Babbel - Language Learning Customer Service

Babbel - Language Learning Positive Reviews

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).AcronicsVersion: 20.52.1

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..StachouliVersion: 21.5.0

Seems, great but I don't really knowI 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!.PercabethRulesVersion: 20.68.0

Actually, don’t like it, but maybe it’s just me.This app uses a very traditional teaching model. Grammatical rules followed by exercises. It is more or less like a digital text book. I much prefer and believe that intuitive learning through immersion is much better. Here there is far too much explanation and technical grammar. If that is your thing, great, you will love this. But, if you are like me and find this far too boring and confusing because you don’t even know the nomenclature for grammatical concepts in your native language - and most people who have learned just by speaking don’t know the nomenclature - you will not like doing these exercises. Do you know what the subjunctive is? I don’t and I have a law degree and a masters in education. Consequently, I think a more intuitive, immersive, non-explanatory, game like system will do a better job of teaching you a language. If you are a grammar nerd, go for it. On the good side, I do like the Babbel podcast and stories. They are great for listening and assimilating the language. The speaking and listening practice are decent but too limited in that they do not involve dialogue. All in all, for what you get, this app is way too expensive. I unless there are major improvement to make it engaging and fun, I will be dropping it when my subscription expires. Instead, I will be talking to my Chat GPT friend and using the competing D app. Sorry, I really wanted to like it..Tom de ariegeVersion: 21.51.0

Good format but be VERY sure of lamguageBe 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..FsmilwaukeeVersion: 21.30.0

Room for ImprovementI’m editing my review since I felt I was a bit too harsh the first time. I purchased a lifetime subscription and I’m a little let down that more effort hasn’t been put into the Babbel app. Their UI is a little clunky making it confusing to navigate. Your progress and the next lesson is presented in a way that’s kind of confusing and doesn’t make me feel accomplished. I moved to Babble from Duolingo and I really like that it has toned down gamification- especially that guilt tripping green owl. But I want some of that polish and well thought out UX back. Babble’s widget is boring on my Home Screen. The lessons could use more engaging mechanics and I feel the bland stock photography inserted to “help you remember” plays heavily into my aversion; stock photos aren’t effective and actually comes off as low effort and frustrating as it never relates well in the lesson. Overall, I think the groundwork is solid, it’s no frills which may be effective for some people, and you will learn a language doing the lessons while using other learning sources. I have ADHD and want to be engaged a bit more to keep me coming back. I think adding more/ better learning mechanisms would help the repetitiveness. Video, animations, back and forth conversation talking rather than just writing in answers. I’m glad I have babble to use as an extra tool for learning..BenDiAnnaVersion: 21.51.0

Useful but frustrating at timesOverall 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..Starlight55971Version: 20.82.0

Great app But not for conversation in SpanishRHi 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..Dacia NeddVersion: 20.68.0

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!!!.Scarlett GunnerVersion: 21.14.0

Good, but hoping for AI and UX improvementsThrough 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..Brushing_upVersion: 20.24.0

Trying to Learn FrenchNot 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..NickiGreates😊Version: 20.84.0

ReviewSo 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!.RvbjiujVersion: 20.26.2

Too complicatedI don’t even know many of the grammar rules with my native language, so being taught a foreign language by learning the rules of grammar and no immersion is both difficult and boring. I want very badly to learn French, but this teaching method is horrible. I’ve been using Babbel for two months now and I can’t reteach what I have “learned”, which is all the proof I need that this app has taught me nothing. I find myself frustrated more often than not because Babbel, so far at least, has not done a very good job teaching much in regards to which words, if not all, are masculine and which once are feminine, or how to spot the difference in text. I had to refer to google to understand and learn that it is only nouns that have a gender. I don’t know why Babbel wasn’t straight forward with that since they’re teaching method is all about grammar. This app also misses the mark on explaining formal and informal words. Instead, in the same exercise, you’ll find mixed in it both formal and informal words, both of which have the same meaning (although that’s not explained well) being used, with no explanation regarding the formality of each. I want to like this app, but I do not. If grammar is your thing, then you may enjoy this app, but otherwise you’ll find yourself bored and confused..MrlndCVersion: 21.54.0

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..VeniamoVersion: 20.87.0

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..Baelfire713Version: 20.64.0

Quite GoodI 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!.Corey.chandler13Version: 20.22.0

A little too pedantic when it comes to pronunciationsOverall 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..NJSpinDoctorVersion: 20.86.0

Best learning experience for me so farI’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😘.RADillerVersion: 20.26.2

It’s great but..A few weeks ago, I downloaded Babbel. The lessons are great. 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 think I’d like it better if at least a bit more lessons were free. It allows one lesson, and a review and that’s it. I don’t really think I can commit to subscribing to an app I just got. I don’t want to come off as harsh. I would love this app if the subscription was needed later on or optional. I’ve deleted the app now since my parents didn’t want to buy me lessons. I don’t mind it since I wasn’t very invested in the app. I recommend this if you can pay for lessons. I love the way it teaches you and if you can pay, its wonderful. But thank you for reading this and this is just my honest opinion and no hate here was intended..MxiiiixiVersion: 21.46.0

The results speak for themselvesI 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..Hermione LovegoodVersion: 21.3.0

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..KathlynaVersion: 20.54.0

Good course. Language is HardI 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.SsawedfgVersion: 21.40.0

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!.Dewberry JuneVersion: 20.43.0

Coming from Pimsluer RussianI 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!.240sxdesignVersion: 5.7.1

Great service, decent appUPDATE: 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!.KleypackVersion: 20.75.0

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)..MLE956Version: 20.15.0

Love this AppI 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!.SoguesswhatVersion: 20.61.0

Pretty good, happy with it overallFirst - 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..Lilpeach29Version: 20.47.0

Great app but a couple of bugsI must say that the content and style of learning is the absolute best of any language app that I’ve ever used! I’ve been studying Spanish using licensed pc software and personal device apps for over 10 years and Babbel is clearly the most effective and enjoyable product I’ve experienced! However, there are 2 annoying issues that I’m experiencing. One is that while spelling words and phrases using the letter blocks along the bottom of the screen the interface sometimes does not register the letters that I touch. The other is when speaking, the talk button intermittently does not appear to activate the microphone, therefore the system records it as a wrong answer. The speaking issue always happens during the first time a speaking question occurs, usually during a lesson review. The issues occur on both my phone and tablet, both are iOS devices. I was unable to find a place in the app to report issues, which is why I reported them in my review. I suppose that they’re minor issues, however I feel that the designers of such a great product would like to know!.LargettronVersion: 21.60.0

The Best Language-Learning AppI 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!.Lover-of-the-podVersion: 20.85.0

I love this app! But I have some opinionsI 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..Dressage_Meg2003Version: 20.33.0

Immediately goes into conversation. Voice recognition is horribleI 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..RadoPaulVersion: 20.67.0

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..Grayson ThomasVersion: 20.22.0

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..IChuckyVersion: 20.96.0

Great programI 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%!!.Bast3200bcVersion: 5.7.1

Confusing but learningSo 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….LittleKatlomelimeVersion: 21.42.1

Classroom style learning at homeBabbel 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!.Christopherbrown0317Version: 5.6.2

So far greatI have had Babbel for about eight months. I really wanted to learn Latino American Spanish. I’ve tried some other apps and a very quickly found myself in a plateau. Babbel is hard, but it works. If you put in the effort, it will work for you. Stick with it. They’ve added a few more courses for beginners that will definitely be helpful when first starting. One of the best things about Babbel is you can go back and redo lessons not just the cliff notes but the whole lesson it has been extremely helpful. I have redone many lessons and it’s the only way I’ve been able to get certain things to sink in. I purchased a lifetime subscription and I am grateful I did. If you are in an area like I am you’re only going to get so far so my next step will be to do the live classes because I have no one to speak with. I’d say I have learned a lot and in my eight months time has become almost proficient. I set the goal for one year and I believe I am on track. Thank you, Babbel..Duane BeebVersion: 21.62.2

ItalianOh 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.DianehuffVersion: 20.86.0

Not for beginnersI’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..Liqma ballsVersion: 20.87.0

RiviewSo I got this app the other day and I enjoy it and came through to check what the reviews say and everyone says it doesn't teach you it just tests your previous knowledge but what it does is slowly start introducing new things to you then questions you on those new things and then moves onto something else new maybe even continuing on from what you previously learned but it is all through fill in the blanks and small questions and verbal phrases that you can practice and you hear someone else speak the phrases as well, I got this because I want to Learn Spanish and this app is actually making it very easy and convenient should have a wider selection of languages though but does have most of the easy to learn popular languages..YaboishinnnneVersion: 5.6.2

THXTHX so much😁.Brycen AgyemangVersion: 5.6.2

Please add thisYou guys should add canadian-french because some words are different and i live in canada ahhaha.ItskaykayroseVersion: 20.49.0

Speech recognitionMy speech recognition isn’t allowing me to say the word. It gives me the example and immediately indicates it was said correctly without me having a chance to say words. Please fix this bug.Sn'PVersion: 20.11.0

Spanish made easy!Babbel is so easy to use! I love how it shows the English version of everything as well! I can’t wait to continue learning!.TopknotsandsquatsVersion: 21.52.2

Don’t like the serviceI did well on my French test but still you put me on a low level to get more money from now. Now I have to go through a bunch of silly lessons like self-introduction or basic grammar that I already now in order to unlock higher levels. It doesn’t look good on you. Plus, no free plans or trial plans like with other apps like Busuu, for example. I paid for one month, luckily, but I already decided I am not going to continue with you..Al asiVersion: 21.58.0

Très difficile d’annuler l’abonnement!Very difficult to unsubscribe: can’t stop nor have any help to stop my Italian course Really bad.MmjjjjjjmmmmVersion: 21.23.0

Best for being taught grammar etcBeen using Duolingo for a few years. Fun for dabbling but I need to actually learn to speak Portuguese proficiently for work and, with my learning style, I want to be taught rules of grammar, pronunciation, conjugation, etc. Duolingo relies on you picking up these things “naturally” like a young child would. Babbel teaches me the language in the way I want to learn it. It’s a bit slow, however. Duolingo’s interface is snappier. That’s the only fault I have with Babble so far..Kim PomaresVersion: 21.35.0

Good appIt’s weird to say it’s a good app, then put three starts. It’s the facts that I must pay to learn a language that is a turn off. I felt it’s worth paying to learn but there’s YouTube and another app that I had called Duolingo where you can learn a language for free. Why did I come here then if I had Duolingo? To make it short I felt Duolingo wasn’t enough to learn. It was often the same basics. (It’s important to repeat but I also took a Spanish class, so I was more advanced on the language) I was recommended Babbel and I saw there is some potential where you can learn any language it’s just I can’t pay. If anyone wants to spend money to learn a language or multiple languages it’s really worth to put your money on Babbel..MalinSupergoVersion: 20.76.0

Aucun accès et aucun supportJe n’ai toujours pas accès à mon cours d’Espagnol que j’ai payé il y a 2 jours. Aucun support du service à la clientèle après plusieurs tentatives de contact depuis plusieurs moyens d’accès différents. L’application est bien, seulement lorsqu’on a accès à ce pourquoi nous avons payé..Alec YoVersion: 20.68.0

I just wish there was more languagesI understand that multiple people have most likely learned languages like English or Spanish or Italian or Portuguese or Dutch and multiple more on this app. But I’m learning Japanese right now and I downloaded this app so it could help only to realize, there’s no Japanese. There’s no Korean, no Japanese, no Chinese of any kind, no Thai, no Greek or hindi or anything like that. It’s mostly focused on European languages + Indonesian. If there could be more variety, I’m sure it would be more useful..CoocoobrathwaiteVersion: 20.75.0

ExcellentExcellent program! It’s very well done, it motivates you to continue learning with this amazing interactive app. Great job!.Nina CyrineVersion: 20.68.0

Suggestions d'améliorationsApplication sympathique pour apprendre une langue mais quelques aspects pourraient être améliorés : - reconnaissance vocale : si je mâche mes mots de façon incompréhensible mais respecte la bonne intonation, l'application me le valide quand même comme une bonne prononciation - cohérence d'une leçon à l'autre et plus grande souplesse dans la validité des réponses. exemple parmi d'autres : une leçon va m'apprendre à ajouter "years old" pour donner l'âge de quelqu'un. Pourtant, la leçon suivante va considérer faux l'ajout de "years old" après le chiffre et ne pas valider ma réponse tant que je ne l'ai pas effacé. Même chose lorsqu'il s'agit de traduire des verbes, l'utilisation de synonymes est impossible et c'est dommage. L'application nous apprend à penser que c'est la mauvaise traduction alors que la réponse est bonne malgré tout..David 99999Version: 20.48.0

This a great experience!Babel is an amazing app because you can learn many different languages. The only thing I ask is, can you please add more languages, or a language search button?.FallowfernVersion: 21.62.2

BUG!There's been a bug in the "review" in the last few days in French!.Meggy2023Version: 21.61.0

Wow! lol 🤭Mind-blowingly awesome!! I met the love of my life who speaks Brazilian Portuguese. I am Hungarian but live abroad and speak mainly English.. - Babbel helps like nothing other! 😉 I’ve figured out all the ways he teases me while we are a world apart but true to each other after we bumped into each other. - I’m dying to know when we’ll bump into each other next..LilkngyVersion: 21.61.0

I love this app 💓💓💓💖I always want to learn a different language and this helps me a lot . Sedona Weitz.Firehawk2012Version: 21.60.0

Amusante façon d’apprendreJ’ai débuté des cours d’anglais avec Babbel Live en janvier 2023 ,je peux témoigner de l’efficacité de la méthode et de plus j’ai du plaisir à apprendre avec différents enseignants . L’offre est maintenant améliorée du fait qu’on peut avoir dorénavant des cours privés à un coût très raisonnable..Docto58Version: 21.59.0

Bite size learningI like the mix of listen, speak and write. Translating from English to the language I am learning challenges me to start forming sentences. The only things I would add are more stories to listen and more revision of work covered over the duration of learning (not just the last lesson)..RethaDVersion: 21.59.0

Great!Really great variety of sessions! Just what I needed for work. Just wished the live session were happening. Currently they say unavailable.Paris1368Version: 21.59.0

Starting againVery impressed with the new lay ,great job👍.One planet one peopleVersion: 21.58.0

App freezes a LOTSeems helpful, but freezes up phone and crashes almost every time I use it..Cris9WVersion: 21.58.0

Free International Money Transfer 💸Enjoy high maximum transfers into more than 20 currencies while saving up to 90% over local banks! The cheap, fast way to send money abroad. Free transfer up to 500 USD!AdvertorialVersion: 22.0.0

Babbel - Language Learning Negative Reviews

For AllThis 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!.Claireslover16Version: 20.46.1

HiHi 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..JJCOOKIECRUMVersion: 20.52.1

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..RostenCVersion: 21.40.1

I’m sorry whatSo, 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.Sydstr1Version: 20.17.0

Last update ruined the replay featurePlease 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. //.VocabularyFunVersion: 21.43.0

Good product/poor customer serviceI bought a yearly subscription last year. I have enjoyed the app and it is user friendly. A few months ago I decided to do the monthly live online courses. I found these challenging given that I was starting from near rock bottom. I tried two group lessons and one private lesson. The instructors were nice but spoke very little English which made it hard when I didn’t understand things. The instructors would explain things in Spanish and when I didn’t understand, the instructors would continue to explain in Spanish. I would say these classes would be really nice if you speak some Spanish going in or just need to brush up on your Spanish. After two weeks I cancelled my monthly live subscription. The following month, Babbel charged my card. I thought I had made a mistake but when I opened my account it showed I had indeed cancelled my monthly live subscription. After weeks of back and forth with Babbel they finally agreed to give me half of my money back. If not for the customer service I probably would have continued to use the app. But after that experience with Babbel’s customer service I will never use this company again..MugdwubVersion: 21.60.0

Babbel paid version after 6 monthsBabbel 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..DJ MacDaddyVersion: 21.20.0

It’s okSeemed 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..AlwaysAnalyticalVersion: 21.11.0

Not user friendlyI 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.Brett pelVersion: 21.24.0

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..Turtle42069Version: 21.42.1

The voice recognition is too capriciousI 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..Primary badgerVersion: 20.34.0

Not enough language optionsSo I’m constantly looking for good language learning apps and thought I’d try this one but then deleted shortly after because my target language right now is Korean and it’s not offered on hear, also noticed there’s no Japanese or Chinese languages on here either, the language selection is very limited, i don’t know if the selection is bigger with a subscription but I don’t even want to pay to find out..Mimidiangelo97Version: 20.36.0

SadWhy is it you only get one lesson for free? People could buy an entire book about the language for a lower price..Posiedon power war of the godsVersion: 20.36.0

Dont take itIt is very hard to cancel your membership They make it is very complicated to cancel to make sure they get as much money as they can from you because your membership is renewed automatically. They should be in prison Never take this app !!!!!.VvvfffdddsrtuiogxsevVersion: 5.7.0

DisappointedDidn’t realize how expensive it is!!!! With this small of choices you can’t charge 15 bucks a month when duolingo is free and has 100s of languages!.Crazedpanda9Version: 21.25.0

Repeating pronunciationI'm enjoying this app if it works correctly. Half the time it doesn't because the keyboard covers up the next question. I have already sent a report about this and have not heard anything. If this can't be corrected I will cancel this app and get another program from another source. Previous review that I did not send send this: I am enjoying this app but feel there is not enough chance to imitate the pronunciation after an answer has been completed. It goes right onto the next question after they have said the completed sentence. I would prefer if they would wait longer between exercises so I can hear what they say and repeat it myself, without being interrupted by the next exercise popping up..CaroCCVersion: 5.6.2

Not Very TemptingI learned “Yes”, “Hello” and “Please” in Turkish in a two minute long exercise. Then I’m pushed to purchase the additional lessons. Can it at least be fun first?.Davesaves91Version: 5.7.1

Cancelling Babbel SubscriptionDo not create an account that renews automatically!! It is not a user friendly app. I am still trying to cancel a subscription I purchased 3 months ago with no success..VplintVersion: 21.52.2

Charged for subscription after cancelingBe carful how you cancel and take screen shots I cancelled my subscription a month before it was to renew. I got charged for another year and customer service tells me I can “enjoy all the features of the program till it expires next January”. Great thank you I can now use what I never intended to use. So even if I WAS 100% happy with the program. I would NOT be happy paying for something I’m not using nor intend to use. Now I’m more disgruntled because I’m not happy with the program. I don’t feel it’s working that well for me (hence canceling) and now I have an extra months to be frustrated by it..Pilot39Version: 21.49.0

Peu malléableSachez que l’abonnement ne paye que pour une langue, alors que sur Duolingo on a accès à tous les cours de langue. Je voulais pratiquer un peu d’espagnol avant un voyage et ensuite continuer l’apprentissage de ma langue seconde, j’ai donc payé l’abonnement par erreur car je n’en avais plus besoin après le voyage. Malgré plusieurs courriels je n’ai pas eu de réponse pour qu’on me donne l’accès au cours que je voulais, pour ce montant payé, c’est f****** nul..Filledu450brossardVersion: 21.40.1

SHOCKED BY LANGUAGE CHOICES! THAT’S IT? Countries with predominantly, Caucasian populations?It is May 2023 and I was totally shocked to see my language choices. I spent so much time and energy comparing Duolingo and Rosetta and Babble and was shocked when Babble was editors choice above all. However, I’ve already learned Spanish, Italian, and French. I think these are probably the most popular languages that people want to learn. I would think that Mandarin (since it’s the number one business language) would’ve been an option. It was extremely shocking to see the options available were Swedish, Polish, Turkish, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian… and then, at the end, a little Indonesia, in there to make it look a little less predominately Caucasian . I mean like come on! Majority of the countries here are predominantly white countries. I have no intention of going to any of those countries… What happened to Punjabi? Or as I mentioned, Mandarin? Korean? Or Thai languages like Siamese or Mon. Wow! I’m just absolutely speechless..Azria The AmaZonVersion: 21.25.0

Annoying bingsIt’s like listening to a slot machine every time you select a response it bings. I can’t stand it..GMR416Version: 21.12.0

Caution!!!!!BE careful!!! You are signing up for a SUBSCRIPTION THAT AUTOMATICALLY RENEWS..DifbcbVersion: 20.92.0

TerribleI wanted to cancel and can’t. It charged me $44 again. This app is awful. I am try to understand a language and it was great lesson one. Taught me 4 words then onto sentences. Like i dont have a clue what’s happening. Ill be calling my credit card to report this..CarmcarmcarmVersion: 20.88.0

Zero stars would be more accurate!I stopped using the app 9 months ago and continue to get charged $50 every few months even though I cannot even access the lessons if I wanted to. I canceled my subscription and continue to be billed. Worst App ever, how do I even fix this?!? I can’t stop payment on an app????.Not bilingual and not happyVersion: 20.87.0

Only 3 free lessons in French unlike Dev. response 😡I read the reviews that said there was only a few free courses, to which a developer responded saying there are “20-60 free lessons”. So I decided to give it a try... we’ll I got 3 lessons in before I had to pay to move any further! Also, I’m a B level French student and was placed in the absolute beginner courses 🙄.DankyDollVersion: 20.65.0

TerribleI have been paying for doing my courses with babbel and all my historic of Italian and French disappeared. It is like I have not done one single lesson of these courses and the support of babbel did not give me any solution.Diversão 53Version: 20.37.0

EhI absolutely love the app.... if I could do all the lessons. I can do two of the lessons and then I have to pay. All I want is to learn Portuguese to talk to my exchange student friend and it’s trying to make me pay over $20 a month!.Genie_E_27Version: 20.36.0

BabbleNot worth. I have not been doing only wanted to try it and took money now took another payment with out permission. Very unhappy customer..OreowocketVersion: 20.30.2

Doesn’t refund as promisedI signed up with a 20 day free period. I keep messaging them but they haven’t refunded me. I paid via PayPal. I didn’t like the app. Duolingo is better They are crooks as far as I am concerned.Sheri3463Version: 20.89.0

Stupid AppDuolingo is better app than this. This app has 99.99% stuff paid..Damn ThugVersion: 20.36.0

Not freeOnly the first lesson is free. This is deceptive. It should not be listed under a free app.Bull roarVersion: 21.62.2

Commentaire sur BabbelDe façon général c’est une bonne appli pour apprendre les langues … moi j’ai utilisé Babel pour apprendre l’allemand et l’italien … MAIS il pourrait quand même faire des efforts pour faire des traductions en français qui respectent la version originale de la langue d’apprentissage… Des exemples j’en ai des pleines pages … et ce sans exagérer.. Comme par exemple “Zum datenabgleich”… qui se traduit en français … “pour comparaison des données “ Alors que la traduction Babel est … ”afin de vérifier vos données clients”. ????? Ce qui correspond en allemand …” Um die Kundendaten zu überprüfen “ Ça manque de sérieux … vraiment Même chose pour l’italien.. Suite à votre réponse … il y a une différence entre la traduction mot à mot et l’ajout d’info /mot dans la traduction … zum datenabgleich ….. une comparaison de données n’est pas nécessairement que pour des donnees clients … pourquoi dans la traduction le mot client apparaît… J’ai travaillé qq années en Allemagne … et mon allemand est assez bon … pour savoir qu’il Ne faut pas traduire mont a mot … mais on doit quand même respecter l’info que l’on veux véhiculer Je parles français , anglais allemand, et maintenant un peu l’ italien… et je suis pleinement capable et convient qu’une traduction ne peux pas être fait au mot à mot … mais doit tout de même respecter l’info du message initiale.Alain Hubert canadaVersion: 21.61.0

Won’t allow Family ShareDemands that each member of the family pays for a full subscription to use..Agalant-68Version: 21.61.0

Dazed and confusedNot an intuitive program for me. I do not seem to able to go back to review past lessons?.AphemeralVersion: 21.61.0

Good lessons, bad interfaceTheir GUI needs some love. Spelling words is frustratingly horrible and difficult. I think I get more wrong just trying to spell words (even though I know them) but it doesn’t pick up my presses and I have to repeatedly press a letter for it to respond. Speaking requires you to hold down the button too which I don’t like but is manageable. 5 stars otherwise but my patience is low and it really is frustrating. Trying to spell “Juli” but having to repeatedly hit the “u” is something I’ve only experienced in this program..WHighwindVersion: 21.60.0

Entering wordsThis makes me crazy! Great course and stupid app! When you are asked to type a word by letters it doesn’t fell your finger or pencil touch and doesn’t enter a letter. So stupid bug creates bad attitude….J.RuncisVersion: 21.59.0

Learning Irrelevant InformationI wanted to learn some basic Italian to use in everyday conversation while travelling. This app seems to teach language that is completely useless to someone who is travelling. I don’t need to learn how to tell someone where they live in Italian or say boyfriend. I need to learn how to ask for directions and where the restroom is..GnevetSVersion: 21.58.0

$$Don’t bother if ur not willing to pay it will only let you do one lesson.Angry gamer!🫧Version: 21.58.0

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