Yes, Babbel is a new application that teaches (and acts as a refresher course for) a foreign language. WAIT, before you start throwing rocks at me, hear me out. First of all, I wouldn’t write about anything that I didn’t really like or didn’t think it would be worth the time of others whose minds work differently than mine. Secondly, I’ve tried tons of foreign language apps, methods, programs, and processes to help me maintain the languages I know, and teach me new languages, and rarely do they make the cut. So, yeah!
Anyway, I sort of, kind of, really like Babbel. (I would say love, but love is such a strong word that’s thrown around nowadays. That I’m saving it for that special someone.)It’s interactive, it’s fast and can be used on my computer, phone, or tablet. And don’t worry about having to start over and all your work being erased when you log-in from another device (yeah, there is a super expensive program out there that does this). Babbel saves your progress over the cloud allowing you to pick from wherever you left off, on any device, with any language. I know… so dope!
Which is what we essentially want from a language app if and when we choose to learn a language. Is it fun, engaging, and interactive? Will it hold your very short attention span? Will it teach words and phrases that will actually be used should you ever visit said country? Is it convenient for your lifestyle? Should it not work for you personally, will you have invested so much money that it will feel like a huge monetary loss? Are there any scientific pluses to being at minimum bilingual? Yes, yes, yes, yes, no, and hells yeah!
I know you’re convinced by now, but I do want to say one more thing. Babbel has an amazing magazine or newsletter just about languages and Babbel. It’s really cute, and educational, and packed with short random stories about different cultures to enrich your being, tips, and challenges.
Ok, I’ll stop Babbel-ing now. tee hee. Choose from one of the 14 currently available languages, peruse the magazine until you gain the courage to choose a subscription conveniently located in the Apple Store, Google Play, and online, or just visit their website to learn more about the brand and it’s founders Markus Witte, Thomas Holl, Lorenz Heine and Markus Corallo.