Learn German online – RosettaStone, Babbel or Duolingo?

First of all let me explain shortly: What is Babbel?

Babbel is a software and an app that can be used for learning up to 12 languages. One of the first languages available on Babbel was German.

Babbel is a project financed by the European Commission. Its aim is to facilitate understanding and communication within Europe.

So how is Babbel different from other online language learning software?

I personally think that Babbel is fun. It is true. It reminds me a little of those games I used to play as a child, where the goal was to practice maths, but the little quizzes and challenges didn’t make it feel like work at all. Studying and learning becomes effortless. Babbel is just like that. You are led through different levels. You have little games and incentives.

There are some visual chapters, which help you associate words with photos. Sometimes, you have to fill in gaps by typing German words. Sometimes you have to pronounce words. For this, the company hired a specialist that would implement a voice recognition software, which would detect major pronunciation mistakes. Quite cool. Obviously, it’s not the same like having a real German teacher.

But I don’t think you should ever expect an online learning software to replace a teacher. I think Babbel is a perfect addition to a real teacher, or a private lesson with a friend or tutor. I think Babbel is particularly great for absolute beginners. The grammar explanations are so easy to understand – I am yet to find German language books that use such simple explanations. So that’s a big plus. I also like that it generally gives you great inside tipps, ways of memorising words and grammar rules.

So for whom is Babbel then?

I think Babbel is first and foremost a fun app. You can’t expect to make big advances in German, if you only use Babbel and no other way of learning German. But it is amazing, if you use it in ADDITION to a language course. You can do it for a few minutes each day and you’ll notice that you quickly learn some new words.

Do you have to pay for Babbel?

Yes. The trial version is for free. So I recommend you seeing for yourself if you like it. If you would like to have access to all language levels, then you can subscribe to Babbel on a monthly / yearly basis. The longer you subscribe, the cheaper it becomes.

How do I cancel a Babbel subscription?

Easy. Just login to your iTunes account on your computer. Then go to settings, subscriptions. Click on Babbel and click on “end subscription”.

How does Babbel work? Can I choose English as the main language?

Yes you can! If you want to learn German through Babbel, do the following.

1. Click on the link below.
2. Choose ‘Deutsch’, if you want to learn German. (It says: “Welche Sprache möchtest du lernen”, which language do you want to learn?).
3. Choose ‘English’, if you want English to be the main language for the app. (It says ‘Um mit Babbel Deutsch zu lernen, wähle zwischen den folgenden Ausgangssprachen”, if you want to learn German with Babbel, choose your main language for the settings).
4. Choose your language level: ‘beginner’ or ‘advanced’.
5. Start.

You can learn various languages with Babbel. Note that your subscription does not give you access to all languages. It is limited to one language only.

My view on Babbel:

4/5 Stars

+ this is fun
+ super easy explanations for complex grammar rules
+ learn new words quickly
+ cheap

– you won’t master German with Babbel alone