Babbel - Language Learning

Education
Rating
4.7 (506.8K)
Size
86.9 MB
Age rating
12+
Current version
21.32.0
Price
Free
Seller
Babbel GmbH
Last update
7 months ago
Version OS
14.0 or later
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User Reviews for Babbel - Language Learning

4.72 out of 5
506.8K Ratings
4 years ago, Acronics
Very Good For Learning Several Languages!
I’ve been using Babbel for about a year now, solely studying French, and I’ve been doing trés bien. The spacing of each review is effective, memorable, and helpful for communicating generally. I feel efficient speaking the language while also being able to confidently pronounce my words correctly. Many of the leçons are unique and I personally find them to be funny from time to time. Some few problems I have with the app include; being taught phrases that wouldn’t be used in the day to day conversation(even in depth)-the app having occasional listening problems despite my voice being clear(whether that might be my accent I don’t no)-finding myself doing the same set of words for a review back to back-& glitches that will cause me to close out the app and restart from the beginning of the lesson. It’s just a shame I wasn’t able to revisit France due to the World’s pandemic or I would’ve been able to really enjoy the experience. Besides, it’s a splendid effort👍🏾 (Ps. if you could, add Irish as a language as well along with some other one country based languages. Lived there for some years in my childhood so would like to learn some more besides the basics)
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1 year ago, Moto_4_Lyfe
Great!! except one small thing..
I love this app. I’ve tried others before and still have a few, but Babbel is by far my overall favorite. I also have appreciated the regular and effective updates. The reason for not having 5 stars is because due to my daily schedule, my free time is later in the evening. I’d much appreciate a dark mode. The white screen is difficult to look at even with brightness on the lowest setting. I searched the settings in hopes of finding that option but sadly, it’s not there. I’m sure others would appreciate a black screen to make it easier on the eyes for a last minute lesson before bed! My second suggestion would perhaps be some type of leaderboard? Maybe something to add a little friendly competition with each language community? One can only hope. Everything else I enjoy and look forward to the future of Babbel! Update: Absolutely amazing app for vocabulary, listening, and some speaking. However, some lessons being fully dedicated to grammar, word order, etc.. with some reading material, exercises, quizzes would be nice. I am noticing that even with a decent vocabulary and decent pronunciation, the lack of grammar knowledge in my learning language makes it difficult to actually create my own phrases. Rather than just repeat phrases from the course, it’s nice to better understand how to structure and put things together on your own! I never remember the little grammar notes buried within the normal lessons.
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3 years ago, PercabethRules
Seems, great but I don't really know
I finished the first lesson and learned a few words! I am doing french just to pass the time, its not like i am going to france or anything and need to learn it. Since there is no true NEED for me to learn french and i was just doing it for fun, my mom would not let me pay for lessons. In ads or commercials i have seen, it says it is free. I did the first lesson, didn't have any problem with anything, and I really love the way it teaches you! The only thing is I wont be able to learn anything beside, hello, goodbye, and how are you? Since im not aloud to buy anything. At first i thought it was an add, but then i clicked away from it and tried to re enter the lesson, and it still didnt work! It really is a great app, but maybe you could give like the first tenn lessons free or something, and then you can give the option to buy the next ten lessons with money, and every time you get a question right you could get like stars or something and buy a lesson with stars. Im just saying this for people like me who dont want to spend their money on this app if they are not using it for anything, they should still have the option to learn! Also, you should add a few more languages. I was signing up and noticed thst there was only like six. The real reason I downloaded it was so i could learn greek. Definetly would be the best app ive ever tried to learn a language with if not for the price! God bless!
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2 years ago, stachouli
Where’s the customer service.
First off, this language app is far superior to any other language app out there. I used it for three years while living in Germany and had a yearly plan for German. I just moved back to the states and hadn’t been using the app for awhile due to the move preparations and process. Today I tried to use the app and consider switching to Spanish but all my German data was gone and it said my access was only limited. However, when I look at my subscriptions in my phone settings, I still have my annual German language subscription; yet when I go into the app and try to restore purchases there are none to be found. Tried to find a way to contact a human through the app and their website, but couldn’t find anything. I suspect the problem lay in the fact when I moved back to the States and got a new phone and US number it messed with my subscription somehow. But if I am unable to contact a customer service person, how am I able to troubleshoot on my own. My annual subscription was set to renew in 3 days so there’s not much time to figure it out before I get hit with another annual charge for something that doesn’t work. So i cancelled my (non-functioning) subscription via Apple, deleted the app and came straight here to review. So take my fresh emotions tirade for what it’s worth. This app was great while it worked, but todays prices for the subscription I already had is now twice the price.
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8 months ago, fsmilwaukee
Good format but be VERY sure of lamguage
Be sure what language you would like to practice bc you are locked into that language. I paid for a 1 month subscription and wanted to study 2 languages. You cannot toggle languages and must pay for 1 subscription per language. It’s my own fault for not carefully reading the terms and conditions. Had I done so I would have gone with Rosetta Stone, which offers more flexibility in choosing languages. Its an excellent app otherwise and would have rated it 5 stars had I not been asked to pay for 2 subscriptions. I suggest using Duolingo to try out languages before subscribing to this app, unless you know for sure what language you wish to learn. I must learn French AND German for work and knew this from the get go, but was under the impression I could switch back and forth for my study regimen (MWFSu-Fr, TThSa-Gr). However, on my second day using the app I was prompted to resubscribe. I personally like Rosetta Stone as a viable alternative and would have gone with them, just bc you have more flexibility. Altho, the functionality and quality of the Babbel app is superior, in my opinion. If you need to study one language and are positive on what language you want to commit to, I recommend Babbel. If you aren’t sure or need to study more than one language, I definitely recommend another app, unless you are willing to pay for 2 subscriptions.
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2 years ago, Starlight55971
Useful but frustrating at times
Overall I like the app. It has taught me things I didn’t know before and I continue to learn from it. I’ve been learning German every day for two years now and started this a few months ago. I like the speaking part, though I’m not sure why I have to hold my finger on the screen the whole time I’m talking. The word and phrase reviews are helpful. I’m not sure I’m a fan but the word scramble is OK. I love the stories. What frustrates me the most is that I am expected to remember perfect spelling of words I just learned and there is no room for any sort of mistake. Imagine visiting the home of someone that speaks a foreign language and you missed the slightest thing and get slapped with a ruler. Wrong. Any wonder why you might want to stop talking? I mean I spelled Waschmaschine as Waschmachine. Wrong? Yes. And the app is happy to tell you that. Pretty discouraging. I also don’t know that I agree with them using a non-Apple keyboard input because many mistakes I find are due to that keyboard versus Apple’s. I like the app and continue to use it. I just disagree with the beat down and I am frustrated enough to write about it. Babel tells me I’m supposed to go to Babbel wish board for any suggestions yet clicking on go to wish board does nothing. Makes sense.
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3 years ago, Dacia Nedd
Great app But not for conversation in Spanish
rHi everyone at Babbel. I think that this is really a great app to help people learn Spanish. But the one issue that I have is that I am a black African American woman and I am a native English speaker. I have spoken English for most of my life, no other languages. But now I have just met a guy that I am seeing and he speaks Spanish, he knows English but he does not know a lot of English. So I have to learn his language so that he and I can be able to talk to each other and get to know each other. But it’s alittle difficult with this app because they teach you basic phrases but not enough to have a full everyday conversation and form sentences. Also some of the phrases that they teach are Stuff that you wouldn’t use in regular conversation. Like people being from Germany or France. I understand they are trying to make sure we get a well rounded education and that’s good. But I don’t want to be a pro at Spanish, I want to be fluent enough so that I can talk to my guy. I know i just started a few days ago and I know I am not gonna be fluent fast. But I am just saying teach me how to form sentences with the phrases I am learning. Other than this, I think Babbel is a great app for people who already know the language and just need to brush up on their skills, not really for a beginner.
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1 year ago, Scarlett Gunner
My favorite way to learn a new language!
I absolutely love the Babbel app! I have tried a few different apps and programs to learn a new language, most of which didn’t work for me. I always grew bored or irritated pretty quickly and stopped. The Babbel app breaks the language down in an easy to absorb way and then reiterates each lesson multiple times and in many different fun ways. The app also tracks all the words you’ve learned and organizes them in your Review module for you. Then it will remind you to review your vocabulary regularly, offer at least four different fun ways to review it, and once you have correctly defined a word so many times, it takes it out of rotation for a while. Also, the different formats they use to reiterate the lesson ensures you can not only Understand the Spoken language but also Speak it well and Read and Write it too! It’s actually Fun learning with Babbel and feels like I’m playing a game! If you learn with Babbel for 15 minutes a day every day, you will be speaking a new language in 6 months! I’m going to try to learn Spanish and French this year. I should be trilingual by the end of 2023!!!
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4 years ago, Claireslover16
For All
This is an app for not just kids, but adults. It started out my mom and I were setting it up, and it only lets me do one lesson and the rest you have to pay for. On the TV we saw the advertisement for it, and it says you don’t have to pay anything! I think they should let people know about that! My friend does it too, and she said it is good but why do they charge you if it says it is COMPLETELY free?!?! I said the same. It is a great app! It just needs some improvements. I think they are going to have a great business over the pandemic and crisis over Coronavirus. No school so kids and adults can have fun! Just be prepared when there might be payments on apps like these. There are greedy people and they do this for money! Not just for the heck of it! I also noticed that it was fun I g slow..... we have good WiFi and service! There was another person saying the same thing! It was on and everything! I got off and back thinking “Well maybe it will work! This has been loading for 30 minutes now!” And get back in..... 😡 FOR REAL PEOPLE WHAT IS WRONG I JUST WANT TO LEARN SPANISH!!! It took a while. Finally loaded. I had this rate at a 5 and..... NO it is going to two! If this doesn’t improve, (NO JOKE) I will delete it and not have anyone in my family get it! I mean this is redic! Well I need a word back from the people sometime! In the meantime, Adios! Keep learning!
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5 years ago, brushing_up
Good, but hoping for AI and UX improvements
Through 16 lessons at this point, and overall enjoying Babbel. I formerly used Duolingo, which seemed too vocabulary based. I'm happy I switched to Babbel for building conversational experience. I appreciate the tooltips differentiating European/Spain Spanish and Latin American words. Those are helpful distinctions I didn't get in three years of in-person classes. Also, I appreciate the variation of native speaking voices. It's helpful to hear varying genders, vocal tone/pitch, correct emphasis and pronunciations. My criticisms regarding the app and the experience follow: 1) There's zero forgiveness for slight misspellings/typos. A flag /warning before counting it against the user would be nice. We're learning here. 2) The matching games/exercises have a confusing UX. It's unclear where to drag and drop and the color selections are all gray, which is not helpful in guiding users through the exercise. 3) While I realise Babbel isn't aiming to gamify language learning, it could benefit from incentivizing users somehow. This could be as simple as congratulating or tracking your progress or improvements. It's very boring to see the simple fact I've completed x/100 lessons. Make it a little fun, and I will be more likely to renew my subscription. Without these improvements, I'm likely to head back to Duolingo.
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2 years ago, NickiGreates😊
Trying to Learn French
Not really beginner friendly. I’m learning French, with no prior knowledge and I believe It’s best for those already with some knowledge, I found it to be difficult and due to that difficulty, I started lacking the motivation to learn. Unlike Duolingo, where I used the app consistently for an entire month and I couldn’t make it a week with Babbel. Key differences between the two: Duolingo introduces new words and how to pronounce them throughout the lesson, gives you the chance to master those words, how to pronounce the words, what it similar to more accurately, you can individually click on a word for the speaker to repeat. Whereas with Babbel, it starts of with you learning sentences and speaking it with no background which can be frustrating, the speaker repeats the entire sentence, in the middle of the lesson there’s an “school vibe” telling you the different conjugates forms, love the memory page aesthetic and give you different options, there’s no order to learn. It’s just personal preference, I paid for both apps. For some reason, Babbel audio started giving me problems when my phone volume was turned down, Babbel audio was loud and I even reset my phone thrice. Hopefully they fix it because it’s annoying.
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5 years ago, Rvbjiuj
Review
So far I’ve been using Babbel for a few months. It’s a nice addition to Duolingo but I have a few complaints. One is the app’s recognition of pronunciation. If you pause to take a breath between saying the imperfective and perfective form of the verb it doesn’t recognize it as correct. The audio recognition is immensely time sensitive, meaning if you say the word too early or too late it won’t recognize it. For example, you press the voice button, it says the word and if you don’t repeat it in less than a second it marks it as wrong. Duolingo’s voice recognition is better than Babbel’s. Babbel also dumps a ton of vocabulary on you and doesn’t include it in subsequent lessons which even when you’re doing the vocabulary review daily like I am, makes learning new vocabulary difficult. It’s also giving words I wouldn’t normally use in conversation like hexagon and mold, etc. Would like more common language lessons. Update: So I just used the new speaking portion of the vocabulary review and I have to say it is a vast improvement! So congrats to the developers. It makes a lot more sense to hold the mic button while you’re talking and then release it when you’re done. I’m getting almost no answers wrong when I pronounce the word correctly now which is awesome and a whole lot less frustrating. I actually really enjoyed using it!
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2 years ago, Veniamo
Good-but could be better. Here is how.
I’ve been using the Babble app for almost a year now, so my thoughts come with some validity. My thoughts are that generally it is pretty good. There are a few minor improvements that could be made here and there with the user interface but no two designers would agree. Here is my biggest peeve. Babble asks that you listen to the dialogue between two speakers, and then asks you questions regarding the conversation. Fine. But here is the problem. First, Babble introduces new vocabulary in the conversation-not helpful. Second, the speakers are speaking at full speed street level Italian. My brain does not translate Italian that fast Babble! Slow it down. Finally, there is no way that you are able to see the English translation of the conversation. I get it, Babble is testing your comprehension. However, AFTER you answer the questions about the conversation we should be able to display the conversation in English. Some of the Babble exercises do allow the display of English, but not the conversation exercise. I find Babble very frustrating at times and am thinking about ending my subscription to Babble and finding another app that is more to my liking and learning style.
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4 years ago, JJCOOKIECRUM
Hi
Hi to the developer but I love this idea and I love this app. The idea of having no ads in an app is a very smart idea but I honestly think they should not have to pay to get the lessons. Some people may not have the money to be able to buy the lessons that’s very important money that could be going to something else I could just buy a free app but I really do love this app but I say I think you should make lessons that on as advanced as if you pay for them but they’re still good I think you should make free lessons for people who cannot afford buying the lessons this is just my opinion and you don’t have to listen to my opinion but I just think it be a better idea because everybody doesn’t have money to be able to buy these lessons that I could just back download Duolingo or something like that so that’s just my opinion I am very very sorry that I’m complaining to you but I just wish somethings would change about this app that’s why I’m giving it the rating that it has so anybody if you are reading this this app cost money I mean if you read the description on the app then you’re fine but yeah thank you so much for reading this I hope you get to respond to it because it’s very very important to me because I really am trying to learn Spanish because you know it’s really fun and I really wanna learn it but I do not wanna have to pay for education.
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5 years ago, corey.chandler13
Quite Good
I went to France last winter & enjoyed listening to the language and getting a feel for the local culture in Paris. So I decided to get this app and committed to 6 months of full access (probably paid ~$30) After 3 months I have been able to converse and understand fluent/native speakers for the most part. Of course there are many more words and verbs to learn and understand, but it comes with time. I am on beginner course 4 and feel that I have made great practice, the recorded speakers allow you to hear the accents used and are much better than an automated version (computer voice). It is nice to be able to learn a new language on my own time, and even better when I can see the results pay off. I have received compliments on my accent and the amount of vocabulary I have learned in only 3 months. Would recommend for anyone trying to pick up a little French or other languages before a vacation, or just to try something you have never done. It can be frustrating learning very basic phrases at first, but if you practice them and look up words/phrases on your own you may be surprised how much you may learn. Peut-être devriez-vous l’essayer!
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3 years ago, Baelfire713
Great app but,
My only thing so far is I feel like you should be able to purchase a longer subscription but be able to make monthly payments towards it. For example: someone may want to commit to a year or even two, but it’s much more doable to spend a few dollars monthly, than to pay hundreds at once. I get that you can pay for a monthly subscription that re-ups each month, but that comes a higher rate as well, which in the end really adds up and may make it feel less worth it, especially since you may not know what you’re really getting for that money in the first place. I just feel like this really cuts out a lot of potential customers and is borderline discrimination, financially. I completely understand needing to make a profit, but I think it could be done in a more fair way- and if anything you’d likely be making more money as opposed to losing money over it. But, I just personally believe educational tools should be accessible to everyone. Anyhow, it is a great app from what I’ve seen so far, and seems like it really guides you in how to have real conversation, rather than just being able to pick up on some random vocabulary, which is the case with some of the other tools/apps out there.
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2 months ago, RostenC
Very bad experience.
I would have reviewed the product negatively if only for the bad user experience of the voice recognition software. But now I’m primarily reviewing it badly because of their ridiculous financial practices. I tried the app for a couple of weeks, but the voice recognition software didn’t work for me. Somehow it couldn’t recognize the way I was saying words in Spanish, so I couldn’t pass those portions of the lessons. And because there was no way to simply skip that portion of the lesson, I was stuck. It rendered the app unusable. I thought that I canceled my subscription, until my wife told me a couple of days ago that I’ve been charged three more times in the last two years. Apparently I didn’t cancel when I thought I did. That’s obviously my fault, and I’m cool not getting a refund for most of that time. But then when I requested a refund for the six months that they just charged me for a week ago, they told me it’s their policy to not refund auto charges. That’s absurd. I haven’t used the app in two years, they can easily refund money to someone who has found no value in their product. I know lots of people have found value in this app. I am not one of them. Update to say that the company offered me a voucher for more of their products rather than refunding me for the next six months that I haven’t used and don’t intend to use.
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2 years ago, NJSpinDoctor
A little too pedantic when it comes to pronunciations
Overall I think this is a good app and I’m learning Spanish and recognizing new words and phrases. I think I need to immerse myself in the language more for it to really come together in my head, but the app is serving me well. My issue with it, though, is how it handles pronunciation and that it sometimes requires you to mimic the speaker in weird ways. Often it will say I’m not doing it right, but I can pass if I mimic the pitch of the speaker while saying the same phrase. If it’s a woman, I as a man will have to speak in a falsetto and only then will I get the green box and happy chirp saying I correctly pronounced it. The teacher sounds laconic and, yes, a little sleepy? Don’t try to speak it in an upbeat tone. Lean back into your seat, slump into your chair and talk as if roused from slumber. Victory! So, yeah, sometimes it’s frustrating and you have to be more of a mimic than speak in your own tone and cadence—even when your pronunciation is the same. Oh, yeah, and I’ve bobbled some words but, as long as I’m trying to do an impression of the original, I’ll get a passing grade. So, yes, AI has a way to go before it’s ready but, for the price, this is a heck of a lot cheaper than taking a live class and I can go at my own pace.
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2 years ago, Hermione Lovegood
The results speak for themselves
I have tried many language learning apps (Rosetta stone, Duolingo, Memrise, etc). Babbel is the only app that adequately prepared me to begin conversational practice in a completely new language. It is my firm belief that language apps cannot teach you another language to proficiency. The only way to do this is to actually speak with native speakers. Thus, a language app’s primary goal should be to prepare beginners to start having conversations. Babbel does exactly that! Babbel teaches important vocabulary and basic grammar without expecting you to memorize huge amounts of information at once. It taught me grammar, the alphabet, and culture gradually as I learned conversational phrases. When I began conversing with native speakers, I was frequently complimented on my good pronunciation. This is because Babbel incorporates pronunciation practice as a feature and provides helpful pronunciation guides. This is the only language app that has demonstrably improved my progression in a foreign language. I would recommend it above all others, especially considering the relatively low price and the wide variety of languages offered.
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5 years ago, RADiller
Best learning experience for me so far
I’ve been trying to learn Swedish for almost 2 years. I live with a native speaker and have picked up a few phrases here and there but was far from fluent. I used Duolingo for about a year off and on but their sentence construction was absolute garbage. Duolingo had me saying things like “Sköldpaddan älskar fålgarna” (the turtle loves the birds). I understand learning basic vocabulary and everything but these sentences got really ridiculous at times; not to mention boring and redundant. Babbel on the other hand provides real examples of phrases one might encounter in Sweden. And I love how they make me work for it. In later lessons, when teaching new words, it will bury the new word in a sentence full of words I’ve never heard or seen. This was confusing at first but really introduces the context of the language as a whole and after a month of this I started picking up whole sentences that my partner would say on the phone to her parents. Well done Babbel, would highly recommend to someone who is actually trying to learn a new language. But just remember you have to be willing to try and fail along the way. My partner makes fun of me all the time😘
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4 years ago, Kathlyna
Nice app!
I’ve updated my review to five stars. I had an issue getting the store and the app to talk to each other. Took a bit of chatting with customer support to get full access, but it got sorted. Now that I have full access to the app I am very pleased with how the lessons are structured. I am enjoying the images, the script, but what I like the most are the focus points on how to sound out certain letters and sounds. Other apps don’t have that feature. This app is built like and actual learning course. I tried Duolingo and there was really no structure or explanation of how things worked or why in the other language. I felt like I was just blindly going along. I had lots of questions all the time. In this app they’ve planned ahead and have information points which help greatly. Which really help with not getting frustrated. I’m really happy going along and learning Dutch. I like that there are no “leagues” or races to see who can do the best each week. I can go at my own pace and not feel pressured because I didn’t get enough points a certain week. I would recommend taking screenshots and then making notes to reference later.
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5 years ago, Sydstr1
I’m sorry what
So, I know passable french, but I wanted to improve more. I thought to myself “oh every ad is pretty much Babbel and I have nothing to lose” so I downloaded the app. I was so excited to learn more french. I opened the app, filled out the beginning question and was presented with a challenge “beginner or advanced”. Now, I know I went to france and did a decent job of understanding and speaking so how hard could it be? Well, I chose advanced. The first question- my mind finds the answer to “what time is it” a phrase I leaned 4 years ago. Perhaps it’s just getting a feel for where I am... I click the right answer. It repeats the phrase in french. This is it, I think, I’m finally going to get another question and go back to learning! So I wait for it to load... and I wait... and I wait some more. Maybe it froze? I closed the app and opened it back up. I went back through the same survey thing and finally back to the question. I have this one under control now. I click the right answer. It doesn’t repeat the phrase. Okay, weird. I go to my home screen, open another app, and come back. I try the question again. It took half an hour and I’m on good wifi and service this is an issue with the app I couldn’t do anything why the hell did I think it would work? Everyone else said you get 6 free words but hey at least you got words all I got was a haunting reminder of the passage of time
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4 years ago, Dewberry June
Great so far! Would be great for homeschoolers!
I’ve only completed two lessons, but I absolutely love the essential information along the way. I also use another language learning app which does not give such information along the way. This is more straightforward and less game-like, so I feel that I understand more and am learning faster. Yet, don’t think it’s boring or too difficult because of the format. Absolutely the contrary! I am able to respond without having to think about it so much; I just know it better this way. It definitely is intuitive, natural learning! Thanks for such a great app! If this stays available, maybe I can learn another language after Spanish! This is definitely worth the small monthly fee for anyone serious about learning a different language. I wish this had been available when my daughter was learning Spanish as a homeschool course. She didn’t retain anything really from the expensive curriculum with many bulky books, but I really think she would love this and actually learn the language! Thanks for all your hard work put into this app! Or rather...Gracias por todo su arduo trabajo!
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6 years ago, 240sxdesign
Coming from Pimsluer Russian
I studied Pimsluer Russian but the duration of time it took along with the lack of writing and visuals made it easy to speak but difficult to ensure I was saying the right thing, either pronunciation or the right version of the word within the sentence, such as “a” and “и.” I did make it through Stage 1 (of 3) with them and it made the beginning of this app very simple as I knew a good amount right off the bat, but this app ties in visual, auditory, muscle and speach in a way that’s much quicker and easier to understand what you are saying. I also found it really helpful the way they group the language together, and how they explain how and why certain parts of the language are the way they are. These concepts are essential to understanding the language but I was completely missing out with Pimsluer. It’s fast, fun and can be done in my free time. If I take a week off I can be confident to pick it all back up again rather than be faced with the choice to listen to a 45 minute seminar that I’ve already heard or go to the next one and not remember everything from last week. Try the app out! It’s fun and refreshing!
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3 years ago, kleypack
Great service, decent app
UPDATE: They’ve just addressed my biggest complaint from below—no more custom keyboard. It switches to the stock keyboard of the language you’re learning, and my frustrating typos are gone. Love it! Updated the design too, and it’s look cleaner and more legible. Nearly perfect now! Five stars for Babbel the service, three stars for the app. I’ve been using Duolingo for a couple years and started Babbel a couple months ago. The lessons feel both more natural and in-depth compared to Duo. They dig deep into the mechanics of the grammar in a super helpful—and approachable—way. And I can’t overstate how much more useful the audio is here, with actual human, natural-sounding voices, in contrast to Duo’s robo voices. The app could use a little love though. My biggest gripe is the custom keyboard. Please just let us use the system keyboard. I’m prone to so many more errors with the custom board, and it leads to incorrect answers due to typos. Less urgently, the design just feels a little dated overall. A dark mode feels overdue as well. But overall, highly, highly recommend Babbel!
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5 years ago, MLE956
Pretty good!
This app does a pretty good job of building up the difficulty of learning a language. I grew up in a Spanish speaking household, so already had a pretty good basic understanding of the language. What I was hoping to work on with this app were my speaking and grammar skills so that I could speak properly with people at work. Growing up, we would often respond in English or Spanglish so my communication never really advanced. I started on the intermediate section just to ensure I had the grammar basics down correctly. Babble starts off pretty simple and I was concerned it may be too easy, but as you progress the lessons really start to build on themselves. What I find useful is repeating the phrases, words, etc... even if not asked to do so. You should definitely try to practice outside of the app to really get the hang of speaking, but overall this app is pretty good! One thing I wish it offered was to choose the type of Spanish you're learning or at least show the variations throughout the lessons. Sayings are quite different and some I would never use when speaking to family or people at work (at least where I live and the population I work/interact with).
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4 years ago, Lilpeach29
Pretty good, happy with it overall
First - frustrating glitches. When you’re in a lesson (ipad app) the “close” button doesn’t work. So there’s no way to leave the lesson without exiting the app. Then, you’re progress doesn’t save, and you have to start the lesson again. Also, why is the speaking and listening so slow?? When you listen to the phrase, and then speak it back, the button doesn’t depress, it starts recording very very slowly, and often comes back incorrect. It makes the verbal practice very annoying. Otherwise, I have mostly enjoyed this app. I have previously taken Spanish classes but haven’t used it much for years, and wanted to brush up. This app is great for that. I’m not sure how I might feel if I had no experience. It doesn’t always feel like the amount of practice is enough. Rather than slowly teach and reinforce a concept, and expose you do different vocabulary, each unit focuses mostly on a handful of key phrases. Sometimes it leaves me feeling like I’m just memorizing the repetitive questions and phrases without really learning to converse. So I’d suggest more varied types of practice, as well as spending more time in each unit.
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3 weeks ago, VocabularyFun
Last update ruined the replay feature
Please fix your last update. 1of4: When I do the daily vocabulary, most of the time the choices cover up the replay button so I can’t replay the sound. 2of4: Second problem, there’s a 50/50 chance that after I select the word that I think I heard, it shifts the screen so you can’t see the correct answer. These terrible problems didn’t exist before your last update. Reenable the listening section to allow us to have access to the replay button and reenable the feature that allows us to see the correct answers everytime after a selection is made. Also please make vocabulary drills accessible at any time. Right now, you get 10 words a day then you can’t practice anymore until the following day. // 3of4 I would like unlimited vocabulary practice because I use Babbel on mass transit where I can’t speak. The lessons should also have a feature for when you can’t talk, for example on mass transit, dr’s office, on a work break, etc. 4of4: Please provide us non-speaking lessons like Duolingo in which you can select , “cannot speak for 15min” then you get no speaking lesson material. I switched to Babbel because it has more realistic sentences than Duolingo, but I don’t like how Babbel limits my practice to only when I can speak. //
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3 years ago, Soguesswhat
Love this App
I have been using this for a couple of weeks now to learn Spanish. I know some of the basic language but I really need to dive deeper because my in-laws don’t speak English. So far I love this app, because it focuses on both written and spoken language. The reviews are great, since they focus on your problem areas with repetition at different times. My only issue with it is that there is one person on there who speaks Spanish with very bad American accent, so when I have to repeat his phrases with correct pronunciation, the voice recognition won’t recognize me. Something as simple as “Como estás” will not recognize my repetition to save my life, and I’ve been speaking those phrases for over 20 years. It’s frustrating that it recognizes my pronunciation by any other native speaker on there except his. I don’t want to have to speak with a terrible accent when trying to learn Spanish properly. Other than that one thing, I love this app for learning the language, because it’s pretty comprehensive and easy to follow. I can’t wait to surprise my family with my new skills I’m learning!
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2 years ago, lover-of-the-pod
The Best Language-Learning App
I have been using this app to learn Italian for just over a year and I can’t recommend it enough! I have tried a few methods to learn Italian over the years, including Duolingo and self-guided workbooks, but neither of those worked for me. The major benefit of Babbel is that you learn by completing lessons, which are structured as if you were doing exercises from a class. This was the biggest help for me because I felt like I was taking a class. Along the way, each lesson offers grammar tips and small snippets on culture, so you’re learning much more than just the language. There many ways to review the vocabulary you’ve learned as well, which is great to test your comprehension in a variety of ways (e.g., writing and listening). Babbel also offers live classes where you can actually sign up for a lesson with an instructor. I have yet to try it, but there are a ton of lessons to choose from depending on your skill level. Overall, Babbel is a standout app that helps you speak and understand a new language very quickly!
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4 years ago, Dressage_Meg2003
I love this app! But I have some opinions
I seriously love this app! I am currently in high school and have taken Spanish for 3 years, I started to fail my Spanish class with a 66 and I was not happy. I didn’t understand conjugating, or pretty much any Spanish. I just didn’t get it, but then I started to use this app. Babbel teaches me Spanish in a completely different style, it makes learning seem super easy and fun. My current Spanish teacher makes everything memory based, remember conjugations, vocabulary, and more. But babbel makes conjugations seem super simple. It only teaches me the conjugations when I get to them. I just have one opinion, when I am supposed to write an answer down and I get it wrong, babbel immediately tells me the answer and corrects me. In my opinion, I feel like babbel should give you at least 2 more chances to write down your answer. If you still don’t get it then it can tell you. Thanks for reading! for future babbel downloaders, I HIGHLY recommend. Take this from the person who has learned more with 2 days of this app than they have almost 3 years.
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5 years ago, Grayson Thomas
Great software, not that deep and not much explanation though.
Russian is a rather difficult language, and one that is presumably not nearly as sought after as French, Spanish, or Portuguese. However, the price for the Russian version of Babbel is the same as the the other versions but doesn’t offer nearly as much instruction as said courses. Furthermore Babbel doesn’t always fully explain why things are the way they are. For example, they don’t explain why the name for Germany in Russian is «Германия» (Pronounced “Germania”) but the term for someone who is German is «Немец» (pronounced “Nemetz”). I suppose this isn’t too big of a deal, but language is all about context, and understanding the context and history as to why some words are the way they are is important to understanding the language itself, as well as just interesting. Babbel does a great job of marrying what works from other language softwares, but it doesn’t offer a particularly large amount of content, or grammatical understanding. Nonetheless, in my opinion it is the best language learning software out there for Russian, and I am satisfied with my purchase.
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4 months ago, mxiiiixi
I don’t like it very much..
A few weeks ago, I downloaded Babbel. I’ve been avoiding using the app. I took the German course in hopes of learning German because I find it a very cool language. The login and setup was perfect and I started to like it because I was excited to learn to fluently speak German. I did ONE lesson. I finished it very quickly and then when I was done, all the other lessons were locked. I clicked on the lesson 2 and it said, “You need to buy a subscription to continue.” And it wouldn’t let me click out of the thing. So I just pressed my phones home button, took it out of my recent tabs, and didn’t play it for a week. I downloaded another language app that my friend recommended, (I’m not gonna say the name of the app) and I have a 14-day streak because I enjoy the course of German and how the subscription is optional. I went back on Babbel a few days ago and I saw the only two things available was buying a subscription or doing a quiz/review. I did the review and the rest of the course was locked. I would love this app if the subscription was optional and offered GOOD features. I’ve deleted the app now. But thank you for reading this and this is just my honest opinion and no hate here was intended.
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3 years ago, RadoPaul
Immediately goes into conversation. Voice recognition is horrible
I am using Babbel to learn conversational Spanish. I can see why this will quickly help you get conversational in a language because it jumps right into it. For someone who is a true beginner, this is too difficult and will make you frustrated because it spends almost no time teaching about things that make Spanish so different from English like sentence structure, word order, verb variations and masculine vs feminine structure, adverbs and adjectives. I should’ve bought this after doing Duolingo for a 3-6 months. That program is pretty elementary but for someone learning a new language for the very first time, you need the elementary lessons first. Also, the voice recognition is absolutely horrendous. I get so frustrated with it that I just skip that part which then just launches the whole learning conversation so I have to go back and review it bit by bit. It truly is that horrible. Even when I say it perfectly, it doesn’t recognize. Overall, yes it’ll help you get conversational quickly. However if you are learning a second language for the very first time, I would suggest a simpler program and then jump into Babbel.
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2 years ago, iChucky
Dit is GOED....
I’ve been studying the Dutch/Flemish language for years, and after using almost useless books, tapes & CDs that evidently don’t teach the way I learn best, I bit the bullet & went with some serious interactive programs. Learning a language by yourself that is not spoken within several thousands of miles of you is challenge enough, but you can do it with the right type of help. I just started using Babble last night, and I’m learning things I did not learn on my expensive Rosetta Stone computer programs. One advantage is that I’m using Babble on my iPad... another is that Babble seems to be a more conversational style of Dutch than Rosetta Stone, and probably closer to what I’ll need the next time I’m in Amsterdam, Bruxelles (they speak Flemish), or CapeTown (Afrikaans is one of the official languages in SA), where different dialects of Nederlands are spoken. While Rosetta Stone provided me with a strong foundation in the language and is making Babbel easier for me, I honestly believe Babbel’s program is making me a better Dutch speaker.
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3 months ago, ssawedfg
Good course. Language is Hard
I wish that I had paid more attention in Spanish class. I did not value learning a language as much as I do now. this course is comprehensive and difficult. I think anyone who says learning a language is easy is shining you on. I practice every day and use the app about 30 to 45 minutes, I have been using it for a couple months now and making grinding, slow progress, but progress. My intention is to travel internationally and be able to effectively communicate. As far as other apps go, I think Babbel is among the top five any of these would be subjective and results are definitely determined by how much effort you put in there’s no shortcuts so make commitment and you’ll get something out of it. It is funny to see all these other language learning “shortcuts “being offered and marketed now that I’ve signed up for Babbel. I guess I’ll have to check back in a year in a couple trips to South America to see how I’m doing also, it was suggested to watch Spanish television and movies and music I watch the Spanish with captions on and it is very helpful
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1 year ago, DJ MacDaddy
Babbel paid version after 6 months
Babbel does cover much more than probably what you’re looking to learn. I chose Mexican Spanish but Babbel forces me to learn Spain Spanish, Chilean food, Argentinian food, and other unrelated topics which you cannot skip over. It also does not properly introduce new words or grammar conjugations in sentences. It will force you to fill in a words in a back and forth dialogue between characters but the dialogue will use words never seen before and you cannot click on the word to find out why it was used or conjugated in a certain way. The inability to skip lessons that don’t relate to what I’m trying to learn is beyond infuriating considering they are 40-80 questions per lesson. There is not enough repetition of words or phrases so lessons are easily forgotten. My wife is a fluent Spanish speaker and agrees not explaining conjugation up front will lead to difficult to overcome mistake corrections later. The lessons are too vague, don’t have deep enough explanation, and there’s zero grammar explanation built in; coupled with lessons I don’t care about, I wish I hadn’t spent the money for this app. There are audio lessons with books which are much more effective in a shorter amount of time.
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3 years ago, laura112345
👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻
I signed up on Monday. Today is Friday. I am still going round and round wasting my time. My initial problem was that the course I was given to start was ridiculously simple. I entered I am a moderate level Spanish speaker. My course started me with simple pronouns and greetings for various times of the day. Wrote to customer service which further wasted my time. I was told to go to the My Profile and switch to Spain Spanish since the Latin American Spanish only has level 1. I wrote back to Babbel saying I only see achievements and activity as options. I finally went to settings and it showed I HAD SIGNED UP FOR SPAIN SPANISH. So my problem was never addressed. The app itself is not friendly enough for someone who doesn't use apps regularly. It appears simple but there is so much hunting around on the site to find simple answers. I still don't know how to get other information I asked about when I wrote to customer service which was never answered. Between the app and the customer service, my take away is the company is not respectful of their customers.
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4 weeks ago, LittleKatlomelime
Confusing but learning
So I am looking at this app as a potential replacement for duolingo because I want a in depth experience with learning a new language by the way, it’s German, so I am looking at the premium version and it’s confusing all I want is to pay each month whatever amount so I am looking at it and it says pay every 12 months 7.50$ What? and then another one says pay every 6 months for whatever price ok I think you get the point… it’s confusing and I want just be told straight up what the price is and what I am paying but that’s the problem with Duolingo to they aren’t good about bringing the price straight up so ya maybe I’m dumb or something Lol but for me, it’s confusing… and with the courses do they like reset every day/night or do I only get to see one for the free virgin? But besides the point. I have been using duolingo for 50+ days I am not too big of a fan of it they don’t go in death about the grammar and spelling and how to pronounce the words and stuff like that so ya…
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1 year ago, AlwaysAnalytical
It’s ok
Seemed to work great at first, while I was adding more vocabulary regularly. After I had a lot of vocab and didn’t want anymore, and too much time had passed with their spaced interval review regimen, there was no reasonable way to review on the phone app. You can always see the vocab in both languages because it is arranged as one on top of the other rather than side by side. If I didn’t open the app for a few days, I’d open it and sometimes get a hand waving saying “welcome back! Would you like to review?” I’d click a button to review (which was always flash cards, since the other options didn’t work on my phone), and I’d get an error message. I told Babbel support about this and they’d just say “do more lessons” and go on to explain the stages of review, which I already fully understand. Finally I got someone to admit that the error message was something they needed to work on, but it’s still happening. My subscription doesn’t expire until March, so according to Apple I’m stuck paying for it til then. By the way, the speaking feature doesnt work either and never did. Neither do the games. I have an IPhone 12, fully updated, and the Babbel app is also updated.
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7 years ago, Christopherbrown0317
Classroom style learning at home
Babbel offers first and second semester college level language learning. I am trying to become conversational in Spanish after being married to a native speaker for 11 years and taking several college courses in the language. I would give 5 stars, but there is no way to test out of the beginning lessons and focus on what you need to improve on as there is in an app like Duolingo. I find myself using Duolingo more because it is more fun and brings a game like aspect to learning, but when I want to focus on technical details of the language I turn to babbel. As with any language learning regimen, this app must only be part of your learning plan if you wish to be fluent. You must speak with people in the language and immerse yourself In it by reading and listening to it. I get my news from CNN español now, and I listen to Spanish radio and tv whenever I can. Having a native speaker in the house doesn't hurt either! Overall, I am satisfied with babbel, I just wish it wasn't so similar to the structure I was used to from the classroom, it doesn't feel very useful!
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6 years ago, bast3200bc
Great program
I have been wanting to learn Spanish for a very long time but programs were all so expensive and there were limited programs as it was. Well, when I got my iPhone I discovered several great programs at a really great and reasonable price. I tried several of them through their trial periods and decided on this one and Duolingo. Combined I feel like I am learning faster than if I had gone with the one program that’s so popular, I think everyone knows which I’m talking about. I believe I have come a long way in just two weeks. I also paired these programs with a distance education course which make me accountable to actually follow through because I am paying for all of it and do not want my money to go to waste. Aside from all that, this is a great running program. I haven’t encountered any sort of glitch or hang ups yet. It’s pretty close to a perfect app that one could hope for. So here’s to learning, staying committed, and actually having fun while doing all the work! I would most definitely recommend this app 100%!!
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11 months ago, brett pel
Not user friendly
I am a teacher who appreciates learning apps. I have a PhD in psychology and so I can appreciate a good learning app. I really like Duolingo, for example, because they nudge learners using what we know about learning. After using Duolingo for almost 3 years I was ready to try something new. Babbel seemed like the obvious choice. However I’ve been extremely disappointed. I’m an intermediate speaker and I was defaulted to saying hello and goodbye. Twice I took a placement test to be advanced to classes at my level. But the test wasn’t even a real test. Instead of seeing if u could speak Spanish by giving me Spanish to understand or statements to produce Babbel just asked me — in English — how good my Spanish is. That’s ok as a start but it’s ludicrous as a placement test. Making matters worse, the app is hard to navigate and it keeps offering me beginner lessons even after it says it places me at the intermediate level. Finally, so far at least, the content is boring. Duolingo uses humor and has inspiring podcasts with interesting life stories. Babbel has mundane stories that simply don’t engage me. Maybe I need to take a course in how to use Babbel but so far it’s a big disappointment. I’m giving it another week before I cancel. Brett Pelham
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2 years ago, dianehuff
Italian
Oh my goodness this is my first time to log onto Babel let me tell you there’s no instructions no introduction it’s just go when they ask you questions you don’t know how to log down because the answers are at the bottom of the page if you don’t know how to spell they don’t tell you to click the button to see how it’s pronounced if you want to go back and review your lesson and you’re not allowed to go back and review but it’s OK it’s not history as you go along you start to make sense of their questions like hint I didn’t know that the words were all scrambled like a game and you have to try to make use of the scrambled words to pronounce the right word anyway it’s a learning curve right like learning a new language it’s learning a whole new app I’m just hoping I can repeat it because it goes so fast that I won’t remember it in the three hours that I’ve spent on it already so hopefully I can go back and start the class all over before my trip in six months
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3 weeks ago, Turtle42069
Not having good learning experience And the developers don’t care.
I’m brand new to learning Spanish. The lessons move too fast and I’m learning words I won’t use in a normal conversation. I can’t go back and do a lesson again it just keeps pushing me forward. I am not retaining the words because I am not using them enough before the next lesson starts. This is becoming more and more frustrating as I progress. The review section only lets me review a couple things then I can’t review anymore. What’s up with that? I need more repetition on the basics before trying to listen to conversations and spelling the words. So far this has not been a good experience for my. I tried roseta stone a long time ago for German and I got way more out of that. This does not seemed structured well for the baby steps in learning a new language. :Edited: The developers said I need to use the review section But they obviously didn’t read my whole review because I said the reviews don’t let me do it multiple times THEY ONLY LET ME ME REVIEW 3-4 THEN I CANT REVIEW ANYMORE. I also sent them a email and haven't heard a word from them. Maybe they shouldn’t worry about the star ratings as much as actually listening to the problems and making learning better.
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4 months ago, Chandler$15
Babbel to the rescue…
I have been wanting to be able to speak Spanish fluently for years now. I finally decided to start exploring the manydifferent languages learning programs out there presently, and have decided I think Babbel is the best fit for me… at least so far. I am only a handful of lessons in and am already hooked. I took Spanish in middle school and two years in high school, so I do recall the basics, but starting with the beginner lessons has honestly been a great start. It feels good recognizing much of the language, but I’m already learning new words and phrases. Basically, if you have been wanting to give learning Spanish (or any language courses they offer, really) a try, I encourage you to go for it with Babbel! I was able to get a good deal (50% off) for the first year, and I can cancel anytime if want, should I choose to. I don’t foresee me canceling anytime soon though, and can’t wait to come back here and report I’m able to speak Fluently. Thank you, Babbel! #BabbelForTheWin
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2 years ago, liqma balls
Not for beginners
I’m a native English speaker from America, I don’t know any other languages so I thought it’d be best to learn a mutual language with some of my friends. They are from the Netherlands and Belgium, both speak fluent Dutch so I thought Dutch would be the perfect language to learn. It is similar to English they share the same alphabet and I already know some people who speak it. Going into learning I very clearly and confidently remember the few beginner words like good morning and good bye etc. once I got to around the 10th lesson you just get thrown in head first with no knowledge of sentence structure or grammar. I mean the bare minimum to speak, read and, write a language is just completely missing. I often times found myself confused with the way words were used and how sentences were built and how they changed. For languages like Spanish it’s no problem but for a language with a different grammar it is completely useless to try and learn from this app. I don’t know how any native English speakers with no background in Dutch can become fluent with this app alone there is a massive hole in the teaching process.
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4 years ago, primary badger
The voice recognition is too capricious
I went through the first lesson and I mostly enjoyed a different format than Duolingo, however I ran into some issues. Mostly, when it comes to grading the recording of me reading the words, I can’t seem to get it to consistently let me pass. And if I am saying something incorrectly, it’s giving me no feedback on how it’s “wrong.” I really feel though that the problem is with the app. Another issue is when I went to choose my starting place there seems to be no intermediate level between beginner and advanced. I’m a little over a beginning level, but I’m not cocky enough to claim that I’m advanced. Perhaps there is an option for intermediate but I didn’t see it. My final issue is with the number of lessons to which I have access without paying. I went through one buggy lesson for free with no way to advance without giving them money. Really, I wouldn’t mind paying if I could’ve gotten a better taste of the quality. But I didn’t want to pay for something that frustrates me so much. When I would get caught on a finicky voice recording question, I would just eventually skip that garbage and move on. Overall, not worth paying for.
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4 years ago, 0dd Panda
Deutsch ist gut (German is good)
I am doing the German language and the thing that bothers me is the grammar of the Germans! I also can’t do “ß” on the app so even when everything is right I can’t do ß which annoys me (I have found out how to do it!!) but everything else is very good and I do recommend. I also have a suggestion: there should be reviews for everything you have done so far, it would help me a lot to go back and do everything in a way that helps me; I also would like to choose learning styles, I learn better when saying and typing the answer (the chats) but everything else either doesn’t help or is hard to understand for me. Danke! Auf Wiedersehen! (Thank you! Goodbye!) Edit: I am doing a speaking review right? Okay and I was doing the speaking I had to say: “Das macht 5 Euro”, right? Right, okay, I was saying it. Though, it counted to wrong and apparently I said: “Das macht fünf Euro”. And you know what? IT’S THE SAME THING! Fünf and 5 are the exact same thing just fünf is word form. This has happened multiple times, it’s really aggravating, honestly.
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4 years ago, Wilheart
Seriously?!?
So, this app used to be awesome and engaging. I missed a day, logged in today and you changed the UI? And screwed it up in the process? Please change it back, or at the least give the option to have the old interface. I don’t have a RUSSIAN KEYBOARD! That’s why I’m trying to LEARN RUSSIAN! There used to be a virtual keyboard which showed up (regardless of if I had my iPad Pro Keyboard attached or not) which would block out the letters/ characters that we haven’t been taught yet. With that gone, I’m now overwhelmed by constantly trying to search for letters even though I haven’t gotten far enough in the lessons to know all the letters. I mean, really?!? Before I felt good about my learning, and now I feel like an idiot, it is no longer fun, and it takes too long to find the letters. Really?!? How do you go from being a great app to a horrible app over night? And I pay money for this? I can’t justify this cost, especially when this is already a supplement to Rosetta Stone for me. Sorry, but if this isn’t addressed, I doubt I’ll do even two more days. I quit halfway through a lesson today because it wasn’t worth the frustration. Please do something about this - in which case I’ll then change my review. This is REALLY FRUSTRATING! Thanks a lot! (For nothing.)
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