Internet Learning Grows Up

On the 15th of January 2008, Babbel.com went online for the first time. Now, after only a year, 180,000 people from all over the world are learning English, Spanish, French, Italian and German on the website. For the anniversary, they've been asked to write birthday wishes in the language they are currently learning. Then native speakers from from the Babbel community will go over these texts and give helpful feedback.

180,000 members from over 200 countries

Right now, Babbel community members come from 209 countries. From Afghanistan to Venezuela, practically the whole world is represented. Markus Witte, one of the founders and CEOs, says, “The quickly growing number of users and their positive feedback show us that we've really satisfied a demand. Online learning isn't just fun, it also offers clear advantages.”

Online language learning gets even more attractive

Babbel.com was formed a year ago with the idea of making language learning easier and more attractive using the possibilities of the the internet. With its playful teaching approach, the website also intended to reach users who may use conventional learning materials less. The interactive vocabulary packages and tutorials are intuitively designed. Pictures and pronunciation examples facilitate understanding and emphasize learning that sticks. Meanwhile, the community functions make it possible to study with others, whether it be with a learning partner or a “tandem” (language exchange). In the next months, alongside its free material, Babbel will begin to offer paid premium content.

Further information at www.babbel.com/about/ENG/press.
Find unusual, interesting and current commentary on language and language learning at the Babbel Blog blog.babbel.com/.

About Babbel.com:

Babbel (www.babbel.com) offers the opportunity for anyone to learn languages for free online. Since January, 2008, around 180,000 users have registered. The company behind Babbel, Lesson Nine GmbH, is located in multi-cultural Berlin and was founded in 2007 by Lorenz Heine (35), Markus Witte (38), Toine Diepstraten (33) and Thomas Holl (33). Beforehand these four worked for the audio software company, Native Instruments, which Heine had co-founded. Babbel.com received an investment from Kizoo AG and VC Fonds Berlin in the summer of 2008. The Babbel Team consists currently of ten full-time employees and over ten freelancers.

Press Contact:
Markus Witte
mwitte@babbel.com
+49 30 346 55 93 87
Lesson Nine GmbH
Großbeerenstr. 81
10963 Berlin, Germany
http://www.babbel.com