Social networks play a very important role in the lives of many young people, and not so young. In them we can see how people have prioritized traveling in their lives. Trips abroad, to the most varied destinations, passing through European and Asian countries, or the America of the promised dream, or the beauty of the African savannah.
Therefore, it is essential to know languages. Not only one's mother tongue, since languages are the engine with which we move our interests, both work and leisure. Today's society is almost obliged to know two or more languages, nowadays. The solution to this can be very varied, since we can go to Official Academies, although lack of time can be a handicap. Or if we have a foreign friend who can help us ...
But in the technological world in which we move we have the most varied options, and we can even go to our smartphone to use applications that promise results in a short time, and with little effort too.
And that is why today we are going to talk about a specific application: Babbel.
Babbel is an online language learning software. The platform is available in several languages since January 2008. Currently has 14 languages to learn: Dutch, Danish, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Spanish and Turkish.
The platform offers us various ways of approaching your showcase, through The Babbel Magazine and social networks, in which they use a touch of humor, to make it more attractive. Instagram as in Facebook.
Access ways
We have three options to use it, either from our smartphone, tablet or from the computer. Of course we can download it from the Google Play Store where it is rated 4,6 stars based on more than four hundred thousand opinions, and more than ten million downloads.
When accessing this application we must know that the first lesson is free. So we can have a first impression and decide if we like the methodology and continue with the paid version. Now is the time to delve into the knowledge of the chosen language, with the tools provided by Babbel.
As we have said we can access from our computer, tablet or smartphone, and The first thing we must do is create an account, which we can do through Facebook or using our email account. We must choose the language we want to learn, and continue the registration process. Later we can choose the payment option for a subscription of one, three, six, or twelve months, which we can rescind at any time.
Then they propose a test to evaluate the degree of knowledge, and offer a teaching according to our level, whatever it may be. We can see also prices ranging from € 4,95.- to € 9,95.- per month, depending on the subscription period.
Once we have the lessons at our disposal, we only have to feel like it, and prepare our mind to learn a new language, and enjoy the methodology and the infinite horizon of learning.
Babbel reviews
We have already mentioned that the application for our Smartphones has a 4,6 star rating, and in the comments we can see how there are opinions for all tastes. From those who have loved it, to others who see possible failures or simply did not like how it works.
Faced with such diversity of opinions, I have wanted to seek user experiences that shed light on whether to use this platform to increase our language skills.
On his own website, Babbel tells us about its possibilities and shows that linguists from Yale University measured the oral expression skills of those who study Spanish with Babbel.
- After three months, speaking skills in the new language range from exchanging greetings and providing basic personal information to discussing future activities and plans.
- 95% of users found Babbel to be a good method for learning a new language and 75% achieved their personal learning goals.
Babbel, the most successful app in language learning, published the results of an academic study, "Measuring the effectiveness of Babbel for the development of oral expression skills", carried out in collaboration with linguists from Yale University.
This research project evaluated the effectiveness of Babbel's pedagogical method in a sample of 117 native English speakers from the United States, who they learned Spanish for three months (a relatively short learning period, considering the time investment generally required to acquire basic skills in a language).
The results show that learning with Babbel facilitates the acquisition of conversational skills in a second language: all Babbel users developed, to some extent, their oral expression in the new language, from basic topics (such as exchanging greetings and providing personal information) to more complex topics (like talking about future activities and plans).
Now, according to more personal and direct opinions of real users, they have expressed the following:
"Learning in Babbel is very interactive, and at all times we have to be solving exercises to make sure we have understood the lesson."
Regarding its use, they comment that "the Babbel application allows you to download the lessons to follow the course offline, but it would be interesting if there were also the possibility of doing the exercises without having to download them first"
Babbel is a very complete platform, but at the end of the day it is still a complement, an addition to long hours of study that in no way can be replaced with a app.
«If what you are looking for is a simple hobby to solve exercises in the free moments of the day, I would say that you better take a look at other free applications; but if you are looking for something more serious in order to reinforce your learning, Babbel is an option to consider »(Source: Jakub Motyka).
On the Trustpilot.com review website 65% of the opinions expressed on this platform qualify it as Excellent, 31% as Very Good and there are only two percent of opinions that qualify it as bad or very bad.
Taking into account those who gave their opinions, among the most recent we can see that of "Nico" who qualifies it as excellent. “Didactic and fun. Words always in context. Text comprehension. Dialogues The review is very good too ”.
Tiziana gives it 5 stars, and titles her review as “I was able to travel to Germany. It is very good to be linked with a language, German always seemed to me an impossible language, however studying with Babbel, I was able to travel to Germany and defend myself in German quite well. They have very good support to help with queries. Highly recommended !!! »
I have continued to search the internet to get more opinions about it, and with something more basic than an opinion website, whose veracity and credibility will only depend on you, I have found a complaint that is repeated quite often. And it is that, “although the first impressions are good: aesthetically it is a good app, easy to use, with well-chosen and dynamic sound. When we go to the content, the problems begin. Babbel is more of the same: repetitive exercises, lack of method, rewards to hook the user but that lead nowhere ... ”(Source)
Which makes us wonder if the publicity made by its one hundred linguists for the creation of Babbel is entirely true, since many of the expressions that Babbel uses as a base are from Spanish in Latin America, which can lead to certain confusion, especially if you want to learn Castilian or Spanish from Spain. Or if in our case we find explanations of a different language with Spanish-American expressions.
End the opinion as follows. “In short: downloading the Babbel app is a waste of money. There are free applications that provide the same service but without so many pretenses: grammar brushstrokes, some vocabulary ... exercises to hang out on the bus and learn some words. As is common in language applications, despite all its technology, Babbel cannot compete with face-to-face teaching. If you really want to master a language, look for a good academy. " (Source: Héctor Gómez Navarro)
With all this, we can conclude that Babbel is a platform that allows us can facilitate the expansion of vocabulary, extend phrases of expression, but not much else. If you start from scratch, it may not be the most useful option for learning a language. If, on the other hand, you want to expand knowledge, perhaps we should go to other platforms, or academies to really have teaching and learning according to our demands. And especially if it is going to cost us money.
One thing that has struck me about Babbel is that it receives European funding. In other words, it is financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the European Union. Therefore, and since it has sufficient funds, it should considerably improve its quality and amend the opinions that we can see as soon as we seek a little information about it.