References

Where all the information about Babbel was obtained from.

1) http://www.babbel.com/home/node/1254

2)http://www.babbel.com/a#/flash/navigation/home

3)Deck, E. (Nov. 10, 2009).Web site Review: Babbel.com.

Retrieved from:http://blogcritics.org/scitech/article/web-site-review-babbelcom/

4) All images were print-screened from the official website.

Conclusion

This post sums up the advantages and disadvantages of using Babbel

 

What makes Babbel.com such a successful site is that it is very user-friendly; from registration, which is done in just one step, to actually accessing the lessons, it is unlikely to find anything particularly difficult to operate. The courses are arranged in lessons or steps of around 5-30, which are supposed to last 10-15 minutes, but are more appealing than the traditional textbook approach, making use of the multi-media platform the World Wide Web offers by integrating images and audio. The personal vocabulary options allows users to keep track of all the vocabulary they have learned by managing a comprehensive list and keeping track of the users weaknesses, so that at login, the user is given a suggested list of what they most need to improve in. Other features, such as the messaging board, provides users with native speakers of the languages they are trying to learn, though one of the drawbacks is that there is no audio involved, so the user can only practice through writing. Another drawback is the small number of languages offered; although they are taught intensively and are probably more complete than other websites with a wider range of languages. Despite this, Babbel.com is definitely a useful way for virtually anyone with an Internet connection to learn a new language, though it’s more oriented towards beginners and intermediate learners, and is within a fairly afforable price range (about 24 Euros)

How to Use

This post is a brief explanation of how to register for and use the application.

 

 

The first thing to do is register for a free trial simply by entering your email address and password and agreeing to the terms and conditions of the website. You are then prompted to choose a language that you will focus on. You are first offered a free lesson in the beginner’s course of your choice, but there is a monthly fee that guarantees access to all the courses of the chosen learning language, and the price depends on the number of months joined. The monthly prices are reduced the longer a registered user is active. There is a tab at the top of the page once a user has signed in that provides access to the home page, the course list, a list of people, a message board, a chat room, a personal messages/inbox option, and a list of prices.

Background & History

This post focuses on how Babbel started and the people that make it up.

 

The initial idea from the site came from Lorenz Heine, Markus Witte, Toine Diepstrten and Thomas Holl, who are the founders of the Lesson Nine GmbH company, which is located in Berlin. More than thirty foreign language teachers and experts, designers and software developers make us this company, and all the content of the website is developed by a team of foreign language teachers and native speakers of each language. The site has been up-and-running since January 15th, 2008, and has received funding from the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to finance its activities. Since its beginning, the site has registered over 1,000,000 users from more than 200 countries, all of whom contribute to the interactive learning enviroment. 

Introduction to Babbel

This post explains the primary features and functions of Babbel.com

www.Babbel.com is an innovative website for people to learn new languages at their own pace, especially if they do not have the time to take courses in a school or center. The seven languages available so far are English, French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian, German and Swedish. Babbel.com does not necessarily have to be accessed from a computer, as there are applications for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad that make it even handier as a language-teaching tool. There are different course options to choose from, such as the yearlong course program, the beginner and refresher courses, themes and situations, grammar, basic and advanced vocabulary, 1,000 useful sentences, tongue twisters, writing exercises, and an option to listen and practice the skills learned with a microphone. The beginners’ course is the free trial, and other options such as internal messages and an open messenger board are always free-of-charge.

Sign up page