There are more than 6 billion people in the world speaking roughly 6,909 different languages. The ability to express ourselves using language is inherently what makes us human. We communicate to each other over the phone, text, email & yes, sometimes even in person. In today's globalized society it's almost imperative that we learn to speak several languages. For many, like me, it's been a challenge to travel and communicate with people for work or pleasure. I've missed out on business opportunities due to language barriers. Other times I've gotten lost and taken the wrong train due to misunderstanding someone. Learning a new language however, can be extremely difficult, full of boring textbook memorization and not to mention, can be extremely time consuming.

So, when I was talking to some of my buddies about presenting a case study in Spanish for an upcoming business trip, I was surprised to learn about Babbel. One of my friends promised that Babbel would help me learn and speak conversational Spanish in just a few weeks, but I was pretty skeptical. He explained how their revolutionary technology makes language learning simple and fun. With nowhere else to turn and not a lot of time, I decided to check them out.

Babbel is a language learning site that offers simple instruction across multiple languages - from beginner to advanced. This platform was developed by a team of over a 100 language experts from more than 40 nations around the world. A research study by City University of New York (CUNY) found that with Babbel, students could learn a semester's worth of Spanish in just three weeks. My trip was a few weeks away so I was hoping I'd be able to pick up some Spanish by then. I definitely had my work cut out for me, but I was up for the challenge.

Every morning, I selected a training with or without voice recognition depending on where I was. Each lesson asks you to study words and phrases with a voice-over teaching you how to pronounce every word so you can practice for real-life conversation. This was key, and I really felt like I was having a normal conversation with a person - not repeating the same phrase over and over again - like in 6th-grade Spanish class. I learned what to listen for and how to properly pronounce words, which was very practical and gave me confidence in speaking. In just a few weeks, I was having conversations and continued to use the app whenever I had a spare moment.

For many people, trying to learn a new language can be a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be. To my surprise, Babbel helped me learn conversational Spanish in just a few weeks, something I wasn't able to do through 4 years of Spanish in high school and college. I even closed a business deal on my trip, which I don't think I could have done without Babbel- that alone was well worth the $7 a month. Babbelhas helped me connect with new people that I wouldn't have been able to speak to otherwise. I even made a few new Spanish-speaking friends along the way!

Update: The folks at Babbel are extending a special offer to our readers. Follow this link to get 1 month free! Use promocode Navigate2018

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