Hi everyone! I just wanted to make a post about a specific language learning resource that I've actually found very helpful; that resource is Babbel.
When I first started learning Swedish, I used a lot of apps like Duolingo and Memrise that didn't honestly help me very much. These might work for some people, I'm not trying to hate on them, but for me they weren't the best. Probably the only language learning app that I actually really enjoyed, however, was Babbel. After discovering it, I used it to get myself to a level in Swedish where I could start searching for comprehensible input and learning that way.
Babbel is honestly great because it combines vocabulary with grammar, teaching you both at the same time. It's much less gamified than other apps, but I think that's honestly a good thing. It's like a digital textbook almost, but with an automated flashcard review system and native speaker audio. I had the most success with it when I took notes on each lesson and also made sure to do my reviews each day.
Babbel will NOT get you fluent, but after trying out dozens of different apps I can confidently say that there is no such thing as a language learning app that will make you fluent. You have to actually use the language for that, and it takes time. What Babbel does is help you to learn key vocab terms while also learning grammar rules for the language, it can help you get to the point where you can actually begin using the language and learning through immersion.
One thing I also really appreciate about Babbel is that they have a student discount, you can get three months for only $14.99. This was helpful to me as a university student and was one of the reasons I tried out Babbel to begin with, so definitely look into that if you're a student and considering Babbel.
Here are some cons I've found:
-The native speakers tend to speak fairly slowly. This is helpful for figuring out pronunciation but can make your listening comprehension be worse than your reading, writing, and speaking. This can be solved by listening to native content on your own.
-There aren't many chances to write in the language, other than writing a word or phrase to fill in a blank. I know apps like Busuu allow you to submit texts in your TL to have corrected by native speakers, a feature like this would make Babbel even better.
-You have to be consistent. Babbel worked great for me but I did it every day and took notes on the lessons. If you aren't a very motivated learner, Babbel might be difficult for you as it isn't really gamified or anything. You have to actually be willing to study for it to work, I've found.
Anyway, I just felt like making this post after signing up for a subscription to Babbel's French course today. I was initially trying to follow a Refold-based approach for French, but while that works fine for my Swedish I felt like it was very difficult to do as a complete beginner in a language. I think putting in some actual time studying can definitely get you through the beginner stages way quicker, so you can start actually enjoying the native content you watch. I signed up for Babbel since it worked so well for me with Swedish, and after starting to use it again I realized that it's a really underrated resource. I never see many people talk about it, so I wanted to make a post about it for those who haven't looked into it before.
I would specifically recommend it for beginners. Once you're at an upper beginner/intermediate level I think you'll be much better off if you just immerse in the language. I think that what Babbel does best is getting you through the beginner stages, the A1 and A2, in a comprehensive and timely manner so that you aren't floundering around forever in the starting stages.
Note: I'd just like to make a note that I'm not sponsored at all by Babbel, I'm not getting paid or getting a discount or anything to make this post, I just legitimately feel like it's a great resource that doesn't get talked about much. I think it can save both time and money compared to things like trying to just immerse straight away without having any prior knowledge in the language, or paying for expensive language classes.
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