Comments on: Babbel wins funding, enters crowded language market

By: Nathan

Nathan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:00:50 +0000

It seems that Hindi is under represented in all these sites. I have a daily learn Hindi podcast I want to let people know about: http://www.Ispeakhindi.com

By: Pierre Yves

Pierre Yves — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:56:01 +0000

PS I agree with you, Michel, that any service that goes too techy will fail. In fact that was what was good about http://www.studiochinese.com – the platform if good, but it’s really about connecting people to teachers I think. Otherwise existing desktop software is as good if not better than any site out there.

By: Pierre Yves

Pierre Yves — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:48:38 +0000

I registered and got invited to be one of the testers on a Chinese (Mandarin) learning service called “Studio Chinese” (www.studiochinese.com). Not really web 2.0, but it’s live tutoring, and it gave me what I wanted – a quick course before I go over to Beijing in 2 weeks. It was the first service I came across, so I can’t vouch for the others.

By: Babilon « Portfolio i inne takie

Babilon « Portfolio i inne takie — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:29:17 +0000

[...] moich praw jako wymyślacza). Druga zaś niedawno do mnie wróciła wtrakcie nadrabiania zaległości na TechCrunch’u. Otóż i owóż postulowałem, żeby linię kursów ogólnych/całościowych [...]

By: Michel

Michel — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:13:12 +0000

Put Technology first, forget Pedagogy and you have the best recipe for failure whatever funding you can get.

By: Albert

Albert — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 04:37:22 +0000

I’ve tried a bunch of language web 2.0 sites, none of them have been of any real help except for myhappyplanet which has a community of people that really want to add and interact with you, and still it doesn’t work that great

the sites launch and have great features, but when it comes to learning resources, they all lack

By: Zachary Heilman

Zachary Heilman — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:20:53 +0000

I’ve had my own personal language website up for around 2 years that was done as a hobby on the weekends. It astounds me that these full blown sites are the leaders of language study. Rosetta Stone and the like are amazingly poor in terms of web technology.

I was happy when I came across Babbel.com because it’s very savvy and the flex platform is perfect for this type of interaction. But it turned out it loads slow and has real limitations on what words you want to study. I’m not saying it’s easy to do, but with funding I don’t understand how these websites don’t come up with something more real-world useful.
I think something like http://vocabstudy.com or http://quizlet.com actually get closer to a real study tool even though they are not designed as a full fledged all-encompassing language centers. Maybe the larger sites are too focused on selling a methodology or product?

By: Imrahil

Imrahil — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:01:37 +0000

“Adobe Air Flash framework” ?? – what’s that?! Babbel is created in Adobe Flex 3 framework!

By: Jeff Hock

Jeff Hock — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 05:04:44 +0000

The language market isn’t that crowded give it’s market cap and relative to similar sized sectors. Phrasebase.com is also currently in discussions for angle funding. http://www.phrasebase.com. You can read the Phrasebase business plan here: http://www.jeff...l-investor.html

By: urpwnd

urpwnd — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:12:07 +0000

if you are learning japanese, and you are serious about it, most of the online services are only useful as supplements, not as your primary education. and don’t get me started on textbooks or school courses, which are for the most part, completely worthless. if you really want to learn japanese, you need to immerse yourself, and not the “rosetta stone” way of immersion, which is ok. basically, go swing by this site. it works.

http://www.allj...eallthetime.com

dive in headfirst, or don’t bother at all, unless you think sounding like dumb foreigner and not being able to read a damn thing while you are in japan is a fun way to impress the locals.

By: Asian American in Tokyo

Asian American in Tokyo — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:29:19 +0000

For Japanese, I’ve found that JapanesePOD101.com is the best by far. None of the others even come close.

Czar, check it out at: http://www.japa...1.com/index.php

By: Czar

Czar — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:42:18 +0000

Well, that’s good news for Babbel. However, up until now I’m still not satisfied with its services especially Japanese-language-inclined ones. I’ve just found out a lot of flaws there. So unreliable…

By: Sam Desimpel

Sam Desimpel — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:09:38 +0000

this one’s been founded by some ex-eBay colleagues: myngle.com

By: Svetlana Gladkova

Svetlana Gladkova — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:53:00 +0000

What I find interesting about the announcement is how they keep the amount undisclosed. Makes me wonder if the amount is really that small on the Silicon Valley scale.

By: Cromwellian

Cromwellian — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:28:38 +0000

IMHO, ChinesePod, and Praxis Language’s other sites (SpanishPod/FrenchPod/etc) are hands down the best foreign language sites.

First of all, they produce fun, attractive shows, in which you want to listen and learn, over 800+ so far. Secondly, they have a huge active community, including tons of foreign speakers looking to connect and help, all without pointless social networking features. Instant Messaging and forum software suffices.

By: Realview TV

Realview TV — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:24:56 +0000

thought that was tm by a film.

By: Rajat Garg

Rajat Garg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:01:45 +0000

I like the tool but not sure which one will really succeed

~r
http://www.pilotoutlook.com

By: Vern

Vern — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:37:23 +0000

eduFire anyone?

By: Remy Wilders

Remy Wilders — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:35:07 +0000

Ever wondered what were behind all those links (13 in a 9 sentence post is quite a good score)? Here is a JogTheWeb track to see how the same post could be done:

http://www.jogt...php?trackId=214

By: ImageCo

ImageCo — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:27:19 +0000

By calling themselves Babbel I think they are tempting God to smote them?