Busuu

What is Busuu

Busuu is a well-designed and effective free language learning app that provides learners with a comprehensive foundation in the four essential language skills: speaking, writing, reading, and listening.

Busuu provides an offline mode that helps you learn a language even when you don't have Wi-Fi or an internet connection, however you will need a subscription for this to work. 

Busuu languages is geared at regular interval learning, whereby little and often’ will reap the greatest rewards, as part of a daily schedule in the app’s ‘Study Plan’. In the website, Busuu already boasts an impressive 120 million users. 

Busuu has recently introduced a AI feature called Smart Review. This feature uses artificial intelligence to personalize your revision process and help you learn more effectively. Smart Review analyzes your strengths and weaknesses in each language skill, and then suggests exercises and activities that are tailored to your individual needs. It also provides feedback on your progress, so you can see how you're improving over time.

How Busuu works

To start learning with Busuu, visit their website or download the Busuu app on iOS or Android. Choose the language you want to learn and create an account using your email, Facebook, or Google. You can select from twelve available languages, each tailored to your skill level, determined by placement tests. The app, supported by volunteer native speakers, guides you through the learning process, potentially leading to a certificate of achievement. We've covered the advantages of and differences between apps like Duolingo, Babbel and Memrise.

What we liked about Busuu

I find the Busuu app incredibly easy to use! It offers an easy-to-follow progression from receptive vocabulary learning, where I can choose the context of my learning and then engage in a variety of reinforcement activities. These activities are designed to gradually increase my familiarity and accuracy in using and understanding the language.

Throughout my vocabulary learning journey, these activities pop up intermittently, helping me recap the words I've recently learned. They effectively cover the four key skills: listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Each activity serves as an engaging tool to reinforce what I've previously learned.

The courses available cover a wide range of topics including grammar, vocabulary, speaking, writing, reading, and conversations. The conversation aspect is particularly impressive in Busuu, largely due to the many registered native speakers. I have the opportunity to practice my writing and speaking skills with them through the ‘Social’ feature.

All of these are neatly organized into clearly defined study sets, allowing the user to either work through all of them as part of their ‘Completion Certificate’ or to choose individual, isolated units as per their need. This more refined focus is best showcased through the ‘Travel Language Course’, which, according to busuu itself, “covers all the survival phrases for your next holiday”.

Is Busuu free?

Busuu is available for free to download on iOS and Android devices. Busuu offers a free version with very limited features. Busuu offers a free plan that includes conversations with native speakers, while two other premium levels offer more advanced features. 

How much does Busuu cost?

Busuu premium subscription costs $13.95 per month, but costs less per month if you buy a longer subscription. You can opt to pay 6 months or 12 months with different discounts offering better value for longer subscriptions. 

Does Busuu have a free trial?

Is Busuu worth paying for?

Busuu is an excellent choice for language learning, it does represent an engaging and motivating piece of software, with the clear, varied and entertaining presentations being its stand-out features. The potential for exploration of multiple languages is a real asset here and its individual interaction with each user and the option to link into Target-language communities and native speakers make this a considered and effective tool for all. Busuu is suited for almost all genre of user, with the potential of this app being what you make of it. Premium subscription adds a lot and is worth the cost. 

Download Busuu app and try it for yourself today! Busuu can be a good choice for learners, with its aesthetically pleasing design and excellent features. The content quality is also beneficial and interactive.

How can Busuu help teachers?

From an educator’s perspective, the relevant and clearly-presented content mean that this represents a very useful addition to the language learning classroom, with vocabulary showcased in entertaining, engaging, and extremely accurate ways. The score retention and positive manner in which progression is praised will be a huge motivational factor for the majority of students.

In addition to this, the ability to structure your language learning into daily challenges, with a specific end goal (fluency level: A1, A2, B1, B2) and end-goal date, also serve as engagement factors. Busuu app will work independently as a solid, comprehensive, and efficient language-learning software, but would complement well most school-based curricula. 

Final Verdict: Busuu Review

Busuu is a language learning program that encourages you to develop all your language skills—speaking, listening, reading and writing—at once.

Busuu does take things a step further, with more grammar explanations, better audio, and all-around more comprehensive courses, though there are still some weaknesses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Busuu better than Duolingo?

After evaluating the courses from both Busuu and Duolingo, our expert team believes Busuu offers the more effective language learning program from top to bottom. Their lessons are ultimately more robust and effective.

Busuu only offers courses for 12 different languages, whereas Duolingo covers over 30 different languages.

Is Busuu good for Spanish?

Busuu is an excellent option to learn Spanish. Its Complete Spanish course is full of useful vocabulary and topics that will help you become conversational. It also partners with El País, a Spanish newspaper, to produce video and audio content that improve your comprehension skills.

Because it helps you enhance all communication skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) and provides a lot of practice exercises to continually improve, Busuu is a good choice for learning Spanish.

Is Busuu good for French?

Busuu is very good for learning French. It has its core Complete French course, as well as supplementary courses that teach specialized French. These courses consist of French for Travel, French Pronunciation, and French for Business.

Busuu French not only teaches you the basics of French but by offering specialized courses, you can achieve a higher level of French fluency with Busuu than with most other language apps.

You can download Busuu on your iOS or Android devices from the app stores. Download the Busuu app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

Total number of downloads: 286,000 downloads