Learning English for Business is one of the most demanding topics in the language-learning world – and for a good reason.
Business English is essential for anyone who needs to speak English – not just fluently but in a business capacity – at work or in a professional capacity. If you’re gunning for a promotion or new job, Business English is a must, too.
Your general English simply won’t cut it if you need to use English in your job or business. You want to be able to communicate confidently, effectively, and accurately in a business environment. And you want to succeed in your professional relationships, whether it’s with your boss, colleague, or client.
The right course can help you do just that.
Courses that teach Business English aim to improve your English language skills, and they focus (or should) specifically on areas that will help you excel at work.
Here’s everything you need to know about Babbel’s Business English Course and whether it’s worth it.
Why I Decided to Test Babbel’s Business English Course
My readers have been asking me for recommendations of great courses where they could master the art of professional communication in English. So I had to dive into Babbel’s offering.
As a blogger, app tester, polyglot, and language coach, I use Business English in my job (and business) every day. While I mastered English – and Business English – long before Babbel’s course was available, I had to test out the course and see whether it was something I could (and should) recommend to my students and readers.
Given Babbel’s popularity in the language-learning world, I had high expectations. Was this course going to be a “must-do” for my readers?
Let’s find out.
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A Brief Look at Babbel
Babbel is a Germany-based language-learning platform that offers 15 language courses via your internet browser and an app that’s available on Google Play and the App Store. So Android and iOS device users are covered.
The company has been around since August 2007, but it formally launched four months later.
Babbel currently (at the time of writing) offers 15 language courses, and the app’s main focus is getting you conversational as soon as possible. So expect loads of practical language usage and exercises geared toward speaking and conversation practice.
Besides the language courses, Babbel also offers:
Toucan, a free browser extension that translates Google search and the websites you visit into your target language. This gives you an immersive experience and even more exposure to the language you’re learning.
Babbel Magazine to make language research accessible.
Podcasts to give you extra listening practice.
Babbel even has a “Talking On The Job” podcast that’s specifically for its Business English students.
Who Is Babbel’s Business English Course For?
Babbel’s course in Business English is for anyone who’s looking to:
Learn how to effectively communicate in their industry or company
Start a new job where English is a requirement or workplace language
Be promoted
Earn more
Feel more confident when they need to communicate in English
Not just anyone can do Babbel’s English for Business language course.
If your instruction language is set to English on the platform, you can’t learn English or do the Business course.
You can only access the Business English modules if you’re language of instruction is any of the other 14 languages that Babbel offers:
Danish
Dutch
French
German
Indonesian
Italian
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese (Brazilian)
Russian
Spanish (Spain/European)
Spanish (Latin American/Mexican)
Swedish (*** new addition since I last reviewed the app)
Turkish
Getting Started with Babbel’s Business English
There is no official Business English course that you can register for on Babbel. Sad, I know.
But you do have access to these modules when you subscribe to one of Babbel’s language courses.
So to get started, follow these steps:
Click “Sign up” on the Babbel homepage. Or you can click on a language you want to learn.
From there, you have to answer some questions, like why you want to learn X language, your goals, and how much time you want to commit studying. There are also some personal questions you must answer like your age, name, and email address.
Once that’s done, Babbel creates your account and you must immediately choose a subscription option.
You can actually try Babbel’s courses – or the first couple of lessons – for free. So close the subscription page and open a new tab with “babbel.com.”
You are on the homepage of the language you want to learn.
To study the Business English modules, you have to subscribe.
If you’ve added your payment info, you can navigate to “Discover” > “Courses by level” > “Business English.”
But you can complete – for free – the first lesson in each English for Business module to see what it’s about.
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Babbel’s Business English Courses and Modules
Babbel offers four Business English courses that you can choose from.
Here’s what you can expect to learn in each of the modules (find them in “Course by level”):
Business English for A2
On the phone – 7 lessons
Insurance – 7 lessons
Gastronomy and restaurants – 9 lessons
Technology for laboratory safety – 5 lessons
Railways and public transport – 5 lessons
Hotels and hospitality – 7 lessons
Business English for B1:
Tourism: Planning and Booking – 8 lessons
Tourism Activities – 8 lessons
Emails – 8 lessons
Presentations – 8 lessons
Socializing – 8 lessons
Business trips – 7 lessons
Medicine and health care – 9 lessons
Customer service – 7 lessons
Construction and development aid – 11 lessons
Development aid: Establishment of a first responder supply camp – 10 lessons
Automobiles and manufacturing – 8 lessons
Logistics and freight transport – 10 lessons
IT and communication – 11 lessons
Technology and safety at work – 5 lessons
Administration and international tax law – 8 lessons
Business English for B2:
In the hotel: Reception – 12 lessons
Projects – 8 lessons
Teamwork – 7 lessons
Meetings – 7 lessons
How do I apply in English? – 11 lessons
Personnel recruitment and remuneration – 9 lessons
Personnel management and personnel development – 6 lessons
Retail and supermarkets – 5 lessons
Excellent customer service – 7 lessons
Accounting and finance – 9 lessons
Pharmaceutical processes and products – 5 lessons
Tools and their use – 11 lessons
Maritime search and rescue – 9 lessons
Business English for C1:
Trade fairs, conferences, and exhibitions – 7 lessons
Well-being at work – 5 lessons
Cultural exchange – 6 lessons
Sales and account management – 6 lessons
Diversity and inclusion – 6 lessons
Working from home – 7 lessons
Negotiations – 9 lessons
Offline marketing – 4 lessons
Online marketing – 7 lessons
Brand development – 4 lessons
International banking and insurance – 8 lessons
Journalism – 8 lessons
Public relations – 8 lessons
Sales and logistics – 8 lessons
In the “Course by Topic,” you can also find some business-related topics:
Entry I (A1-1)
Ask for time and schedule a meeting
Entry II (A1-1)
Talk about your profession
Basics (A1)
I’ve worked here for a year
Intermediate (A2)
Understand technical instructions
Leaving and passing messages
Upper Intermediate (B2)
Interning abroad
Hire me!
Advanced (C1)
Know your audience
Urban living
Gender and identity
The Business English Exercises: A Mix of Real-World Application and Review
When you choose a lesson or module, you get an introduction to the topic.
The lessons follow the same kind of flow as the others when you learn a new language.
You focus on learning the vocabulary first.
You listen to the word and repeat it. You get an image, the spelling, and a definition.
Other words I “learned” in this part of the lesson were “overwhelming” and “supportive.”
Next, I had to match the word to its meaning, testing my understanding.
Then, there were a few “fill in the blank” exercises. I had to read an email and fill in the right word. But instead of just choosing the term, I had to spell and type it.
I realized to complete these exercises, you need a pre-intermediate level of understanding of English – at least.
Next, you listen to a scenario and have to choose the term that best describes it. It practices your listening skills and understanding of the terms you learned.
Then there’s more vocab to learn.
And the exercises repeat with listening and typing the right word and filling in the blank.
There’s more fill in the blanks, but this time it’s longer.
You listen and read a conversation or real-life scenario and have to fill in the right words. But the speaker reads each section, so it’s just typing what you hear.
You can choose to listen to the section again, and that’s good practice.
Then you can give the browser or app permission to use your microphone – if you haven’t already.
It’s speaking practice time!
After a few speaking exercises, you get to the end of the lesson. Yay.
Babbel Subscription Costs: Is It Worth the Price?
Since the Business English course is part of the language courses, you don’t pay extra for it. Though it would have been a nice option to study only Business English on Babbel …
While you can try out the first lesson of each module at no cost, that’s where the freebies on Babbel stop.
You have to subscribe to continue learning – if you like how the lessons are presented.
There are two Babbel subscriptions:
Babbel Self-Study: This includes only the interactive classes you can self-study. You also get access to the podcasts, videos, culture bites, games, and planning tools.
Babbel Live: This includes everything in Self-Study AND unlimited live classes so you can interact with Babbel’s native-speaking teachers, practice, and learn more.
Here’s how much a Babbel subscription cost:
Babbel Self-Study
3-month plan: US$9.95 per month (US$29.85 in total)
6-month plan: US$8.45 per month (US$50.70 in total – with a 15% discount)
12-month plan: US$6.95 per month (US$83.40 in total – with a 50% discount)
Lifetime access: US$299.50 – with a 50% discount
he monthly plans only give you access to earn one language, and if you are learning multiple languages, you need more subscriptions.
Or, opt for the Lifetime plan, which gives you access to all of Babbel’s language courses.
Babbel Live
Choose between:
Individual classes
You can also join unlimited group classes when you subscribe to the private classes option.
1-month plan: US$149 per month
3-month plan: US$127 per month – with a 15% discount
6-month plan: US$112 per month – with a 25% discount
12-month plan: US$75 per month – with a 50% discount
Group classes
- 1-month plan: US$99 per month
- 3-month plan: US$70 per month – with a 30% discount
- 6-month plan: US$60 per month – with a 40% discount
- 12-month plan: US$50 per month – with a 50% discount
The app offers a 20-day money-back guarantee, secure payment, and various payment options (Apple Pay, credit card, and PayPal).
Begin learning a new language with Babbel! 🌟 Unlock up to 55% OFF your Babbel subscription today!
What I Like About Babbel’s Business English Course
Each module is structured and the lesson follows a similar format to the other courses, which is nice if you’re familiar with Babbel.
There’s a nice flow to the lessons, where you learn the vocabulary and get to practice it.
The interface is user-friendly and the platform is clean and minimalistic.
Babbel offers many Business English topics, covering a wide range of business-related subjects and scenarios.
You can choose to self-study and/or subscribe to the live classes (individual and/or group) to practice your Business English.
The review tool on Babbel is great.
Competitive pricing, especially for the self-study interactive lessons.
The lessons do have a real-world focus that I like.
You listen to audio recorded by native speakers, which is great to learn the correct pronunciation and intonation.
What I Didn’t Like About the Business English Course
- The Business English course isn’t a stand-alone on Babbel. You have to find the Business English modules in the “Course by Level” or “Course by Topic” options.
- While it’s great to try the first lesson of each module or topic, it isn’t enough to see whether the subscription cost is really worth it.
- The lessons may be too simple. I appreciate that the lessons are short, but at an intermediate+ level, I’d have appreciated it if the course could dive deeper and really offer content for more advanced students.
- You can’t learn Business English if your instruction language is set to English, and if you don’t natively speak one of Babbel’s other 14 languages, you’re screwed.
- One of my biggest pet peeves – Babbel isn’t up front about the subscription costs or that it offers a (very) limited free trial.
- There’s no live feedback, so you can only hope that the software recognition software does a good job of picking up what you said and marking it correctly.
My Verdict: Is Babbel’s Business English Course Worth It?
Honestly, I like Babbel. I use it to review Italian and to learn Turkish, Spanish, French und Italian (Check out my reviews of Babbel language courses here: “Learning Italian with Babbel: Can It Be Done?” und “A Personal Review of Learning Spanish with Babbel”).
Of course, I don’t solely rely on the app to teach me a new language. I believe in a combination approach where I use fun app lessons and other immersive resources to get the best of both worlds.
Here’s why you should pick Babbel to teach you Business English:
Loads of topics to study with many lessons to keep you busy and learning.
Short, interactive lessons with loads of flexibility – ideal for a busy individual.
Option to self-study and do live lessons.
And here’s why you should steer clear:
If you’re a newbie at learning English, the course may be a bit too advanced for you.
Yet, the lessons are simplistic and could dive a lot deeper into the subject matter.
You have to pay for a one-language only or all-access lifetime subscription – which isn’t worthwhile if you only want to focus on the Business English topics.
Overall, Babbel’s Business English is a great starting point.
But don’t think Babbel will make you fluent in Business English.
Supplement your learning with other resources, like industry material in English and an English tutor, language-exchange partner, or colleague who’ll teach you.
Begin learning a new language with Babbel! 🌟 Unlock up to 55% OFF your Babbel subscription today!
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Disclaimer: I select and review independently. If you buy through affiliate links, I may earn commissions that help support my testing at no extra cost to you. Please read my full disclosure for more information.
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