Duolingo vs Babbel vs Tandem

If you've tried these apps, which one if you're favorite?

10
76.9%

2
15.4%

1
7.7%

This poll will run forever.

Posts220Likes124Joined9/7/2018LocationUS
Native
English
Learning Spanish
Other French

Here are a few language mobile apps to check out (Android and iOS)


-Dulingo

The most popular language app and it's free! (The lessons are random and the offline mode is limited)

Languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Irish, Danish, Swedish, Russian, Ukrainian, Esperanto, Polish and Turkish.


-Babble

 The lessons here are broken down into 10-15min and focus on some conversational phrases. There are some free lessons and then you have to pay $5-$10 a month.

Languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Polish, Indonesian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian.


- TANDEM 

Geared more towards coversations with native speakers. To sign up you need a Google or Facebook account and it might take some time for the moderators to check your application.

Languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and nearly 150 other languages.


Has anyone tried any of these apps? I've used Dulingo and Babbel (free trail). I think they're both great tools for extra practice.



Posted 
2
#1
Posts0Likes0Joined8/7/2018LocationAlmeria / ES
Native
English
Other Arabic - Egyptian, French, German, Spanish

+i used duolingo for a time but it is only good if you really are committed to regularly practicing to keep your skills fresh you need to keep recapping everything and if you take a week off you are right back to learning hello goodbye so that sucks ... think i started the language over 3 times the last few years! but i would definitely recommend it to serious learners easy to use site information is taught in number of ways.It has visuals to help. 8/10 

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#2
Posts0Likes0Joined10/7/2018LocationSI

It's true Duolingo is demanding, but hey, if you make it your habit and use it every single day for 20-30 minutes, you will learn sth and it will stay with you!


Good thing - the comments section, there are really knowledgeable persons there able to answer and guide you though a language problem.

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#3
Posts383Likes192Joined11/7/2018LocationManila / PH
Native
Tagalog
Learning English, Korean

Duolingo and Busuu are both good for vocab and basic grammar but they won't really help you become conversational. For that, you'd need to attend a class or look into great audio books.

--

ikay

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#4
Posts0Likes0Joined10/7/2018LocationSI

Or live in the country where the language is spoken :) Visit, travel through, get vacation, a project/program - anything, just to be there couple of weeks.


When I studied Russian for 2 years I was basically talking...but it wasn't really conversational and I couldn't get a sometimes what natives were saying. When I had a semester in Moscow (4months) - I almost became fluent (with slang, hearing places of origin) and made C1 certificate... 

It was like day and night. I had to learn quick and survive :D

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#5
Posts383Likes192Joined11/7/2018LocationManila / PH
Native
Tagalog
Learning English, Korean

I felt this. I've been speaking English for 15+ years both at home and at work. Spent a month in Australia and when I came back, even I heard that some of my pesky local sentence stress patterns were gone. Sadly, this option isn't readily available to me. :(

--

ikay

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1
#6
Posts0Likes0Joined9/7/2018LocationDE
Native
German
Other English, Russian, Spanish, Tamil

I like Babbel. I used Duolingo too for a while. But they need you to be online with your mobile device to practice. You cant download lessons.

Thats why i choose Babbel. And the lessons are way cooler in my opinion. 

harmony. 

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2
#7
Posts383Likes192Joined11/7/2018LocationManila / PH
Native
Tagalog
Learning English, Korean

Aaron-Samuel.Hauck wrote:
I like Babbel. I used Duolingo too for a while. But they need you to be online with your mobile device to practice. You cant download lessons.
Thats why i choose Babbel. And the lessons are way cooler in my opinion.


Can you still learn even if you're strictly a free user?

--

ikay

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1
#8
Posts0Likes0Joined9/7/2018LocationDE
Native
German
Other English, Russian, Spanish, Tamil

Jessica.Moreno wrote:
Aaron-Samuel.Hauck wrote:
I like Babbel. I used Duolingo too for a while. But they need you to be online with your mobile device to practice. You cant download lessons.
Thats why i choose Babbel. And the lessons are way cooler in my opinion.

Can you still learn even if you're strictly a free user?


no you need to have a subscription. I thinks its around 10$ a month. But I think it was worth it when i used to learn through an app. 

harmony. 

Posted 
1
#9
Posts383Likes192Joined11/7/2018LocationManila / PH
Native
Tagalog
Learning English, Korean

I'm super cheap. Hahahaha! Probably because I learned English without having to pay for it. :P

--

ikay

Posted 
0
#10
Posts0Likes0Joined9/7/2018LocationDE
Native
German
Other English, Russian, Spanish, Tamil

Jessica.Moreno wrote:
I'm super cheap. Hahahaha! Probably because I learned English without having to pay for it. :P


yeah me too. English was kinda easy. I learned spanish with babbel and talking to natives. That was a bit harder because i didnt have a foundation. 

harmony. 

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1
#11
Posts383Likes192Joined11/7/2018LocationManila / PH
Native
Tagalog
Learning English, Korean

That's my struggle when I was trying to learn French and Korean. I really didn't have anyone to talk to or practice with.

--

ikay

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#12
Posts220Likes124Joined9/7/2018LocationUS
Native
English
Learning Spanish
Other French

I tried the free trail of Babbel and I liked it. I will try the subscription version. I did Duolingo for a while but I kept starting over and grew tired of it.


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1
#13
Posts0Likes0Joined10/7/2018LocationSI

What about Memrise? I used to use it a lot and actually liked it more than Duolingo.


I remember there funny approach to memes - you can choose own that resembles the word / sentence or create and upload your own :)

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2
#14
Posts220Likes124Joined9/7/2018LocationUS
Native
English
Learning Spanish
Other French

Memrise is a new one for me. Sounds fun! I'll check it out today. Thanks! :)


Edited 
1
#15
Posts383Likes192Joined11/7/2018LocationManila / PH
Native
Tagalog
Learning English, Korean

I've never heard of Memrise. Is it an app or do they also have a web-based platform?

--

ikay

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1
#16
Posts0Likes0Joined10/7/2018LocationSI

@Jessica Moreno- both :)


https://www.memrise.com/


I think they differ a bit on phone and in browser PC, but are both very nicely done. Give it a try.

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#17
Posts220Likes124Joined9/7/2018LocationUS
Native
English
Learning Spanish
Other French

@Bartosz.Jablonski I tried the Memrise app yesterday and it's really quick, easy, and fun! I like it a lot and will definitely continue using it on the go! Thanks for sharing! :)


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0
#18
Posts383Likes192Joined11/7/2018LocationManila / PH
Native
Tagalog
Learning English, Korean

@Bartosz.Jablonski Thank you! I'll check it out. :)

--

ikay

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1
#19
Posts171Likes93Joined11/7/2018Location
Native
Tagalog
Other English, German, Spanish

Duolingo for me

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1
#20
Posts0Likes0Joined3/9/2018LocationLagos / NG
Native
English
Learning French

aaronhawk wrote:

I like Babbel. I used Duolingo too for a while. But they need you to be online with your mobile device to practice. You cant download lessons.

Thats why i choose Babbel. And the lessons are way cooler in my opinion.

Can lessons be downloaded on Babbel?

Posted 
0
#21
Posts220Likes124Joined9/7/2018LocationUS
Native
English
Learning Spanish
Other French

TemitopeAkinyede wrote:
aaronhawk wrote:
I like Babbel. I used Duolingo too for a while. But they need you to be online with your mobile device to practice. You cant download lessons.
Thats why i choose Babbel. And the lessons are way cooler in my opinion.
Can lessons be downloaded on Babbel?
I only tried the free version of Babbel on the mobile. Hopefully somewhere might know. I'm also interested. Thanks for asking! :)



Posted 
0
#22
Posts0Likes0Joined3/9/2018LocationCebu City / PH
Native
Cebuano, English, Tagalog
Other Arabic - Standard, Chinese - Mandarin, Korean, Malay

ikaymoreno wrote:
Duolingo and Busuu are both good for vocab and basic grammar but they won't really help you become conversational. For that, you'd need to attend a class or look into great audio books.



Exactly my thoughts. I tried Duolingo. It's good for basic vocab but it isn't really commendable for speech learning. I thought I had learned to speak some basic French greetings taught by Duolingo but when I tried to talk to a live person, the actual spoken accent is way different than what Duolingo taught me. Moral lesson: don't rely too much on non-human teachers :-D


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#23
Posts0Likes0Joined22/9/2018LocationLagos / NG
Native
English
Other French

I started using Duolingo three months ago and I think the App is OK. I haven't tried any of the others because I didn't know them.

 I agree that Duolingo makes it hard to remember the words but the learning style is like playing a quiz which is interesting for me.

If I was to choose being an animal, I will like to be an Eagle.

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#24
Posts383Likes192Joined11/7/2018LocationManila / PH
Native
Tagalog
Learning English, Korean

Both apps are great for vocab building though. That and it's prefect for learners who don't have the time or the funds to take formal langauge lessons.

--

ikay

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#25
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