Hey there :) great overview! I do use Babbel. I think it is great for the beginning and to learn how to pronouns things and get a good feeling and overview. Even later at nice to spice up your learning routine with a quick Babbel lesson. I also really like the way they are presenting grammar in small chunks.
I also tried busuu. I have to say the quality of the content differs from language to language. Polish was pretty useless to me because there is just a small amount of lessons with no grammar or cultural stuff. I really do not like it. I also tried a bit of Japanese and Dutch those courses for A1 are really good 👍 a lot auf content with cultural information and even some grammar. I'll use them in the future and I hope there will be expanded to B1 and B2 level at that quality.
I like that he did this routine for a year. Most reviews of any app is for 7-30days max. I feel like doing it for a meaningful period of time actually gives a better perspective on the product
Thanks for doing this video. I had signed up for Busuu last year and took the Italian course through A2, but then I decided I really just liked reading and watching videos better. Now, I'm at a point where I need to really push through and learn more grammar and get a little more technical at the B1-B2 level. So you've encouraged me to go back and look at Busuu again before my subscription expires. I want to start French as soon as I finish Italian.
Thank you very much for your comment! :-) Sounds like a solid plan! Happy that I could encourage you. In the end it's important to have a mix of resources and activities which keep us motivated. The French content I really liked as well. But as mentioned my main activities are consuming comprehensible input in any form. So your stories on journaly as well :D. Thank you for that again!
@@DustinSchermaul Yes, I regret having to stop writing those stories/journals, but I decided I needed to do more comprehensible input before I continued them. It was such a struggle to try and write at that level, and the mistakes were numerous! But I think I will start again soon.
Going over it again will help strengthen what you have learned and you may even catch things you missed the 1st time. Building your vocabulary in the meantime helps to make more sense and importance of the grammar you have already come across, but you will be able to make more use and sense of it now!
@@robertknull456 At this point, I'm probably at a B1+ level in reading, possibly even B2, and I can fight my way through much more difficult material with help from my Kindle's dictionary. I've been focusing a lot more on listening rather than reading because my listening fell way behind. Interestingly, I feel like I can intuit my way through quite a lot of French just from my knowledge of Italian, but I'm still looking forward to studying it formally.
I think Busuu is a good software learning platform, ( even if it has a limited time use like most apps). I use it in addition to LingQ. LingQ will always be my go to learning app, but no matter how good it is, I find that having one other additional learning app, helps to keep me fresh in both. ( eventually I will drop BUSUU and look for another app to use with LingQ ). The 1st time I finished BUSUU I went over it a second time and was surprised how much I missed the 1st time! I was able to "NOTICE" certain grammar details that I overlooked or just did not input enough! I have given BUSUU a break for now but I intend on going over it again. What other recommendations do you have other than BUSUU and LingQ! Looking for something simular to BUSUU, thx for the vids!!
Hey Robert :), thanks for your comment. So you're doing it exactly like I do. I think it's a great idea to add single apps to your learning stack if it can help you with your progress, as well as if it motivates you. Currently, I'm testing Babbel for my Dutch learning, which is essentially pretty similar to what Busuu does, just without the community aspect. The nice thing is that there is a lifetime membership, so that you don't have to have a subscription. Going forward, I could definitely imagine doing Busuu over again for one of my other languages. There is for sure always something new to notice :).
@@DustinSchermaul thanks for this great breakdown Dustin. I am also on Busuu but have been seriously considering getting the lifetime Babbel membership too for my next language goal. Can you review Babbel as well?
Thank you for a GREAT review. I have a question. I am currently using Pimsleur, Roseta Stone, and Mondly to study Spanish and Farsi/Persian. I use each in different ways, but I’ve come to realize the best thing I can do in addition to this is start watching TV and movies in those languages. I’ve seen many videos with Steve from LingQ. He’s great, but I tried using his app for Farsi (not Spanish yet) and it just seemed like a confusing mess. I have used many language learning apps. I have studied 3 languages for 8 years in school. I’m not a newbie, but I couldn’t figure out what to do with LingQ. Also, in Farsi, playing with it, I would click on something and it would speak it in a VERY bad, awkward robotic voice. I’m genuinely confused what people love about it so much. I’ll admit, I gave up after not that much time. I felt like even if I took the time to figure it out, it was so awkward, I didn’t think I’d enjoy using it. What do you like about it? Also, if it is based on comprehensible input, why not just read books, watch tv/movies, and listen to music? What purpose does LingQ serve? Thanks 🙏
Thank you so much for taking time and writing such an interesting comment :). Wow recently I’ve heard about more and more people who are learning Farsi! Really rich culture and history behind that language. I can understand the fascination. Hmm so the robotic voice is a bit weird thats true, but it helps to get an idea of the pronunciation. In general, consuming massive amounts of comprehensible and compelling input, should be the major part of our learning in order to let our brain assimilate the language. At least according to Stephen Krashen. But I think the same. So we need to somehow find content that we can read and listen to, and what we can understand (comprehensible), but that is also interesting to us (compelling). Lingq helps us for that with preexisiting content like the mini stories, especially at the beginner stage. When you are learning multiple languages, those stories are a charm, because you already know them and thus they are comprehensible way earlier than new content. Then once we step into the intermediate stage, we can import content from all over the internet, from sources like RUclips, Netflix, ebooks etc. Further, lingq makes our progress visible, by showing us what we know and what we don’t know as well as statistics. Since language learning is a marathon and not a sprint, this can keep up your motivation in the long run :). Have a great day!
I couldn’t get into lingQ either. I think it might be of more value to an intermediate learner than a beginner. I know steve isn’t into grammar but I like learning a bit of the basic structure to a language as a firm foundation, and after getting a foundation then I feel like structured lessons are unnecessary. I think it all comes down to learning style.
I just plumped for Busuu, mainly for the native speaker videos. I like Duolingo, but its characters aren't native, just generic international. Also it uses male characters for female voices etc which is confusing. I'm learning to meet the culture, not just consume the country on a trip. I also find the peer feedback surprisingly fun. Also, Windows does speech recognition, so not sure it matters that much it's not in the app.
Thank you very much for your positive feedback :). Glad that I could help you out there. I'm also constantly learning new stuff, also while making my videos and doing the research.
I finished the A1 and A2 levels in Spanish way back. Now, I'm redoing them and will advance half way into B1 and then review again. It doesn't seem to show the time anymore. I also Memrise, but it doesn't have explanations like Buusu.
I like the busuu set up and the features however I like lingvist a bit better due to the word list, words known and the home set up . I go back and forth between the two.
Thanks for the great Video:) I have a question. How do you repeat your busuu lessons content? Do you use their "spaced repetition system"? Are you using an external one? Do you just repeat the lessons time by time? Or are you doing something completely else? :) need some inspiration
You're welcome! So I used to learn all the vocab once, until everything was green, and I kept the grammar stuff all green… But I stopped doing that, because I'm missing the feeling of accomplishment. So I have just done all the available lessons and right now I don't use Busuu much. But going forward, I could imagine to look up stuff there. Also, if I should tackle another new language I will probably use Busuu, if it supports it.
Oh, that I didn't know! Good to know, but shouldn't be that way. Definitely approach their support! Additionally, I think you can revoke the PayPal payments directly at PayPal.
Hey Dustin! I'm working on a course project on Busuu. I need to do user research and I am looking for long term Busuu learners. Let me know if interested, it would be a really big help! Thank you :)
Yes, I have finished all the French and Italian content on Busuu, but I have also done many other things at the same time. This app alone won't teach you speaking, only speaking does.
@@maikolsoro1835 To build up your comprehension I would recommend Lingq. And then to speak, there are techniques to do that by yourself or you can try to find a tandem partner or teachers at iTalki.
Don't suppose you have any advice for someone trying to be an IT Project Manager in Germany (near Dusseldorf) whilst just starting to learn the language?
So many companies are actually operating with English as the main language. This would allow you to work on projects in English, while at the same time getting to speed with German, by speaking to your colleagues. If not and you need to learn the language fast, you should aim for a full immersion and try to speak from day one as well. Follow the guide from Benny Lewis ideally: www.amazon.fr/LANGUAGE-HACKING-GERMAN-Learn-German/dp/147363315X Then you also should make sure to get into reading and listening to the language a lot! For that I already made a video here: ruclips.net/video/7sL1qUckeb0/видео.html I hope I could help you, because it's also individual and depends on the circumstances.
Then I would definitely go with Lingq... Because the major part of my learning consists of consuming massive amounts of comprehensible and compelling input. But Busuu can be a nice addition.
Not necessarily. With the free version, you can also do lots of things, but have a limited feature set. Before you get the premium version, definitely check out the free version first.
نعم أولا هناك آيتاكي بالطبع. ولكن عليك أن تدفع لكل فئة. ثم هناك على سبيل المثال الترادف أو مرحبا بالحديث ، والذي يجب أن يكون في وظائفه الأساسية مجانا وحيث يمكنك التحدث إلى متعلمي اللغة الآخرين والقيام بتبادل اللغة. www.hellotalk.com/ www.tandem.net/ www.italki.com/
Have you already tried Busuu? Or do you use a "similarish" app like Babbel for example? And how do you like them?
Thanks again for watching!
Hey there :) great overview!
I do use Babbel. I think it is great for the beginning and to learn how to pronouns things and get a good feeling and overview. Even later at nice to spice up your learning routine with a quick Babbel lesson. I also really like the way they are presenting grammar in small chunks.
I also tried busuu. I have to say the quality of the content differs from language to language.
Polish was pretty useless to me because there is just a small amount of lessons with no grammar or cultural stuff. I really do not like it. I also tried a bit of Japanese and Dutch those courses for A1 are really good 👍 a lot auf content with cultural information and even some grammar. I'll use them in the future and I hope there will be expanded to B1 and B2 level at that quality.
I like that he did this routine for a year. Most reviews of any app is for 7-30days max. I feel like doing it for a meaningful period of time actually gives a better perspective on the product
Yes you are right, it's good to test an app in depth, while it is of course more work. Thank you so much for valuing my efforts :).
Thanks for doing this video. I had signed up for Busuu last year and took the Italian course through A2, but then I decided I really just liked reading and watching videos better. Now, I'm at a point where I need to really push through and learn more grammar and get a little more technical at the B1-B2 level. So you've encouraged me to go back and look at Busuu again before my subscription expires. I want to start French as soon as I finish Italian.
Thank you very much for your comment! :-) Sounds like a solid plan! Happy that I could encourage you. In the end it's important to have a mix of resources and activities which keep us motivated. The French content I really liked as well. But as mentioned my main activities are consuming comprehensible input in any form. So your stories on journaly as well :D. Thank you for that again!
@@DustinSchermaul Yes, I regret having to stop writing those stories/journals, but I decided I needed to do more comprehensible input before I continued them. It was such a struggle to try and write at that level, and the mistakes were numerous! But I think I will start again soon.
@@MichaelPhillipsatGreyOwlStudio no worries! Same here and our is limited so we need to decide on what we what to work on :-).
Going over it again will help strengthen what you have learned and you may even catch things you missed the 1st time. Building your vocabulary in the meantime helps to make more sense and importance of the grammar you have already come across, but you will be able to make more use and sense of it now!
@@robertknull456 At this point, I'm probably at a B1+ level in reading, possibly even B2, and I can fight my way through much more difficult material with help from my Kindle's dictionary. I've been focusing a lot more on listening rather than reading because my listening fell way behind.
Interestingly, I feel like I can intuit my way through quite a lot of French just from my knowledge of Italian, but I'm still looking forward to studying it formally.
I think Busuu is a good software learning platform, ( even if it has a limited time use like most apps). I use it in addition to LingQ. LingQ will always be my go to learning app, but no matter how good it is, I find that having one other additional learning app, helps to keep me fresh in both. ( eventually I will drop BUSUU and look for another app to use with LingQ ). The 1st time I finished BUSUU I went over it a second time and was surprised how much I missed the 1st time! I was able to "NOTICE" certain grammar details that I overlooked or just did not input enough! I have given BUSUU a break for now but I intend on going over it again. What other recommendations do you have other than BUSUU and LingQ! Looking for something simular to BUSUU, thx for the vids!!
Hey Robert :),
thanks for your comment. So you're doing it exactly like I do. I think it's a great idea to add single apps to your learning stack if it can help you with your progress, as well as if it motivates you.
Currently, I'm testing Babbel for my Dutch learning, which is essentially pretty similar to what Busuu does, just without the community aspect. The nice thing is that there is a lifetime membership, so that you don't have to have a subscription.
Going forward, I could definitely imagine doing Busuu over again for one of my other languages. There is for sure always something new to notice :).
@@DustinSchermaul thanks for this great breakdown Dustin. I am also on Busuu but have been seriously considering getting the lifetime Babbel membership too for my next language goal. Can you review Babbel as well?
@@qooraf7 Hey Farooq :). You're welcome! Yes, I'm currently testing Babbel very extensively and will make definitely a test video in the future.
@@DustinSchermaul thanks Dustin!! Will watch out for the video! Keep up the great work on your channel :)
I found this helpful because the institutions is so expensive to learn the language, thank you for your help
You're welcome! It's great that nowadays we have so many possibilities to learn on our own :).
I was unsure about Busuu until I saw your review. Thank you.
Thank you very much for your comment :). Happy that I've been able to help you out!
Buss its not free you must pay to learn
@@astteroidabusuu IS free, but there is a premium version.
Vielen, vielen Dank für das Review. Very helpful. Ich habe heute mich angemeldet.
Sehr gerne! Freut mich, dass ich aushelfen konnte :).
Thank you for a GREAT review. I have a question.
I am currently using Pimsleur, Roseta Stone, and Mondly to study Spanish and Farsi/Persian.
I use each in different ways, but I’ve come to realize the best thing I can do in addition to this is start watching TV and movies in those languages.
I’ve seen many videos with Steve from LingQ. He’s great, but I tried using his app for Farsi (not Spanish yet) and it just seemed like a confusing mess.
I have used many language learning apps. I have studied 3 languages for 8 years in school. I’m not a newbie, but I couldn’t figure out what to do with LingQ.
Also, in Farsi, playing with it, I would click on something and it would speak it in a VERY bad, awkward robotic voice.
I’m genuinely confused what people love about it so much. I’ll admit, I gave up after not that much time. I felt like even if I took the time to figure it out, it was so awkward, I didn’t think I’d enjoy using it.
What do you like about it?
Also, if it is based on comprehensible input, why not just read books, watch tv/movies, and listen to music?
What purpose does LingQ serve?
Thanks 🙏
Thank you so much for taking time and writing such an interesting comment :).
Wow recently I’ve heard about more and more people who are learning Farsi! Really rich culture and history behind that language. I can understand the fascination.
Hmm so the robotic voice is a bit weird thats true, but it helps to get an idea of the pronunciation.
In general, consuming massive amounts of comprehensible and compelling input, should be the major part of our learning in order to let our brain assimilate the language. At least according to Stephen Krashen. But I think the same.
So we need to somehow find content that we can read and listen to, and what we can understand (comprehensible), but that is also interesting to us (compelling).
Lingq helps us for that with preexisiting content like the mini stories, especially at the beginner stage. When you are learning multiple languages, those stories are a charm, because you already know them and thus they are comprehensible way earlier than new content.
Then once we step into the intermediate stage, we can import content from all over the internet, from sources like RUclips, Netflix, ebooks etc.
Further, lingq makes our progress visible, by showing us what we know and what we don’t know as well as statistics. Since language learning is a marathon and not a sprint, this can keep up your motivation in the long run :).
Have a great day!
I couldn’t get into lingQ either. I think it might be of more value to an intermediate learner than a beginner. I know steve isn’t into grammar but I like learning a bit of the basic structure to a language as a firm foundation, and after getting a foundation then I feel like structured lessons are unnecessary. I think it all comes down to learning style.
I just plumped for Busuu, mainly for the native speaker videos. I like Duolingo, but its characters aren't native, just generic international. Also it uses male characters for female voices etc which is confusing. I'm learning to meet the culture, not just consume the country on a trip. I also find the peer feedback surprisingly fun.
Also, Windows does speech recognition, so not sure it matters that much it's not in the app.
Very nice, thanks for your feedback! Cool that you also find Busuu useful. Which language are you learning?
@@DustinSchermaul Japanese.
@@Songbirdstress wow! Not an easy one :). Nice!
Your explanation of the concept of noticing in language learning really cleared many things for me. I've never heard it before like that.
Thank you very much for your positive feedback :). Glad that I could help you out there. I'm also constantly learning new stuff, also while making my videos and doing the research.
I finished the A1 and A2 levels in Spanish way back. Now, I'm redoing them and will advance half way into B1 and then review again. It doesn't seem to show the time anymore. I also Memrise, but it doesn't have explanations like Buusu.
Very cool! Sounds like a solid plan :). Good luck with that! Memrise I haven't tried in detail.
Thanks for this video. i have a question. busuu's accent is British or American English?
You‘re welcome! Phew I actually don‘t know, but you can try the free version and check it out. 🤗
I like the busuu set up and the features however I like lingvist a bit better due to the word list, words known and the home set up . I go back and forth between the two.
Hey Tita, thanks for your comment. Lingvist is on my list for a long time to be tested, but so far I haven't made the time for it.
Only problem with Busuu is that they lack Scandinavian languange
Yes thats unfortunately true, but on the other hand they have many Asian Languages, which is pretty cool 🤗.
I purchased Busuu app but I couldn't get acess I paid 2750 INR
Hm maybe it takes some time. Please talk directly to the Busuu support. I’m sure they’ll fix it! 🤗
Thanks for the great Video:) I have a question. How do you repeat your busuu lessons content? Do you use their "spaced repetition system"? Are you using an external one? Do you just repeat the lessons time by time? Or are you doing something completely else? :) need some inspiration
You're welcome! So I used to learn all the vocab once, until everything was green, and I kept the grammar stuff all green… But I stopped doing that, because I'm missing the feeling of accomplishment. So I have just done all the available lessons and right now I don't use Busuu much. But going forward, I could imagine to look up stuff there. Also, if I should tackle another new language I will probably use Busuu, if it supports it.
@@DustinSchermaul thanks :) I'll try it in the beginning when I tackel dutch.
Be careful. When you sign up and later you cancel your subscription they will keep charging you.
Oh, that I didn't know! Good to know, but shouldn't be that way. Definitely approach their support! Additionally, I think you can revoke the PayPal payments directly at PayPal.
@@DustinSchermaul I did contact their support. Was no help. I try to warn people before they sign up.
@@andreehobrak1425others have complained about that. That’s outright theft.
Great Review
Thank you very much! :)
Hey Dustin! I'm working on a course project on Busuu. I need to do user research and I am looking for long term Busuu learners. Let me know if interested, it would be a really big help! Thank you :)
Hello :), yes of course we can do, but I haven't used Busuu that much recently. But, I'm thinking to use it again to learn another language soon.
@@DustinSchermaul Amazing- thank you so much ! And don't worry any experience is useful :) What's the best way to contact you privately?
@@dylannelson244 you can just write me an email and then we go from there :).
dustin.schermaul@googlemail.com
@@dylannelson244i’m not a long term user but I have things I would like to say about buusu if you are still doing research.
For example, did you finish French and can you speak well?
Yes, I have finished all the French and Italian content on Busuu, but I have also done many other things at the same time. This app alone won't teach you speaking, only speaking does.
@@DustinSchermaul What other things do you recommend doing to implement ?
@@maikolsoro1835 To build up your comprehension I would recommend Lingq. And then to speak, there are techniques to do that by yourself or you can try to find a tandem partner or teachers at iTalki.
Don't suppose you have any advice for someone trying to be an IT Project Manager in Germany (near Dusseldorf) whilst just starting to learn the language?
So many companies are actually operating with English as the main language. This would allow you to work on projects in English, while at the same time getting to speed with German, by speaking to your colleagues. If not and you need to learn the language fast, you should aim for a full immersion and try to speak from day one as well.
Follow the guide from Benny Lewis ideally:
www.amazon.fr/LANGUAGE-HACKING-GERMAN-Learn-German/dp/147363315X
Then you also should make sure to get into reading and listening to the language a lot! For that I already made a video here:
ruclips.net/video/7sL1qUckeb0/видео.html
I hope I could help you, because it's also individual and depends on the circumstances.
Hey! CIAOOOO! Come ti avevo detto, eccomi sul tuo canale 😉 ci vediamo su Italki!
Si ci vediamo presto! Grazie mille! :)
Please busuu used American or British accent?
Phew good question! I’ve never really used it much for learning English :(. Sorry!
Thanks ,, ❤️,,,
You're welcome :).
Is there anyway you can turn off pinyin on mandarin?
I have no idea sorry :(. Haven't learned such a complex language yet.
if you have to choose only one of this apps, wich will do you choose? busuu or lingQ
Then I would definitely go with Lingq... Because the major part of my learning consists of consuming massive amounts of comprehensible and compelling input. But Busuu can be a nice addition.
@@DustinSchermaul thank you so much🙏
@@sebastianberrios5641 You're welcome :).
nice review
Thank you very much! :-)
Do u need to subscribe to premium or not?
Not necessarily. With the free version, you can also do lots of things, but have a limited feature set. Before you get the premium version, definitely check out the free version first.
@@DustinSchermaul i mean u can learn a language( a complete course with the free
I haven't reviewed the free version in a while, so I'm not sure. Sorry :(.@@MuhammadSharafaldin
Grammar is it free ?
Do you mean the revision exercises?
@@DustinSchermaul no I mean grammar it's locked 🔒 why ?
@@mdoubleob9115 You need premium version for that.
Danke
Bitte! 🙂
what are alternative to lingQ
Hmm. So I have heard of this one:
learning-with-texts.sourceforge.io/
But you need to set it up yourself and it's a bit clunky.
ممكن حضرتك تقولى على مواقع او تطبيقات امارس مع أشخاص اللغة
نعم أولا هناك آيتاكي بالطبع. ولكن عليك أن تدفع لكل فئة. ثم هناك على سبيل المثال الترادف أو مرحبا بالحديث ، والذي يجب أن يكون في وظائفه الأساسية مجانا وحيث يمكنك التحدث إلى متعلمي اللغة الآخرين والقيام بتبادل اللغة. www.hellotalk.com/
www.tandem.net/
www.italki.com/
@@DustinSchermaul شكرا لحضرتك جدا