Babbel

When I was a high school student learning Spanish, I simply couldn't afford expensive language-learning programs to supplement my studies. Back then, even simplistic audio CDs with workbooks?a format I honestly don't mind?started around $50 or $100, but that would be for just a few lessons. Oh, how times have changed. But can a little-known, online-only, multi-sensory language-learning program that's also very inexpensive be any good? For Babbel (from $12.95 per month), the answer is yes.

I've been exploring Babbel's courses for a few weeks, focusing on German but dabbling in Spanish and Italian a bit to get a sense of how much different courses vary. Considering I had never heard of Babbel before I started testing it, I approached the online language-learning program with more than an ounce of skepticism regarding quality of the content. Boy was I in for a pleasant surprise.

I'd put it on par with Living Language (Platinum) ($179 per year, 3.5 stars) in many respects. I like Babbel's core content better, as well as the ability to pay per month and quit any time, but I also can't deny the huge value-add in Living Language's unlimited real-time Web classes, hosted by trained instructors. Babbel doesn't have that.

Another online-only program that's comparable is Duolingo (free, 4 stars), an Editors' Choice for its ability to deliver outstanding and challenging language-learning content for free, although it's limited to just four languages. Budget-conscious learners who can't find their language of choice in Duolingo (which has Spanish, German, English for Spanish speakers, and French in beta) should give Babbel a whirl, but be sure to take the free trial offer first to gauge the quantity of content for your tongue, as it varies drastically. For more program suggestions, see "The Best Software for Learning a Language."

Languages Offered
Babbel is available in Dutch, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.

That's not quite so many languages as offered by the highly interactive Editors' Choice Rosetta Stone version 4 TOTALe (with even more languages offered if you search beyond "version 4"), or the mostly audio program Pimsleur Comprehensive. If you're looking for a language that's not in high demand, try either of those programs.

Quality and Quantity
As mentioned, Babbel's quality exceeded my fairly modest expectations. I have yet to encounter an error, poorly designed feature, or truly lackluster exercise. Even in competing programs, like Living Language, I came across a few boring mini-games or long stretches of text that I would ultimately just skim. Babbel keeps most of its reading material to tight segments that enhance and reinforce concepts as you learn them.

The overall structure makes sense, too, and progress markers mostly do their job of tracking your work (more on those two points on the next page). All the audio content sounds fine, with the occasional microphone plosive here and there. It's not music-studio grade recording, but it's not low-fi either.

Quantity of content, on the other hand, varies by language. If you're looking to learn Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, or German, for example, you'll find much more content than if you're working on Dutch, Indonesian, or Polish. Luckily, you can take up Babbel on its free trial to make sure what's included matches your learning level, and if you do subscribe to the service and still find that it's not what you expected, you can leave after a month having only shelled out about $13.

Price
A big selling point for Babbel is price. The online-only program offers three subscriptions: $12.95 per month; $26.85 every three months; or $44.70 every six months.

Compare that with Tell Me More, which charges $199 for a three-month Web pass, or Living Language's $179 price for year-long access, and Babbel seems like a great bargain. With Living Language, you also get to take as many 30-minute webinar-style classes with a live teacher as you can cram into a year. That's a huge value-add and should be something conversational-level learners should consider.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/raNbxTfZ-Tk/0,2817,2411398,00.asp

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