Babbel vs Duolingo: I Honestly Wouldn't Use Either Of Them

I can deal with childish UI. It’s ok, ironically cute etc. Not great but not unbearable.

What I hate (hate, hate, HATE HAAATTTEEE) is the completely OTT gamification with stupid reminders about streaks and leagues etc. I don’t mind some gamification. XP farming is ok, gems that are useful in app for watching an extra add are I guess ok. But the whole screechy bird character behaving like a needy teenager with attachment issues is like chalk on old fashioned glass blackboard.

Other things: no explanations WHATSOEVER unless you pay. Repetitive boring typing of stuff I always get right, so content isn’t at all customised. English speech (Lucy???] in the most off-putting American accent I’ve ever heard. It’s supposed to be good for vocabulary but it’s actually limited, teaching one colour and three dishes.

That said: the AI powered DL (one above plus) that has no ads and allows for interactions with the chatbot, corrections and provides explanation without ads is ok. Still stupid gamified to nausea but much much better. It’s not cheap tho.

I am also irritated by the childishness of the duolingo site. I don’t use it alone though it is just one of the sites I am using to learn Welsh. They all have strengths and shortcomings. None of them properly explain verb forms which is really frustrating . Duolingo switches back and forth between 2 dialects with no explanation and uses different verbs with the same meaning with no explanation, it is just trial and error but if you pick the wrong one you have to suffer endless previous mistake exercises.

Not sure I find any issue with creating a product to sell to someone in exchange for a free service and at the same time learning.. Sounds like a huge win-win to me. It’s not even personal info which many major platforms already sell so I’d consider this kind of thing the non-toxic version of the customer as the product.

I like using Duolingo-
And I Understand that it might be odd that people are getting paid when I’m just trying to learn.
Honestly, I only searched this up because I continuously hear ads about Babbel on my radio and tv.
I still would recommend Duolingo, although this is good information
Good to know.

I’ve been using Duolingo for a while now (85 day streak!), and I think the infantilism is a strength.
To me the biggest barrier to learning is usually emotional. I get frustrated when I continually get questions wrong, even though this is an essential part of learning, and that frustration often deters me from continuing. That sense of frustration is much more acute when dealing with actual people face to face, and quickly escalates into anger or other emotions which distract me from the core goal, which is to do as many repetitions of an exercise as possible.
Duolingo does a good job of mitigating this difficult emotional terrain and allowing me to crank out reps at a decent pace, resulting in constant progress.

I can easily see how other apps might be able push me forward at a faster pace with a more precise curriculum, but this is of no value if I am unable to transcend the emotional hurdles that spring up inevitably, and therefore stop doing reps.

Anyway, I look at Duo as merely a step on a long journey, and not a complete solution by itself. It has done a very good job of bridging the gap between wanting to learn something, and being reluctant to actually get started because of the perceived difficulty.

I had no problem with My Spanish Duolingo until recently when the lessons went REALLY tiny on the screen and I cant see at all I sent Duo Lingo an e-mail about this as it is only on Duolingo that this is happening and I have heard nothing!!! So what‘s the point of trying to learn if you can‘t see it! I will try Babbel instead. Bottom marks Duolingo

Duolingo is the best way to learn a language, not Babbel! ¡Babbel es una programa aprender-lenguaje malo!

Its not “less” languages...its “fewer” languages. I would think a professional reviewer would have better grammar/usage skills. Anyway I came here because I currently use duolingo and I think it has problems so I’m looking for another app....I really dont like the whole immersion thing. I prefer actually being taught the skills and reasons for things first before being quizzed. The way some of these apps teach seems a bit backwards to me. Thank god im not a beginner or id be in realy trouble with these apps. Also on duo I tested out into the intermediate classes supposedly yet all the “lessons” include super begginer stuff like learning words like madre and padre and basic numbers like one two three! That’s a total waste of my time as I’m intermediate, not beginner. I’m looking for an app that works more like a regular highschool spanish class. I want to be TAUGHT, not just left on my own to figure it out based on getting things wrong or right on quizzes. you cant not teach about conjugation and expect people 2 just understand all the rules about it by occassionally seeing those words used in sentences. Looks like this is gonna be harder than I thought

yesyesyesyesyes. duolingo doesn’t even make sense. i checked the arabic course and u learn the letters and then it just shoves random stuff in ur face, like cold wet fish.

I spent approx $60 for 6 months of Duolingo Plus and it is one of the worst purchases I ever made.

The repetitive typing is tedious, time consuming, and made me dread wanting to learn better Spanish.

Be prepared to have to type “por favor” more times than you ever thought possible before advancing any levels. I expected repetition, but that course took it to an indescribably frustrating experience.

Using Duolingo is horrible. Paying for it makes me feel like a fool.

Well then forget about learning languages. You will not find anything easier than Duolingo. And are you really serious Duolingo Spanish in particular is by far the best product you will ever find. Should I list the benefits and strength of Duolingo. And by the way this guy who writes about Duolingo and says it is inferior to Duolingo is not credible. He has no idea what he’s talking about!

Just a note from one educator to another, Donovan: “less” refers to quantities one cannot specifically count; “fewer” is an amount one can count. EX: There is less rainwater on this window than on that one V.S. There are fewer drops of rain here than there.
Not a criticism — I like learning new things, and I gather you do as well. All the best.
(The Bugaboo Review, New World Library)

”But one thing I’ve been pointing out lately is that Duolingo is not free.

Here’s how Duolingo works:

Every time you go on their platform to learn a language and fill out exercises (fill-in-the-blanks) and so on, those answers you give are actually passed on and sold to major corporations.”

Okay, 1. this is the epitome of a tinfoil-hat conspiracy, and 2. do you understand what free means?? You don’t *have* to pay a cent out of pocket. That. Is. Free.

1. It is not a conspiracy. It is called crowdsourcing. It is legitimate and yes, it is not terrifying. Google does that a lot. It is a win-win situation. They provide you a service in exchange for your service. Your service would be training their AI models.

2. If you go to a bar, wash their dishes in exchange for a beer, you won’t pay a cent for the beer. But would you consider it free?

This article is inaccurate and biased. I have been using several apps to learn Spanish over the past three years. Duolingo offers a very comprehensive way to build vocabulary and grammar without parting with cash. Their ethos is to provide free language learning, sure, with a few adverts like most apps. It is a threat to people like the writer of this article who derive income from teaching languages and writing nonsense such as this without clearly using the software. Just give it a go, it’s one of the most successful apps in the world for good reason!

I personally don’t care if they make money off of my answers. It sounds like Duolingo is pretty much a genius!!!!
I totally understand your ethical concern about that. It seems to me, that what Duolingo should do is forewarn people before they take lessons from them.
But I have also found that Duolingo is actually helpful😊👍

The comparison works for language that are covered by both apps. However, Duolingo offers languages that are not available at other platforms. So, for my husband, who is learning Ukrainian, Duolingo is the default winner. I think it’s valuable to recognize that for English/Spanish/German/Mandarin/Russian there are many options, and it’s worth celebrating when a company develops a resource for other languages.

I use Duolingo and love it. I don’t care about the incredibly babyish UI. When you are first learning something, we need to learn like a child. I tried Babbel and did not like it at all. Duolingo has added so much more to the learning. I cover my computer screen or turn my phone sideways to listen. This has helped me a lot. My only issue with Duolingo is when it speaks it does linking of words and dipthongs but so far I have not found this type of info in their material. I researched , found, and studied this material outside of Duolingo.

Useless post unfortunately. Blaming Babbel for spending to much on advertising .. well why shouldn’t they? It’s how a business works. The reviews speak for themselves and I personally enjoy it. I use both platforms and find that Babbel is more serious as well. Learning and explaining a lot more regarding grammar. Duolingo is easier and more fun at times. But after using it for over a year, I still feel I can’t speak much. Good to learn some new words though.

Thanks for telling us “how you earn?”. But don’t be so rude towards duolingo. It taught me seven languages within 3 years and I am fluent in 4 already(My english is at 7 number in fluency) in which I write articles and talk to local peoples while travelling in different countries. I have read many articles of yours but didn’t expect this. I think you should try at least one language on duolingo then you will get to know. And know one thing: Babbel Sucks

Do you have some secrets to how you learned seven languages in three years? do you mind giving me some tips? it sounds amazing!!!👍

And this is a Language Learning site?? Rather dubious, given the grossly inadequate research evidenced in the post. Surely Donovan couldn’t be biased ??

I have almost finished my German tree in Duolingo. I paid for my use with a plus subscription. Perhaps if I had to do it again, I would choose a different app, but it worked for getting me in reading to the B1 level (beginning of) (note I did not just do Duolingo I also did and do work on dw.com, listened to podcast, read books etc.).

I am not sure what you mean by the design. Bright colors? sure. So what. The cartoon characters on the app are annoying too, but I seldom use the app anyway since it uses word bubbles and the web app allows typing instead.

The benefit of Duolingo to me is that it made it seem like fun to do the grunt work of early language learning. The streak system was ingenious for motivating me to come on the site every single day. The German forum was a place where people encouraged one another. Now that I am better at the language, I am able to continue to learn the language in fun ways like through movies, radio, italki lessons, books meant for German natives, etc.

I have signed up for italki lessons. I have had 2 now. They are primarily cultural exchanges where we ask about the lifestyle in each others countries and talk about current events. I do not think I would get anything out of italki without already having a basis of vocabulary and tenses.

Where Duolingo falls down is in some human beings human nature. Some folks are highly competitive and become speed demons to get promoted up the leagues even if their learning suffers. Other people use the motivation to encourage them to make an extra effort. And there are circumstances where life events keep someone from continuing a streak then they get depressed due to the streak loss without considering the learning they have acquired. Oh and other than the language specific forums, the forum environment is toxic there, due to the users.

The other thing with Duolingo is the trees are better for some languages than others. The German tree is very good. It almost exactly tracks the dw.com lesson as far as tenses and basic vocab. dw.com has a different agenda in that it wants to prepare one to live in Germany so it teaches more practical items like registering with the authorities, opening a bank account, applying for a job etc, whereas Duolingo gets whimsical and speaks of aliens, witches, ducks, owls etc.

But the Hawaiian tree and Esperanto trees are both very small in comparison. So it really depends with Duolingo on the language in question.

I wanted to correct your wrongs, but then I realized all of it are wrong.

” I Honestly Wouldn’t Use Either Of Them”

As I learned several languages with Duolingo, and it’s free. It’s your choice.

When you say “Duolingo is not free”, people should stop reading your article at this point.

” those answers you give are actually passed on and sold to major corporations.”

Ridiculous. I answered “mi gato es negro”, and the majors want my answer!!!!!
I just wonder what they could make this that.

Seriously, write a better article, and use the service you are describing.
It’s not a problem if you don’t like a service, everyone is different, but I suspect you were paid by Babbel here, and you couldn’t find good things to say.

The translations were sold in a previous version of Duolingo, and it was called “immersion”, but you don’t know it, because you never used this site.
All the courses contain the translations, and the sentences to translate. So, the system is able to find in its database if your translation is correct.

But you would realize that if you had used the software...

For instance, if I write “el gato es negro”, Duo has the translation “The cat is black”, and compare with your answer.

Nothing can be sold, and if it was, it would make no difference.
But if they don’t have the translations yet, it’s the most magical software in the universe, because it’s able to give you a correction, when you mistranslated, and the correction comes from nowhere, according to you! Magical!!!

Clearly he wasn’t paid by Babbel given his basic, biased and generic critique of it.

Hey Donovan,

I’ve seen your webpage. Great commentary. I have a question. I’m an english speaker with experience travelling to arabic countries. I learned quickly spekaing my few arbabic words learned from Egypt do not translate well in a country like like Morocco/Algeria/Tunisia. I like visiting arabic countries and want to learn arabic. The Rosetta app I have bought arabic platform (3 months) and my brief use of it I do not like - what’s w/the pics of various kids and nationalities for word associations? Was rosetta a good choice? Should I seek another language PC/iphone tool?

Any advise would be helpful. I appreciate any insight.

Shukran! Mike

For duolingo - how am I translating something that is already translated? How is what I am “translating” being sold when it is already translated. Duolingo gives you a sentence in your learning language and gives you cards with the right translation mixed in, but if you click the other language words the translation is there already to. We as users aren’t doing any translating, just copying their translation? I’m not saying you are wrong, I am confused as to how that works or why.

Well I guess you could ask the same thing about ReCaptcha - they already seem to have the answer so how are they selling your answer?
To be honest, I’m not sure how the process works internally.
But it is a well-known and publicly documented fact that Duolingo’s revenue comes (or came) from user translations being sold to big companies like CNN.

It’s also a well-known documented fact that Duolingo stopped selling translations many years ago. The process didn’t work and wasn’t profitable, so they stopped. Currently, Duolingo’s revenue comes mainly from ads.