Babbel regularly advertises its language-learning platform, and that’s a significant reason why it’s a popular app among those who dabble in languages and serious language learners.
I’ve been reviewing my Italian skills, and of course, I had to test out a couple of apps to see how they would help me learn and practice my Italian skills.
Currently, I speak Italian at a B1-B2 proficiency level. I use the language when my family and I travel to Italy twice a year and I regularly indulge in vlogs, reels, and other social media content in Italian to keep practicing.
If you want to learn Italian with Babbel but aren’t sure that it’s the right language-learning solution for you, here’s my comprehensive findings.
PROs
- The short, interactive lessons
- Great for beginners and intermediate students
- Great extra resources
- Audio recorded by native speakers
CONs
- Pricey subscription plans
- Lack of speaking practice
- Speech recognition software has no personalized feedback
- Not for upper-intermediate or advanced students
Registering on Babbel
Create an account on Babbel via its website or the Android or iOS mobile app.
Here’s an overview of the process to set up your Babbel account via the company’s website:
1. Click on “Sign Up,” which you’ll find in the top right corner. Alternatively, choose a language you want to learn from the options on the homepage.
2. You’ll be asked a series of about 9 questions. Babbel wants to know your reasons for learning Italian, if you know any Italian, your goals, how much time you want to spend learning, your learning style, and a few personal details.
3. Once you’ve answered the questions, Babbel tells you that your account has been created. And then you have to choose a subscription option.
This part I didn’t like because Babbel doesn’t advertise that they offer a free trial. If you subscribe, you can request your money back within 20 days.
4. If you want to learn for free, simply type in “babbel.com” in the search bar and you’ll see the learning page for Italian. Or if it doesn’t, select Italian if Babble keeps you signed in.
Who Should Learn Italian on Babbel?
Babbel, no matter the language you want to learn, is best for:
Beginners
Teenagers and adults
Those with an intermediate level of knowledge to review and practice their skills
Use Babbel to learn Italian before your travels or business trip, to welcome an Italian native, and if you enjoy learning languages (like me!).
Want to learn more? Here some more interesting articles:
Learning Italian on Babbel
Italian is one of the 14 language courses that Babbel offers.
Learning requires that you:
Complete interactive lessons (in the Home tab)
Do a daily vocab workout and review vocabulary you’ve learning (in the Review tab)
(Optional) Complete live group lessons (in the Live tab)
Do lessons on specific topics, play Mix it up! and Games, and check out Babbel Magazine (in the Explore tab)
Meet your weekly goals
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Babbel’s Italian Course Structure
Babbel has a straightforward structure to help you learn Italian.
In the Explore tab, you can either find courses by level or topic. Here’s a breakdown of each:
Babbel’s Italian Courses by Level:
You can progress from an A1 to a B2 proficiency level.
- A1 – Newcomer with 9 courses, each with 7-12 lessons
- A2 – Beginner with 9 courses, each with 3-12 lessons
- B1 – Intermediate with 5 courses, each with 9-14 lessons
- B2 – Upper-Intermediate with 1 course, which has 7 lessons
Babbel’s Italian Courses by Topic:
You can focus on:
- Grammar (8 courses, each with 5-21 lessons)
- Listening and Speaking (2 courses, each with 9-10 lessons)
- Countries and Traditions (4 courses, each with 6-11 lessons)
- Specials (3 courses, each with 8-12 lessons)
- Words and Sentences (31 courses, each with 8-22 lessons)
Babbel’s Italian Lessons
Here’s a taste of what Italian lessons on Babbel are like. Each starts with the basics and then progressively gets more challenging to test your skills and knowledge.
The first Italian lesson is about greetings and I reviewed four vocab items.
In the first exercise, you have to guess the meaning as you listen to the Italian word.
Next, I had to choose the correct missing word. I liked the realistic images that are immersive because it helps me learn and connect the dots.
The next exercise had a language hint, and I really like Babbel’s inclusion of these. Correctly using words and phrases is an essential part of learning.
The next set of exercises was of the “build a word” kind.
And lastly, there was a simulated real-life conversation that put the words and phrases I’d learned/reviewed into practice.
Even though there were 6 main exercises in this first Italian lesson, I completed 18 questions.
What I like about Babbel’s Italian lessons:
- They teach the relevant vocabulary first
- The exercises get more difficult, but you don’t feel like it’s a big leap or like you missed key knowledge
- The language tips, vocab extensions, and grammar rules are oh-so helpful
- The inclusion of the conversations gives me extra practice and I get to see the words I’ve learned being used in context
The Review feature is also great!
While you can complete live group classes on Babbel’s platform, I didn’t enjoy these.
I much prefer self-learning via completing interactive lessons, engaging with authentic materials in the target language, and practicing with real people when I can (outside of a class setting).
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How Long Does It Take to Learn Italian?
Babbel’s main goal is to get you conversational in as little as three weeks.
I believe that’s highly unrealistic – unless you have a gift for learning, absorbing, and then speaking a foreign language in a very short time.
The US Foreign Service Language Institute recommends that you need to spend at least 600 to 750 hours (that’s 24-30 weeks) learning Italian (a Category 1 language) to reach basic fluency – provided your native language is also in Category 1 or you’re skilled and highly motivated to learn.
You can’t cram 600+ hours of learning into 3 weeks, even if you don’t sleep or have no other commitments.
Honestly, there are various factors that determine how long it takes to learn a language:
Your native language – for example, you might learn Italian faster if you’re a native English speaker and whether you know a Romance language
Your motivation for learning
How much time you have to learn
How you learn and whether you really dive into the language
Previous exposure to the language
Can You Learn Italian on Babbel for Free?
You can learn some Italian for free on Babbel. The platform gives you free access to the first lesson of every course (by level or by topic) and you can do 2 live lessons.
The Costs of Learning Italian on Babbel’s Subscription Plans
If you like Babbel and want to learn a lot of Italian, you’ll have to subscribe. But note that one subscription gives you access to learn one language.
Babbel has 2 subscription options:
1. Babbel Self-Study
Learn via interactive lessons, Babbel magazine, podcasts, games, Mix it up!, and the review features.
A basic Babbel Self-Study subscription is US$13.95 per month, and you can choose whether you pay monthly or a once-off amount for a 3, 6, or 12-month plan.
Or choose the Lifetime plan so you can learn all of Babbel’s languages when you want.
2. Babbel Live
Babbel Live includes everything you get with the Self-Study subscription. And you can complete unlimited live classes.
The monthly cost for Babbel Live is US$99.00, and you can pay a once-off amount for a 3, 6, or 12-month plan.
You can save if Babbel offers discounts!
Advantages of Learning Italian on Babbel
- Do the first couple of lessons at no cost to see how Babbel works.
- You can learn via Babble Self-Study and/or Babbel Live, depending on your learning style.
- Babbel has a lot of Italian course content, so if you put in the work, you can reach a B1-B2 proficiency level.
- The short, interactive lessons are entertaining and offer a lot of learning value.
- The app has great extra resources to assist your learning journey.
- Great for beginners and intermediate students.
- Native speakers recorded the audio so you won’t be surprised when you interact with natives.
Excited to learn more? Explore my reviews listed below:
Disadvantages of Learning Italian on Babbel
- Babbel doesn’t advertise their free trial and, in fact, only presents you with a subscribe and pay option when you create your account.
- The subscription plans are pricey, considering you can only learn one language per subscription. But if you only want to learn Italian with Babbel Self-Study, it’s quite affordable.
- The speech recognition software doesn’t give you personalized feedback so there’s no way of knowing whether you are pronouncing the Italian words, phrases, and sentences correctly and with the right inflection.
- Babbel primarily focuses on developing your conversational skills, but you don’t get to practice speaking so much.
- Not the right platform if you’re an upper-intermediate or advanced student looking to further your skills.
- The placement test may not always be accurate since you can over or under-estimate how much you know.
- You learn via memorization and translation, but immersion in the target language is an essential component to learning.
Begin learning a new language with Babbel! 🌟 Unlock up to 55% OFF your Babbel subscription today!
My Conclusion: Babbel’s Vocab Trainer Is Great!
Babbel is one of the better language-learning apps, and overall, it does a good job of teaching you Italian – provided you put in the time and effort.
I especially liked the app’s vocab trainer in the topic courses and the review feature. If you are new to learning Italian, you can learn a lot.
However, Babbel’s “promise” of getting you conversational in as little as 3 weeks is an unrealistic estimation – for most language learners.
You may also want to read my detailed reviews of Mondly and Rosetta Stone to see if they are better language-learning platforms for you!
If you enjoyed my article, please feel free to share it. Have any questions? Don't hesitate to email me!
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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