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Babbel - Language Learning App Complaints & User Negative Comments 2024
Babbel - Language Learning app received 110 complaints, negative comments and reviews by users. Have you ever had a bad experience using Babbel - Language Learning? Can you share your negative thoughts about babbel - language learning?
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Babbel - Language Learning for Negative User Reviews
✓ Brazilian Portuguese not EuropeanI’ve been using this app in order to help me speak to my friends in Portugal and to demonstrate a willingness to participate in their language and culture. They are telling me that I am getting things slightly wrong and I was confused until I realised that this course is Brazilian. Having said that, there are some good aspects to the learning process but also some annoying aspects. Even with my keyboard switched to Portuguese there doesn’t appear to be any way of adding accents etc and the app is random as to whether it accepts an answer without these or not. I was also struggling to see the relevance of being able to spell the names of various nationalities before learning basic verb conjugation and the speech recognition feature needs some working on - again a bit random.Version: 21.26.0
✓ 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..Version: 20.52.1
✓ 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.Version: 21.24.0
✓ MāoriWhen will Babel add Māori?.Version: 21.11.0
✓ 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..Version: 21.42.1
✓ Need JapaneseI think you guys are missing out on a huge opportunity, everyone wants Japanese on this app, with the country booming with tourism and getting increasingly popular I think your a little mad to not add Japanese to one of your languages, I have not met a single person who has gone to japan who doesn’t go back frequently, it’s an amazing place to visit and with the commonwealth games coming up next year it will only increase more! I think I read it’s not even in the works for you guys at the moment which is insane, not only is it becoming an increasingly popular place for tourism but also people wanting to live and work over there, Japanese is also one of the easiest languages you can learn, honestly total madness!.Version: 20.15.0
✓ 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..Version: 20.30.2
✓ No App SupportDo not pay for this App I would give negative stars if I could!!! Update: I followed the developers directions in their response but those are the same channels I’ve been messaging them about my issues for a week with no response. Save your money and pick another language app. I paid for a subscription on the browser based site that was supposed to give me access to the lessons on the app, but it did not carry over. After days of trying to reach customer service I’m ready to give up. No response no help and I’m only apple to use the web based lessons not the app. The lessons I have taken are not great either. The developer contacted me and asked me to get in touch with them through the same channels they ignore me through!!! What a joke!!.Version: 21.43.0
✓ Text layout is rubbish - typing blind oftenNew user. And I haven’t got off to a great start. I’m using an iPad and it only works in landscape mode. Normally that would be great as that’s what I prefer. Except the text I’m supposed to be typing in keeps vanishing off the top of the screen. I zap the keyboard and I can read it but as soon as I start to type, it’s off the screen again. Meanwhile there’s acres of white space just wasted below the sentence I’m supposed to be reading on the screen. Can’t change anything significant in terms of appearance. Can’t select vertical mode - even if I start the app with the tablet vertical, the app only comes up in landscape mode. It just comes across so amateurish! Not impressed so far…. If the iPad is not properly supported, I’m not confident of other devices! It was a surprising response. I have contacted them for a refund (I neither want to work on a small screen, nor sit up at my computer desk.).Version: 21.44.0
✓ More languagesNow babble seems like a great app, honestly looks more helpful then duolingo, I like the colour scheme but there’s a problem. Now I’m planning on moving to japan later on in my life but if I go to japan I’m obviously going to at least know the basics of Japanese. It’s going well so far but I think I’m stuck and need help with it if you know what I mean. You need more languages, especially because Japanese is a very popular language and I’m sure that there are other people in the word who are having the same problem as me..Version: 20.51.1
✓ Good but not completeThe app itself is good, lessons are well thought out with a balance of grammar, practice in various ways (methods of listening, writing speaking), and many extras are offered in ways to help one expand one’s vocabulary. One problem with this app is the material simply doesn’t go far enough, things such as the imperfect subjunctive etc., which is used a lot in speech is completely missing from the app’s lessons. It would be good to see higher levels and more practice opportunities offered by Babbel, without this it would never be a stand alone source to learn Italian, but can be used along side other materials, books, videos and other free resources such as Duolingo (which although free does offer lessons on things such as the imperfetto congiuntivo). Otherwise practice options seem limited, it would be better to see more option to further practice and develop an understanding of grammar and language in use. Likewise some improvements to the voice recognition technology are required. This is not a bad app or tool for helping you learn Italian, but it is by no means a complete system, yet..Version: 20.30.2
✓ 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!.Version: 21.25.0
✓ MauvaisJe veux apprendre l’espagnol pour voyager.Version: 21.46.0
✓ Beware of illegal renewal chargesEven though my credit card had expired, and details were not updated, Babbel still found a way of processing the payment. Perhaps my frustration should be more with VISA than with Babbel. Once Babbel was aware of the situation I received a favourable response..Version: 20.72.0
✓ Keeps telling me I’m offlineOops Offline.Version: 21.42.1
✓ I wanna learn Japanese20th May: Please add Japanese. This is a great app and will definitely help but I mainly only want to learn Japanese. p.s I would rate 5 stars if there was Japanese Edit- 3rd September: I'm still waiting for Japanese! Please I need the Japanese language in my life, you guys better add it! 2nd edit- 19th December: With this update I am still waiting for Japanese. I believe you have already added some other languages but currently all I have seen from the reviews are the fact that people want Japanese. Please add Japanese! So far the app has been great I just learnt Italian; planning on going there on day 😊 Love yall.Version: 5.7.1
✓ Language rangeI love your app and I think it is a great way to learn new languages. It’s good that there are so many different ways of learning styles that are included in this one app, but it would be highly improved if there was a bigger range of languages. I think that languages like Arabic, Japanese, Korean, or even Chinese should definitely be added to this app since it would benefit so many people. The huge amount of learning styles that are included should add up to a larger amount of languages, which right now is not included. I do still like your app and think it is very creative and easy to use but it could be improved by just adding some new languages to explore..Version: 20.45.0
✓ Deleted all my progressI started using the app a few days ago, I got to about half way through A1 Italian, devoting a fair amount of time. Today I jump on to continue and all my progress is gone… It’s a pretty good app with clear progression, but ultimately useless if it can’t keep track of my progress..Version: 21.27.0
✓ Annoying bingsIt’s like listening to a slot machine every time you select a response it bings. I can’t stand it..Version: 21.12.0
✓ IssueSo I’m a 14 year old high school student, I’ve always loved foreign languages and I wanted to use this app to learn Russian since it had good reviews. Unfortunately now that I’ve done the first part to the first lesson I have to select a ‘plan’ to keep going, bare in mind I’m not old enough to get a job yet, I have to be 15 and 9 months. I have no way of paying for it which is quite annoying as I’ve tried other apps and this one I was most comfortable with. I’m not sure if there is another way but from what I can tell it’s a play to use app so keep it in mind that if your a student using this you may not be able to do much..Version: 20.54.0
✓ No JapaneseWas hoping to use this app to help me with my Japanese studies, only to download it and find that it doesn't have Japanese on it. This app needs to expand on the languages it has..Version: 5.3.1
✓ OkIt’s fun, But even if you get a low score they pass you and move you on to the next level. So now I am really behind..Version: 20.45.0
✓ Voice recognition is garbageDownloaded with expectations and signed up for subscription plan and deleted the same day. The voice recognition does not work at all. Have had no issues with other language learning apps and voice recognition. Even words I am *very* confident I am pronouncing correctly are not accepted. It will not even allow you to finish a word before there is an error. Avoid this app if that’s important to you..Version: 21.46.0
✓ Need a pronunciation help systemI enjoy using the app and it is helping me learn a lot however I get very very frustrated on the speech/sentence repeat questions. If I am not pronouncing the phrase correctly it will not let me move on a level but there is no further help as to how to pronounce it. There should be an option to slow down the voice of the speaker to make the pronunciation syllables more clear. Or a written out syllable version of the phrase. I will listen to the same sentence 20 times and repeat it back but can’t work out what it is I am doing wrong for it to not refits yet as correct. I feel as though I am repeating exactly what it is saying though clearly I am not but I can’t notice anything different in the sentence that is spoken to be quickly. It’s annoying when it’s one question I know I must be pronouncing fairly correctly that is stoping me progressing to the next lesson. I understand the meaning and formation of the sentences well and love the way the app teaches you gramma and everything..Version: 20.30.2
✓ 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..Version: 20.88.0
✓ DO NOT GET THIS APPI’ve tried giving this app another go but once again money was taken out of my account without my authorisation !! My billing information on the app was an expired card and and either Babbel or Apple has taken $119 out of my account. The customer service through Babbel to try and fix this issue was unhelpful and didn’t even listen to the issue properly. Basically told me it’s not their problem and to take it up with Apple and that I subscribed on the 19th of September, the day the money was taken out. (Even though I had signed up months ago - not on the 19th of September. It’s honestly extremely annoying and what the app has to offer Isn’t even that good. Not worth your time and will probably rip you off! Day light robbery..Version: 20.57.0
✓ Il manque d’explications dans votre système MerciLe programme ne donne pas des outils pour poursuivre lorsque nous arrêtons À la base au tout début je ne trouve pas un mode de fonctionnement de votre programme Merci.Version: 21.46.0
✓ Very hard to followI am so frustrated! Assumes I can remember grammar from school, didn’t get it then! Classic one today- explains how the ending of a verb works then uses a totally different verb for the exercise with totally different endings bearing no resemblance to the explanation above, I literally had to guess and no idea when I get it right! They assume too much, also the so has no AI dynamic where it adapts to my struggle. Words constantly come up that I have to google! My last hate is the changes of pronunciation by the different voices on the same word. It jumps between Brazil and Portugal pronunciation. I would rather stick to one for now! Lastly it forces you to learn lots of questions and answers pretending to be several nationalities, it also expects me to be able to spell all these countries. Surely it should focus on my language and country in the early stages? I had no idea it would be so inflexible. I’m trying to stick at it because it cost so much but getting more frustrating by the day and it hasn’t even covered the basics like shop, post office, house, inside, outside, on top, what time is it and all the useful stuff!.Version: 21.30.0
✓ Needs a continue button at every point!The writing the translation parts need a continue button, not just type in and go straight on to the next one. I want to be able to replay what it is I’ve translated. Also, an option to speed up or slow down the speech so I can get a better grip of what’s being said. Also, putting the full keyboard up is a distraction, instead maybe just the letters like you do with everything else so I can burn it into my brain. That said, I’m having fun with it. Just frustrated that I can’t go back to what I just typed in and reply the speaking of it. I’ll add to this. Make more languages available please. I now run a crew of Korean guys at work but, there’s no option to learn it. I’m playing you to learn it and happy to pay what’s needed. Please open up more languages and an option to slow the speech down. Maybe like a slide scope so we can hear the words properly. Thanks much. ☺️.Version: 20.53.0
✓ Turning off auto-renew didn’t workI turned off “auto-renew subscription” soon after getting Babbel and yet I was recently hit by a renewal charge. I realise now that I should have demanded a confirmation that my subscription had been cancelled so I had it in writing. Even so, more honest companies send you an email reminding you that your subscription is due to renew before it does. But Babbel hit me with an unexpected $75NZD six month subscription renewal fee without warning. Be careful giving this company your payment details..Version: 20.27.0
✓ Just doesn’t workI’ve had this app for about two years. Every single time I’ve opened the app, I’ve received the message “Unable to connect to Babbel”, with retry icons. Retry never works. Using a newish phone model and keep the app updated in the hope it might finally start working - still doesn’t work. I’ve never been able to so much as look at one course, let alone enjoy the multiple course access I supposedly have. Automatically re-subscribed at full cost in the second year with no email notice ahead of time - I originally purchased when the app was on sale. I’m trying to figure out how to unsubscribe from this thing before it burns me for another year..Version: 21.14.1
✓ Keep Charing my moneyI find out this is hopeless, how com does not have support. I only buy 3 months and keep charge money from my account I’m gonna keep companies..Version: 20.84.0
✓ Great Concept - Not So Great Price!Having already studied French for 3 years, I thought learning through Babbel would help me to progress at home, to further develop my vocabulary. However, upon starting up it asks you to move the world icon to your level of expertise, beginner or advanced, without any in-between options. My vocabulary isn’t exactly advanced, but I certainly don’t need to revise ‘bonjour’ and ‘merci’. However, I decided to stick with it to ease myself into the structure of the courses, but was actually incredibly disappointed. I received 2 lessons, each lasting less than 4 minutes, before being told that to access the next lesson, I had to pay a subscription fee. Perhaps after a few more lessons, if things were starting to progress, I may have. 2 lessons is not nearly enough! Whilst this app has great potential, there is certainly work to be done around the amount of lessons accessible before payment is required..Version: 5.7.1
✓ Verification And Not MuchWell I Saw This app, I thought, maybe here I can learn Hebrew, but I headed straight to installing, it looked so good, the installation finished and I was ready! I saw the languages and here I got disappointed I didn’t see that much languages, most were ones I didn’t want to learn, and oh boy they don’t have hard languages! It’s important to have them because hard needs learning but easy is boring. I’m like, ok whatever I’ll pick a Language! But I clicked a Language, what do you get? You need an email. See, emails are annoying But an email? Just why? Duolingo gives you the basics then an email to do more! And you font Have a problem. But babble? No! Don’t even get the basics and to do so, a Email that connects with Facebook and all those apps, I Saw the ad thinking whatever and when I saw it, I thought it was helpful! No Hate I Am Just Pointing Out The Annyoing Stuff because, there are kids using the app! And kids seeing this? Nah they think of going back to Duolingo! Anyways, P.O..Version: 20.37.0
✓ Don’t download unless you want to pay for it forever -Dishonest in-app subscription renewalThis app not only has deceitful app UI that doesn’t give any option in-app to changed subscriptions, they also blame every ‘can’t unsubscribe’ review on the Apple subs process. It isn’t Apple. If you do want to unsubscribe you have to go to the website version and jump through all of the hoops there. If you have difficulty, Babbel support will send a boilerplate reply laying blame on Apple for their ‘difficult’ process to cancel. Rest assured, if you subs was through Apple you wouldn’t have had a problem. Babbel is biting the hand that feeds them by blaming Apple for their deceitful subscription management UI and continue to further upset their already dissatisfied customers. I now will actively tell people to never pay for this app. To my original review, I wanted to cancel my subscription before it renewed but the settings in-app said I didn’t have a subscription. I checked Apple store and no subscription there either. I had a subscription through the app, they just choose to not show any subs details in-app. When I finally found the right rabbit hole to fall down (on the Babbel website) and cancelled future deductions and contacted support, they made the refund after telling me it was my fault I was charged and they were doing so as a show of good faith. Hah. Don’t download this app unless you intend on paying for it forever..Version: 20.71.0
✓ To expensiveI am a kid. I don’t have money if my own yet. I was hoping I found be able to learn Spanish but aparently not.Version: 20.72.0
✓ Great content but only in iPad landscape modeThe content and language learning is great, however, for iPad the app only displays in landscape mode and unable to rotate to portrait which is my preferred view. It is very frustrating. I purchased my iPad specifically to level-up my language learning and use Babbel (it is that good!) but found it’s a poor user experience on iPad given it is only available in landscape mode. Babbel, please make your iPad app available in portrait mode..Version: 21.1.0
✓ Generally good but backwardsAs a beginner, one thing I don’t get whatsoever is why the app would teach you selected words and phrases for specific situations and then shortly after that progression the app throws you a test with new words and phrases that you haven’t been taught yet and expects you to just figure it out somehow all the while testing you. So, because you’re a beginner, you fail the tests not having learnt the words and phrases yet and have to go back to get it right. Is this a smart way of teaching someone a new language? To have them fail on tests because they haven’t been taught that content yet, feel miserable that they’re failing from the get go and then get a 100% pass after going back to correct the mistakes. Don’t you teach and then practice and then test? Bizarre approach and it’s a good thing there’s 7 days free trial because now I know this is not the app that’s going to make me feel good and motivated learning a new language so I’ve canceled the 12 month subscription and will look for a teaching app that teaches then tests only what has been taught..Version: 21.36.0
✓ Good, but we need more languages addedBabbel is a good app, I can assure that. But I feel as though, you should put more consideration into the languages you have. Alot of people are wanting to learn languages such as Japanese and Korean. I would Love to have the Languages Japanese and Thai added to Babbel. And I love watching anime, due to that, Ive picked up a few words from It. After a while I wanted to learn Japanese instead of just "Picking up words" and then at some point, I'd perhaps be able to watch anime without subtitles and I was hoping that maybe Babbel would have that. Unfortunately they didn't 😢. And I would Love it if you added The Thai language to this because I also enjoy watching Thai drama's (My favourite is Souts) I would love to learn Thai to be able to watch things with my favourite Thai actor, Without needing the subtitles. Please Just consider this review..Version: 20.22.0
✓ 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!.Version: 20.26.2
✓ Please add thisYou guys should add canadian-french because some words are different and i live in canada ahhaha.Version: 20.49.0
✓ It is ok.The app itself is good to very good. But I have marked it down as every time it’s updated it loses my payment info and I have to go back in a roundabout way to restore it. Now with this latest update, ALL of my progress data is gone and I can not log in no matter what I do - even using earlier babbel recommended ways and the current recommended way. That is seriously annoying hence the savage mark down. Now I am having to cancel my subscriptions, uninstall and reinstall and resubscribe costing me more. And I have no way to contact app support as well. Please do something about this as this is very poor form and other apps keep all my data and log in..Version: 20.6.0
✓ 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!.Version: 20.36.0
✓ WHY DO YOU HAVE TO PAYWHY CANT I JUST PLAY THE APP WHEN I HAVE TO PAY 😡😡😡.Version: 21.14.1
✓ Not for over-50s with less than perfect eyesight!There is so much empty screen and you have to look at tiny text way down at the bottom of the screen. I have trouble reading it at all and I happily read most things ok on my phone. The other issue is the keyboard. It is English whereas I am learning a language with special letters which appear on a language specific keyboard. Why is the keyboard not language specific so it isn’t so hard to use? Seems like a basic requirement. I can’t really get far enough to tell how good the app is for learning a language because of these 2 problems..Version: 20.4.0
✓ Was good, but new updates...This was a very good app, and has taken me further with Spanish than I have managed before, but the new format is very poor indeed. The lessons seem to be less informative, almost “dumbed down”. Also the motivational “those who listen are wise” etc. are just patronising and irritating. Plus you have to press more “continue” buttons to get through the lessons and reviews, making it clunkier to use. Finally, and worst of all, I’ve noticed that when reviewing, some of my answers are marked correct when they haven’t been; “coma” being marked correct when the answer was “comas” for example, meaning I’m having to double check I’ve actually written the correct answer. Not good. Come on Babbel, what’s going on? I pay a lot of money to use your app. I at least expect it to be accurate..Version: 20.50.0
✓ Another waste of moneyI got the app to communicate with my girlfriend better, and right off the bat, tries to teach you to separate that mean the same thing. Also want you to learn how to spell. Those words you don’t need to know how to spell words to no what they mean and how to say them!!! Save your money.Version: 21.44.0
✓ 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..Version: 20.87.0
✓ Uses old school techniques that don’t workRepetition, repetition, repetition... that’s how some of us learn. Particularly the older generation. Telling me a word and how to spell it won’t sink in unless I keep repeating it until I get it right. Waiting a day to test my memory is pointless! If I’m lucky enough to remember the word, it’s unlikely I’ll spell it correctly. Get it wrong...wait another day before I try again. Stuck with Babble for over 2 years but when they unilaterally changed their repeat, repeat system to a wait-and-try-tomorrow approach, I’m making zero progress. Their help desk was less than helpful. Almost indifferent..Version: 20.3.0
✓ 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..Version: 21.30.0
✓ Confusing and dullI bought a 3-month subscription to Babbel recently and I am really very disappointed. The content is very disorganised, with no clear direction as to which courses to follow in which order. The ‘novice’, ‘beginner’ and ‘intermediate’ courses in themselves seem to jump between random topics and also introduce new grammatical rules, words...etc without explanation. Altogether this makes the app both confusing and very boring...I’m finding it hard to motivate myself to use it. The ‘review’ system seems to work in a way that it only repeats (a fraction of) the lesson content once, shortly after I learn it, and very sporadically thereafter. This means I forget the content very quickly, can’t anticipate what content will come up in the review and can’t actively review lessons except by reading through a very long list of phrases in alphabetical order. There is no concession for typos and the written exercises require punctuation on some exercises but not others, which feels silly since the keyboard they provide doesn’t even allow you to use capital letters. The free trial only covers very basic content so while I wasn’t blown away by it I made the erroneous assumption that the rest of the course would be better. Silly mistake! If you’ve been using free apps like Duolingo and are wondering whether you should pay for something better, I’m afraid this isn’t it imo!.Version: 20.22.0
✓ For JuvenilesMuch harder to navigate than original version. Now comparable to Duolingo but Duolingo does it far better..Version: 21.43.0
✓ Excellent Content, disappointing app experienceThe language content on Babbel is great and the feature set with respect to the different learning modalities is excellent. Recently however the iPhone app has been a rubbish experience. Really long load times, delay between button press and action of 10+ seconds while completing course content. Hold to speak button not responding. iPhone 12, iOS 14.3 Switching to web on desktop is a better experience but you need to use Chrome. If you try to use Safari it appears the browser audio api can’t be used but the users isn’t informed so each audio clip simply plays and then continues..Version: 20.66.0
✓ Not fun not cheapAfter filling out all your personal information it gives you 1 min of play time for free, then spams you with ridiculously high priced options. Nothing in that free 1 minute indicates this is worth anyone’s time and there are cheaper alternatives. Get ready to have your email spammed because they need that, then the app spams prices, instead of continuing lessons, to learn anything more than “Hello”..Version: 21.46.0
✓ DisappointingFrench learning and Spanish is clearly where the heart lies with Babbel. I used Babbel for short period years ago, but cancelled and when asked why, I explicitly expressed the dissatisfaction of how poor the quality and progression of the Dutch courses are. 2 years on, I figured i would give them another shot, when you search for best apps to learn a language on, this comes out on top all the time, so they are either 1) paying for reviews to express how they are top of the app chain in language study or 2) solely plowing their investment, time and care into anything but the 3 powerhouses that are English, French and Spanish. Sadly disappointed that I brought into it for another year with them once more, but I guess that highlights the fool, and the power of marketing. I would like to know if it is an option to change to French, or wether you are actually going to add more range to your Dutch….Version: 21.39.0
✓ DecentI’ve used Babbel previously for language learning and while it does offer a decent amount of material it’s quite expensive for what you get, it definitely helps and makes it easier but I would probably only recommend Babbel for absolute beginners, maybe just your first month of learning a new language. As there are a lot more cheaper apps that provide more material but in saying that, Babbel does have a unique way of teaching compared to others so it’s best just to give it a go yourself and try the free trial.Version: 21.26.0
✓ Only For Advanced StudentsBabbel is nowhere near as intuitive as its rivals. Throwing me into conversational Portuguese by about the second lesson I assume they just think all their students have memorised an entire (language of choice) translation dictionary and it’s just their job to teach you how to put words in the right order. I don’t know Babbel’s analytics but I’d bet money most students have bailed by lesson 10. Still, they’ve got at least one payment by then and I imagine that’s the most important thing to them. If you already speak a language to at least an intermediate level then this may be a useful aid to progression. Beginners should stay well away! To give an example of how they structure lessons just try filling in the blanks without being properly taught the missing words and not speaking any English - “I have ____ paid for a language app and I am feeling _____ off because it ______ I already know most Portuguese verbs/nouns and their ______.” Stumped? Of course you are. Now imagine if you didn’t know any of the above words let alone the potential missing ones. That’s a Babbel lesson for you. They don’t just try to get you to run before you can walk... they try to get you to get into a car and driving down a motorway before you can walk which is why I suspect they have a lot of crashes. For students into a second year of studying only. Edit: I don’t know why the app is asking me to review this again. My opinion has not changed..Version: 20.58.0
✓ 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..Version: 21.40.1
✓ TerribleThis game is terrible it makes you pay don’t get it.Version: 21.45.0
✓ Good content, subscription can be priceyThe content is good, a little better than duolingo I think, but there's not an option to just buy a course for a set amount. It's all $15/mo subscription which might be good if you're young or retired and have lots of free time. However if you work and have kids and just want to learn a language in your free time over a year or two it's mind-numbingly expensive, especially considering for the price of a 3 month sub you can get a very good language course from a bookshop and you own it..Version: 5.6.2
✓ Ok at bestWas hoping for more. Doesn’t support more than one learning style..Version: 20.2.0
✓ 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.Version: 20.17.0
✓ 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????.Version: 20.87.0
✓ Rip offCancelling their subscription is like threading through the eye of a needle with your whole body. It’s impossible..Version: 20.68.0
✓ LanguagesI feel that there are not enough language’s such because today when I first downloaded this app I didn’t really see Chinese in the category. Please fix this and add more language, and I understand your app is still under development but please fix this quickly. thank you.Version: 21.18.0
✓ Caution!!!!!BE careful!!! You are signing up for a SUBSCRIPTION THAT AUTOMATICALLY RENEWS..Version: 20.92.0
✓ 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..Version: 5.6.2
✓ Great app just read the small printMy partner and I wanted to learn Spanish, we are at different levels but going through the lessons together meant that we helped each other, which was actually fab.....Anyway, life got in the way and we ended up loosing interest, I had signed up to whichever programme that you pay 3 instalments for, once I had paid my last instalment I made sure that I had stopped my subscription..... Cut to a few months later and I started getting charged again, only to realise that the only way you can cancel Babel is through the settings on the app. Maybe that seems obvious, but as it is a subscription I would have assumed that I would have been able to see pending payments coming out on my Apple ID-not the case. To me this seems a bit cheeky, as had I have been able to see that-like I can with all other apps where there is a monthly fee-I would have known that I had not fully cancelled my subscription-and as it’s £20 every couple of months, and I thought I had cancelled it 8 months ago. I emailed Babel and I got a very speedy response which I appreciated. This review is in no way intended to slate the app, as like I said it is actually really good, it’s just my advice to ensure that if you decide to stop, make sure you get it right the first time!.Version: 20.19.0
✓ 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..Version: 21.20.0
✓ 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..Version: 21.5.0
✓ DanskI am using Babbel to help me learn Danish. I really like how everything is laid out, the length and content of the lessons (fairly practical) and the flash card reviews. This app “teaches” you more than other apps I have tried, which are more like practice tools rather than actual lessons. My only complaint is the voice recognition is really hit and miss. Sometimes my pronunciation is spot on, other times the app just will not recognise the [same] word I am trying to say and I have to press the little skip arrow after many, many attempts. It’s really frustrating and yes, I have tried messing with the microphone levels in Settings. Other apps I have are nowhere near this flakey..Version: 20.24.0
✓ Worst introductory experience ever!All the hype was there so I thought I would give this a try. The first lesson whilst learning Italian was to say “ciao”. I made sure everything was set up correctly with my microphone and the app simply could not recognise me saying the word no matter how I tried. Given I am currently in Florence and surrounded by Italians this word is easily said with very little effort yet the app could not recognise and so I literally could not get past the very first step of the very first lesson. I then tried google translate to make sure I was not missing something and to provide a point of reference. It was detected straight away so I know I am saying it correctly. Absolutely terrible for Italian. I will try French but not very hopeful. Weak at best..Version: 20.6.0
✓ Waste for some languagesPaid for a full year subscription to find out they only have a short beginner course for Russian language which I’ve almost completed in a couple of weeks. Waste of money..Version: 21.45.0
✓ 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?.Version: 5.7.1
✓ Was fantastic,but now...........Due to the coronavirus outbreak I’ve had 3 weeks away from Babbel, Since that time there has obviously been a software update and it’s totally ruined what was a brilliant learning app on my I pad, I’m more annoyed because I’ve recommend Babbel to everyone I know ,including my brother who has just paid for a years membership ☹️, I can’t understand why it’s been changed to a such a bad format when it was great to start with, unless it’s changed soon I will not be renewing my membership, I turned the stupid sound affects off in settings and it still makes the noise, the letters on the screen that you type with are so small it’s impossible to see them ,the screen freezes and is slow ,if you make a mistake it doesn’t now show you the correct spelling before you move to the next section , none of that happened before !!!!!, I can understand updates to improve things, but to make it rubbish seems really strange , before the update I would have given a glowing review and 5 stars, now it’s lucky to get 2 stars.Version: 20.46.0
✓ Doesn’t take prisonersIf you want to learn how to write the language strictly like you’re going to have to take an exam or something then this is for you. However, if you just want learn to talk for holidays or with family etc then not so good. Yes it is still good for learning a language but if you are just starting out it gets hard very quickly, be prepared to not take it to heart when you get a red error and subsequent sound when you miss spell something. This is not a teacher who will know what you were trying to say, no, this will flash red as if you’ve wrote something in Klingon and not just missed a letter out. Also, the keyboard at the bottom of the screen is constantly not registering what I’m typing, or miss registers. Good app but could be better. Note to developers: don’t be so harsh on small mistakes it’s really off putting when you’re low confidence just starting out. Minor mistakes should flash orange or something..Version: 20.55.0
✓ 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 !!!!!.Version: 5.7.0
✓ Disappointed with updateHave enjoyed using this app until last update. All I want is the “play all” button back for my vocabulary. Impossible to go through it while driving without it! Please bring it back! I’m going to fail my Svenska!!.Version: 20.1.5
✓ 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..Version: 20.36.0
✓ Not many languagesI started this app and was really bummed it didn’t have Japanese because that’s what I’ve been trying to learn for a while now. Obviously I don’t use this app now but if I wanted to learn one of the other languages I guess it seems pretty good. Although I’d really recommend adding Asian languages. Thanks.Version: 20.89.0
✓ WorstKept auto charging me without my consent don’t waste your money in this app.Version: 21.44.0
✓ SadWhy is it you only get one lesson for free? People could buy an entire book about the language for a lower price..Version: 20.36.0
✓ 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..Version: 21.46.0
✓ Awful Customer SupportI downloaded Babbel to learn Polish and I began a 7 day trial. I completed nearly 4 courses and after the 7 days was up it automatically charged my account for 1 year (which I wanted) however I no longer had access to my Polish courses. I contacted them via email and got a response nearly a week later telling me to log in with my Apple ID and try to restore purchases, so I did that and it didn’t work. I sent screenshots of my billing email and showed my account does not have the benefits of the subscription but still have not heard anything back after 2 weeks. I am extremely dissatisfied, all I want is access to learn Polish, it’s supposed to be an automatic payment and add the subscription straight to my account I don’t see what has gone wrong here but the customer service is absolutely appalling and almost impossible to get through, and they still have the audacity to send me emails telling me I can get courses for 50% off. Really not happy..Version: 21.19.0
✓ 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..Version: 21.25.0
✓ 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..Version: 21.11.0
✓ Waste of timeIf I had've known that I had to pay for such a simple course I can do for free online, I never would have downloaded this app..Version: 5.4
✓ Great grammar section but…I am impressed with the explanation of the grammar points and there is a good variety of exercises available. However, I am starting to get very frustrated with the fact that a lot of multiple choice exercises do not require any thinking as the size of the gap gives away the answer. Choose between ser and estar, here is the gap: ___. Now choose between hoy and mañana: ______. I’ve paid for a year but I’m not sure if I am going to use it as my main Spanish learning app anymore. Pronunciation keeps changing between Spanish and South American. There is no consistency at all. Choose one and stick with it. Lastly, it needs a few more exercises to practise each grammar point. I know there is a separate grammar section - but I’ve tried using it and it’s useless - see the first point I made. I was a secondary school MFL teacher for almost 20 years until recently but even I cannot deal with a new tense every day without sufficiently practising the previous one so I am using other online resources instead. Lots of potential but definitely lots of improvements needed too!.Version: 21.24.0
✓ Comprehensive learning, average application...Great application. It's a little expensive but it works pretty well. The voice recognition is pretty weak compared to Doulingo and other language learners. The application also skips ahead of its own accord sometimes and sometimes miss-matches reading the text the line below the question. Content wise it's great and the explanations are very detailed however, you are often expected to spell words you have just literally just seen for the first time. Which is challenging for those without prior knowledge of the language or a photographic memory!.Version: 5.6.2
✓ BSIt doesn't just 'offer in-app purchases', it REQUIRES paying to learn past lesson one. Would've been nice to know that before I wasted 10 minutes on the first lesson..Version: 5.5.0
✓ Not worth the moneyFor what you get it’s not worth the money.Version: 21.24.0
✓ 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..Version: 21.40.1
✓ 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. //.Version: 21.43.0
✓ ScamThis app was really good until i found out that after two lessons you have to pay..Version: 20.2.0
✓ Stupid AppDuolingo is better app than this. This app has 99.99% stuff paid..Version: 20.36.0
✓ 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.Version: 20.37.0
✓ Limited optionsThis app doesnt have Greek nor Albanian. These are the 2 languages I want to learn :-(. When will these be added..Version: 5.4.1
✓ 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!.Version: 20.46.1
✓ Seriously?!?So, this app used to be awesome and engaging. I missed a day, logged in today and you changed the UI? And screwed it up in the process? Please change it back, or at the least give the option to have the old interface. I don’t have a RUSSIAN KEYBOARD! That’s why I’m trying to LEARN RUSSIAN! There used to be a virtual keyboard which showed up (regardless of if I had my iPad Pro Keyboard attached or not) which would block out the letters/ characters that we haven’t been taught yet. With that gone, I’m now overwhelmed by constantly trying to search for letters even though I haven’t gotten far enough in the lessons to know all the letters. I mean, really?!? Before I felt good about my learning, and now I feel like an idiot, it is no longer fun, and it takes too long to find the letters. Really?!? How do you go from being a great app to a horrible app over night? And I pay money for this? I can’t justify this cost, especially when this is already a supplement to Rosetta Stone for me. Sorry, but if this isn’t addressed, I doubt I’ll do even two more days. I quit halfway through a lesson today because it wasn’t worth the frustration. Please do something about this - in which case I’ll then change my review. This is REALLY FRUSTRATING! Thanks a lot! (For nothing.).Version: 20.45.0
✓ 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..Version: 20.86.0
✓ Too much emphasis on writingLearning a language consists of listening and speaking. This app uses out dated reading and writing techniques. Feels like high school English class in the 1980s. Avoid..Version: 5.3.1
✓ Recent app update - Text too bigI have been using the Babbel app since November ‘22 with no problems. However, recently after I updated the app the text size became too big. Basically I could no longer navigate the courses in a satisfactory manner as I was forever having to scroll up and down and left to right to read description, explanations etc. I contacted Babbel and they told me that they were aware of the problem. However, they said there would be no fix to it in the short term. Instead they instructed me that whenever I used the app I would have to remove bold text and minimise text size to the minimum. I explained to them that I was hard of sight and that this would be unpractical for me. I asked for a refund of my remaining months subscription as I could no longer use the app on my iphone. They refused. Poor customer service - AVOID BABBEL!.Version: 21.20.0
✓ 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.Version: 21.43.0
✓ Forces higher renewal costI bought this program for a year. When it came time to renew, I wanted to go thru Apple since easier to track and costs less for the subscription. When I tried it took me back into the app itself and wanted me to pay more. I did contact the app devs, but have heard nothing. Just a « we got your email » It is a good app to learn the basics, but you might want to look elsewhere..Version: 21.45.0
✓ 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.Version: 20.89.0
✓ Good but still needs improvementI really want to love Babbel and don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I signed up to learn Swedish but I think it can do better. For a start, the voice recognition is inconsistent. For example, it frequently tells me I’ve got en ett or att wrong. It often sees att as @ or not at all, it also often misses the en and with ett, it either doesn’t hear it or it thinks I’ve said en ett when I haven’t. Reading numbers can be haphazard so that you might say elva and it will put 11 (which is right) but it will see it as wrong. These are so frustrating and reduce my enjoyment of the app when you get stuck on it. And then, you’ll mispronounce a long word and it will say you were right! At least get that bit right. My second issue is that the last levels learning vocabulary are very boring because they are very repetitive and some words will appear in 2 or 3 lessons, Also, each lesson in these levels is the same and there are no little extra asides like in the lower courses. And there are hundreds of these lessons. Some thought needs to be given to variety and spend less time on words that are identical in both languages (I already know how to say t shirt and flip flops thanks, I don’t need to learn this 4 times over. ) Fix these things and it will be an ace app..Version: 20.53.0
✓ 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 🙄.Version: 20.65.0
✓ 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..Version: 20.34.0
✓ Avoid - a really bad experienceI received this message 4 days ago…. "Hi there, we apologise for the time taken in this matter. Our support team is receiving an important amount of messages at the moment, delaying our response times. We appreciate your patience in this matter, you will receive the attention and solution that you deserve. Thank you for your message, kind regards." To date and nearly a week after I signed up, telling Babbel that I could not access app, I’ve still not received a response. Naturally I was excited to login and use it. I have now cancelled under the 7 day trial policy. What a shame and a customer has needlessly been lost. Glad that I had not paid for it as no contact for such a serious issue is very telling. If I had paid fir the product and had to wait this amount of time to get a response to a technical problem I would have been fuming..Version: 21.5.0
✓ 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..Version: 20.67.0
🙂 Babbel - Language Learning Positive Reviews
Babbel - Language Learning works most of the time. If it is not working for you, we recommend you excersise some patience and retry later or contact Babbel - Language Learning.
⛔ Babbel - Language Learning Problems
