Babbel
Speech Recognition Issues: Many users report that the app\'s speech recognition feature is unreliable, often failing to register spoken input or recognizing words inaccurately. Rapid Lesson Progression: Users feel that lessons progress too quickly without sufficient vocabulary practice or opportunities to reuse learned vocabulary in new contexts. Structured Lessons: Users appreciate the structured approach of the lessons, which show progress and can help learners use functional words and phrases immediately. User Interface Problems: There are frequent complaints about the app\'s navigation being tricky, the in-app keyboard being too sensitive, and a difficult-to-use homepage. Lack of Repetition: Users find the app lacking in adequate repetition necessary to retain learned material effectively.
Free trial
Not available
Refunds
Available; 20 days
Spaced repetition
Customization
Focus on learning
Personalization
Sentence accuracy
Sentence relevance
Variety and depth
Audio quality
Speaker's quality
Speaking practice
Ease of use
Interface and design
Performance
Grammar notes
Learning path
Speech recognition
User-generated courses
Offline access
I would use the app for its structured approach but not for achieving speaking fluency due to limited speaking exercises.
Use the app alongside other speaking-focused resources and take advantage of live classes and customizable review options.
SpeakTwice is the only app that gets your to speak Italian all the time. It comes with hundreds of grammar lessons and readings to listen and repeat, plus an AI tutor to review the courses and practice conversation. See the full review.
See the published side-by-side comparisons that include Babbel for Italian learners, or browse the full comparison hub.
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From the outset, Babble Italian boasts a clean, elegant design that's well-organized. The main page allows users to find their level, track their progress, and access various features easily. However, overall during the exploration of the app, I encountered very limiting speaking activities which is the main focus of this review.
The home page offers several sections, including a lesson plan, which allows users to choose courses by level or topic.
For Italian, Babble covers levels, A1, A2, B1, and B2, but it doesn't seem to offer more advanced levels at the moment.
When navigating by level, you start with basic lessons. The design here is straightforward and organized, which can be particularly helpful for beginners.
Choosing your lessons by topic allows you to focus on specific skills like grammar, listening, and, most importantly, speaking. This section promises to help with pronunciation and communication skills.
The user has immediate access to a couple of live classes, although you need a life subscription to access more than the two free classes provided.
Live classes come with PDF materials. However, in my opinion, these classes act more like a supplement rather than a primary learning tool because of the way they are structured, almost totally independent from the main learning path.
The first section of the lesson focuses on speaking, requiring users to pronounce individual words — a good start for beginners. This is followed by sections where you choose translations and correct answers based on images and sentences. The exercises include:
Speaking Exercises: Users are prompted to say specific words.
Translation Tasks: Involves translating Italian words to English.
Grammar Lessons: Detailed explanations integrated with exercises.
These formats ensure a variety of learning methods, though I found that the speaking exercises could be more extensive and challenging.
Babble also features a review section where you can practice vocabulary through flashcards, writing, and speaking exercises.
This compartmentalizes previous lessons for targeted review, making it a nice tool for reinforcing learning.
Babble Italian's lessons are longer and more comprehensive compared to other language apps. The app includes tracking systems similar to other apps like Duolingo.
Despite the good design and variety of exercises, the app's speaking practice seems limited. For a more well-rounded approach, I would recommend users to use supplementary methods beyond what Babble offers.
