Comments on: When Startups monetize! Babbel switches on paid courses

By: Language Links » Talk no longer always free at Babbel

Language Links » Talk no longer always free at Babbel — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:42:45 +0000

[...] ” Other aspects of the site are likely to remain free for a while, such as vocabulary trainers, writing exercises and all community features as live chat, message boards, internal mail,” reports TechCrunch. [...]

By: Yaron Kaufman

Yaron Kaufman — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:43:44 +0000

I learn Chinese (Mandarin) for the past 2 years. When I started, I had hard times finding an affordable, yet quality course. I found a good course eventually but it took a lot of time and money. My conclusion is that there’s a real need for such services such as Babbel’s, and three’s a room for plenty more.

By: Mark Kaufmann

Mark Kaufmann — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:10:52 +0000

I certainly agree that language learning requires commitment and that’s why we have always had a freemium model at LingQ. Those members who pay, do more and learn more, on average. Online language schools cost a fraction of what you would pay offline with as good or better results.

I also want to point out that your description of what LingQ has to offer is not that accurate! In fact, we don’t teach grammar at all. Our focus is on listening and reading in your target language and learning the vocabulary in that content using our tools.

We also have a lively community and offer live conversation through Skype and writing correction.

By: MICHELN

MICHELN — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:28:50 +0000

Learning a language requires efforts and commitment. Payment is part of the equation.

By: Mike Butcher

Mike Butcher — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:34:38 +0000

I think I’ll live. remember, this is a blog – there are no copy editors.

By: Mike Butcher

Mike Butcher — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:33:48 +0000

Hi Bob – Yeah, I have this blind spot about “it’s” – but I’ve having therapy for it, you’ll be glad to know.

By: Joseph Masterson

Joseph Masterson — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:43:59 +0000

Why don’t techcrunch/Michael Arrington insist that their journo’s take care in the grammer and spelling of their editorial?
Mike- I have never seen so many consistent spelling errors from an editor before. Clearly you don’t proof read or spell check before putting live, which is hugely damaging to your reputation as a credible journo

By: Nika

Nika — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:19:30 +0000

It´s seems to be the trend in that industry – the site I am using, http://www.busuu.com – has recently offered a premium course starting from 8 EUR/month… “Freemium” seems to be the name of the game in the online language learning industry…

By: Bob B

Bob B — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:45:19 +0000

You guys are professional writers, right? PLEASE learn the difference between “its” and “it’s”. Sorry, but this is just a pet peeve of mine.

By: Peter K

Peter K — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:01:28 +0000

I’ve tested Babbel for quiet some time now ( I think I was on board since I read the first article here) and I was suprised how well it works for me. Specially when you have not spoken a language for a while it sort of gives you a nice and easy re entry.

I really like the ability to get in contact with other learners via chat or board, helped me a lot when I was looking for the right words or expressions. Don’t know if this is provided by the other services.

r
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By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:02:45 +0000

They are not the only one who offer a paid course. Livemocha introduced a paid course as well but they are quite about it.

http://www.livemocha.com/courses/travel_crash_course

By: Babbel to monetize language couorses | Startup Meme - Technology Startup and Latest Tech News

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:59:52 +0000

[...] is equally successful, monetizing it is no harm. Babbel, the language learning site is all set to release its first premium product by tomorrow. The service would have you pay for a course that may last [...]

By: Markus Witte

Markus Witte — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:52:38 +0000

The new Spanish course is already available (in German only): http://www.babbel.com/go/spanisch-einstieg

You can try the first Tutorial for free. I’m curious to hear what you think about it.

Now the Babbel Team is out for some beers.

By: Nicola Robinsonova

Nicola Robinsonova — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:23:05 +0000

If you’re interested in seeing which of the above sites offer resources in the language you’re learning, the directory page on the Learn10 widget will show you.
(Learn10 was developed after extensive testing of our prototype – LearnItLists)