The good thing about Babbel is that it works hard to make sure you really learn the vocabulary in each lesson.
It focuses on 7 or 8 new words in each lesson. You hear, say, read, and spell each of those words. Multiple times in multiple ways.
However, I really did not enjoy Babbel.
I took lessons in 2 different Spanish courses: Shopping and Music.
Each lesson has a certain number of steps you need to take to complete it. While you can skip any one screen, you cannot skip around, and you never see a lesson overview.
I felt trapped in the lessons.
It was not dynamic, interactive (in the way I like) or engaging. It felt much more like learning from a book. I was almost immediately dismayed and bored.
Here are what the lessons look like. Click on any to see it larger.
Also, I never got the sense of where the lessons were taking me. Did I really need to know the words they were choosing to teach me?
I did learn how to read and write some words in both categories. But I wasn't learning how to construct sentences. It was unsatisfying.
Also, after using Rocket Language's excellent speaking component, I was very frustrated with Babbel's.
The microphone image in the 1st image above, is your opportunity to speak Spanish. Unfortunately, the method neither works well or is effective.
Babbel's voice-recognition system has issues.
The microphone turns into a green check when you say the word correctly. Or at least when the computer thinks you did. But you never hear the recording yourself. So you never know how you actually said the word.
I found Babbel's voice system of zero value, except as a way for me to practice patience.
It made me value Rocket Language's voice system even more. Rocket Language's excellent pronunciation feedback loop has been invaluable to me.
You can see my Spanish Rocket Language review here.
Check out the screenshots below to see the various Spanish courses that Babbel offers. When you sign up you can choose to do any or all of them. (click on images below to make larger)
You can check out the first lesson in each course for free. And you can do that for any of Babbel's 14 languages. You don't have to limit yourself to Spanish.
The price ranges from $7 - $13 a month. The longer you sign up for, the cheaper it is. $7 a month for 12 months, and $13 for one month.
If you buy the course, you have 20 days to get a full refund.
Yet another reason I like Rocket Language. You pay once, and you get a lifetime membership. Of course, you do have to pay more. But less than a year's membership with Babbel.
Once I review a few more Spanish programs, I will have to do a comparison of them.
If you only need to read or write Spanish, then Babbel could be a good choice for you.
You would have to check it out yourself at this link.
I am still very much liking Rocket Language (as you can tell by my comments).
To check out Rocket Language for free, go to their site here.
The last time I studied Spanish seriously there were a few software language programs, but almost no online options.
In those days, I tried to learn Spanish the way people have been doing it forever:
That way still works. But it didn't work that well for me. I found that you must be very self-motivated to move beyond basic Spanish using the old methods.
I have now reviewed a number of online language courses out there. Not all, but some are different from traditional methods. And some have integrated ways to boost your motivation.
The programs I liked:
So far, I have been much more excited and motivated to learn using the more innovative online programs than I ever was using the more traditional book and classroom approach.
One of the biggest difference between the programs is if you are asked to actually speak Spanish.
For me this is critical. I can write, read, and understand Spanish pretty well. Speaking it is much harder for me.
I have pronunciation issues in English. After a lifetime of work, I have overcome many of those issues. When I try to speak Spanish it all comes back. Spanish not only uses more words to say the same thing as in English but many of those words are dismayingly long. I literally feel like I get lost in the middle of those many long multisyllabic words in Spanish.
Even if you have no speech issues, making yourself understood in a foreign language is the biggest hurdle.
4 of these 6 online programs require that you speak Spanish.
I was surprised at the differences in the various online programs.
For instance, Rocket Language, Fluent-in-3-months, Duolingo, and especially Fluentu use very different approaches. But all 4 use online technology to make learning Spanish more fun.
So which program is best for you? To find out you should ask yourself at least 2 questions:
Keep your answers to those questions in mind when evaluating each program. You will choose different programs if your goal is to learn medical terminology vs chatting up a senorita.
I will be reviewing many of these online Spanish programs. Check those out to help you decide which is best for you. You can also use the links above to start reviewing those programs yourself.
1st up for review is Rocket Language. Here is the link to my Rocket Language review.
2nd up, I will review the Fluent-in-3 months program, and others to follow.
