Mini Review: Busuu

Busuu: a language-learning app offering 14 of the most-spoken languages, from Turkish and Arabic to Spanish and Italian to Chinese and Japanese (and English). One of Duolingo’s top competitors

• Slay: smooth, user-friendly interface

• Slay: video/audio examples of each word phrase spoken by actual native speakers (and examples are spoken at a clear, slower cadence for optimal clarity)

• Slay: Community! You can connect with other language learners by correcting each other's writing/speaking exercises. Make friends, learn from native experiences, and give/receive encouragement in the process.

• Slay: This benefit may be personal to me and may not be the best method, but I appreciate that languages written in non-Latin scripts (for example, I'm trying out Korean and Japanese) are introduced with romanized representations of the words so that you aren't hindered by first having to learn a complicated writing system. Scripts are introduced gradually, with helpful breakdowns that not only teach you the way the letter is written but also the sounds and the logic behind them.

• Slay: similar interface to Duolingo, including streaks, leagues, bite-size lessons, and learning journeys that correspond to CEFR levels

• Slay: good balance of short lessons with repetition, which helps ensure you lock in the target words/sentences while not wearing out your attention span

• Nay: free version includes ads after every lesson (so far, the ads haven't bothered me enough to purchase Premium as they're typically short and easy to escape)

• Nay: Premium subscription, which gets you ad-free lessons, interactive feedback, unlimited vocab/grammar practice, and course completion certificates, runs about $138.99 for the year (repeatedly ignoring the Premium popups can work the price down to $110.99). Paying by month will net you twice as much (or more) at $23.49 a month.

Recommendations:

• Units, or "chapters," don't take very long to complete, at least in the beginning stages, so doing a full chapter instead of just one lesson is a good way to keep your learning steady.

• Take advantage of the community, which is one of the biggest advantages Busuu has over Duolingo. You aren't limited to generic or "textbook" examples; rather, you can get personalized feedback from native speakers, who can offer you corrections or suggest more commonly used phrasing, even if your answer is technically correct.