to “advanced”… which from what I can tell may actually be around B2, and only in some languages. French and Spanish seem to have the most advanced courses, whereas some like Indonesian only have a couple of beginner courses.
The didactic approach is holistic, integrating contemporary theories of learning and teaching. Consequently, the learner develops a broad base of language skills. Babbel integrates activites in reading, writing, listening and speaking to teach both vocabulary and grammar. The activities are designed to be lifelike and practical, teaching through dialogue. It also has voice recognition, to help check your pronunciation, and the ability to review past lessons at will.
One of Babbel’s advantages over some other apps is that you can assess your level of language, and choose to start your learning accordingly. There is no need to start from scratch, as most other apps, like Duolingo, force you to do. This is great if you are a ‘false beginner’, or if you have been learning with some other app and decide to make the change.
It also has the option to be picky about including accents over letters when you are answering, or to turn it off and not worry about them. Personally I think they are important to learn if you want to write in the language well, but you may have reasons to turn them off.
There are also specific courses on grammar that you can choose to complete.
Babbel Podcasts
To supplement the excercises in the app, Babbel has podcasts available through Spotify, Google and Apple Podcasts. Some are about general life, others more specifically language learning, and the levels range from beginner to advanced. Best of all, these podcasts are available for free; you do not need to have a subscription to access them.
What is Babbel Live?
Babbel Live is a separate subscription program for Spanish, French, German or Italian that includes live classes in your target language, in addition to use of the app courses. You choose between 5, 10 and 20 classes per month (prices are AU$130, AU$225 and AU$385 per month). Classes are limited to just 6 people, and you can choose the topic, level of class and time from an extensive schedule.
Languages On Babbel
Babbel has presently has courses across 13 languages for English speakers (as of June, 2021). Each language has a different number of courses available. As you can see, some of them are quite substantial… others, not so much. But the subscription is the same, regardless of language.
| Danish | Newcomer – 3 courses Beginner I – 4 courses Beginner II – 1 course Grammar – 2 courses Pronunciation – 4 courses Countries and Traditions – 3 courses Specials – 2 courses Words and Sentences – 19 courses | Polish | Newcomer – 2 courses Beginner I – 7 courses Beginner II – 6 courses Grammar – 9 courses Countries and Traditions – 3 courses Specials – 8 courses Words and Sentences – 19 courses |
| Dutch | Newcomer – 3 courses Beginner I – 4 courses Beginner II – 4 courses Pre-intermediate – 2 courses Grammar – 5 courses Listening and Speaking – 3 courses Countries and Traditions – 4 courses Specials – 3 courses Words and Sentences – 19 courses | Portuguese | Newcomer – 2 courses Beginner I – 3 courses Beginner II – 3 courses Pre-intermediate – 3 courses Intermediate – 2 courses Refresher – 1 course Grammar – 5 courses Countries and Traditions – 3 courses Specials – 5 courses Words and Sentences – 31 courses |
| French | Newcomer – 3 courses Beginner I – 4 courses Beginner II – 4 courses Pre-intermediate – 2 courses Intermediate – 4 courses Independent – 2 courses Advanced – 1 course Refresher – 2 courses Grammar – 7 courses Listening and Speaking – 6 courses Countries and Traditions – 6 courses Specials – 7 courses Words and Sentences – 31 courses | Russian | Newcomer – 2 courses Beginner I – 8 courses Grammar – 3 courses Countries and Traditions – 4 courses Specials – 4 courses Words and Sentences – 19 courses |
| German | Newcomer – 3 courses Beginner I – 3 courses Beginner II – 2 courses Pre-intermediate – 3 courses Intermediate – 3 courses Independent – 2 courses Refresher – 2 courses Grammar – 6 courses Listening and Speaking – 5 courses Business German – 7 courses Reading and Writing – 2 courses Countries and Traditions – 4 courses Specials – 5 courses Words and Sentences – 31 courses | Spanish | Newcomer – 3 courses Beginner I – 3 courses Beginner II – 3 courses Pre-intermediate – 2 courses Intermediate – 4 courses Independent – 3 courses Advanced – 1 course Mexican Spanish – 6 courses Refresher – 2 courses Grammar – 6 courses Business Spanish – 5 courses Listening and Speaking – 6 courses Countries and Traditions – 5 courses Specials – 6 courses Words and Sentences – 31 courses |
| Indonesian | Newcomer – 2 courses Beginner I – 2 courses Beginner II – 2 courses Words and Sentences – 19 courses Specials – 2 courses | Swedish | Newcomer – 2 courses Beginner I – 4 courses Beginner II – 4 courses Pre-Intermediate – 2 courses Intermediate – 1 course Refresher – 2 courses Grammar – 4 courses Countries and Traditions – 6 courses Listening and Speaking – 4 courses Specials – 4 courses Words and Sentences – 31 courses |
| Italian | Newcomer – 2 courses Beginner I – 4 courses Beginner II – 4 courses Pre-intermediate – 5 courses Intermediate – 5 courses Independent – 1 course Refresher – 2 courses Grammar – 8 courses Listening and Speaking – 4 courses Countries and Traditions – 5 courses Specials – 5 courses Words and Sentences – 31 courses | Turkish | Newcomer – 2 courses Beginner I – 6 courses Beginner II – 7 courses Grammar – 11 courses Specials – 10 courses Words and Sentences – 22 courses |
| Norwegian | Newcomer – 2 courses Beginner I – 4 courses Beginner II – 4 courses Grammar – 6 courses Countries and Traditions – 3 courses Specials – 5 courses Words and Sentences – 19 courses |
Is Babbel Free?
Babbel is generally not free. When you sign up, you can access the first lesson for free, but then you must subscribe to access the rest of the lessons. However, it is giftable – so you might be able to convince your rich uncle to buy you a subscription 🙂
Also, many employers and schools have organisational licences for Babbel, so it is worth checking to see if you are able to access the courses that way.
How Much Does Babbel Cost?
Babbel has four subscription options. In Australia,
- 1 month of access to Babbel costs AU$19.99
- A 3-month subscription to Babbel costs AU$14.99 per month
- A 6-month subscription to Babbel costs AU$12.99 per month
- A 12-month subscription to Babbel costs AU$9.99 per month
In the USA, the prices are as follows:
- 1 month of access to Babbel costs US$13.95
- A 3-month subscription to Babbel costs US$9.95 per month
- A 6-month subscription to Babbel costs US$8.45 per month
- A 12-month subscription to Babbel costs US$6.95 per month
It is worth noting, these subscriptions are for access to ONE LANGUAGE. If you want to access a different language, you can either pay for another subscription, or purchase a yearly subscription to Babbel Complete.
What is the Babbel Complete Subscription?
Babbel Complete Subscription allows you to access all the languages offered by Babbel. Yearly subscription is AU$139.95 (payable in advance).
You may have heard in 2020 that Babbel was offering discounted lifetime subscriptions at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. At the time of writing (May 2021) this deal is still accessible for new users to purchase a lifetime subscription to Babble from Mashable for $299. This option is not on Babbel’s website, but it also offers access to every language on the Babbel platform, for a single lifetime cost. If you just love Babbel, and want to learn at least 3 languages that they offer, this is going to be worth considering.
Is Babbel Worth It?
Babbel is not the cheapest option out there for language learning, but sometimes cheapest is not the most economical. For most learners who are only wanting access to one language, at least at any one point in time, Babbel is twice the price of Duolingo if you pay monthly. But it does have the added flexibility of language level testing, ease of moving between courses within the language, and a more lifelike style of learning.
If you are a serial language learner, or like to have a couple of languages on the go, now would be a good time to purchase the lifetime access through Mashable!
Is Babbel Effective?
Babbel is effective at what it is designed as: a flashcard app, with added audio and other features. While it does test pronunciation, this is a minor part of the learning activities. One of the weaknesses of apps is that they are often a more passive style of learning. Consequently, the learner can become quite good at recognising language when they see it, or hear it, but can still be weak on generating language to speak or write.
It also can feel a bit … well, repetitive, and dare I say, even boring. But maybe that is just because so many apps are so gamified, that I have become used to being entertained a little. It certainly has had a lot of thought put into it, and I have a lot of confidence in it as a serious educational aid.
Naturally, it goes without saying that the Babbel app alone is not a complete language learning resource. In order to build active language skills, I strongly suggest you either invest in the Babbel Live program, or find some other way to develop your active conversational skills. It doesn’t matter if that is formal lessons, with another provider such as iTalki, or if it is a local language exchange, expat group, or target language meetup.
Conclusion
So there you have it… my Babbel Review for 2021. So, did I choose to use it for Spanish? Well… no. I went back to Memrise, which is largely free, but for which I have an annual subscription anyway. Memrise doesn’t have the podcasts, nor the live classes, but most of the other features it does. And while it may not be quite as rigorous as Babbel, I do not depend on my tools to be rigorous – I do that myself. Nevertheless, everytime I look at Babbel, I am impressed with the effort they put in to make it a great quality product.