Rosetta Stone vs Busuu
Overview
Rosetta Stone is one of the oldest and most tried and tested solutions for language learning. It immerses you in interactive core lessons conducted entirely in the target language and provides speech technology to get you speaking in your chosen language quickly and correctly. Rosetta Stone lets you choose both your level and your reasons for pursuing a language and if you purchase Lifetime Plus, you can access regular small group lessons with a live tutor.
Busuu is a language learning app with 120+ million learners. It targets all aspects of communication: speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Lessons are interactive and fun and your written and spoken work can be submitted for feedback from native speakers. An AI tool tracks your progress and revisits content you need to work on more closely.
Pros
- Very immersive, you see, hear and read only in your target language in true to life scenarios
- Speech technology to fine tune your accent and object recognition which allows you to point at an object with your phone camera to identify it and have a conversation about it in your target language
- Allows you to personalize your language goals
- Provides In depth progress reports
- Flexible - available in desktop and device versions
- Regular small group lessons with live tutors for Lifetime Plus subscribers
- Good user experience
- Comprehensive - Covers speaking, listening, reading, writing and cultural tips
- Fun to use, easy to navigate, interactive and engaging
- Native {{targetLanguage.name}} speakers provide feedback on written and spoken work
- AI powered Smart Reviews revisit content at the right time based on individual performance (Premium membership only)
- You can personalize your language goals
- Lessons cover useful and relevant topics and content is regularly updated
- Available free (with ads)
Cons
- Can feel rather repetitive
- Not great for grammar, writing or cultural context
- No placement test
- Full immersion in the target language may be off putting for some
- Free version ads are distracting and intrusive
- Fewer languages offered than its competitors
- Completion certificates are not accredited
- Quality depends on the language you choose
Best for
Best for: Those looking to learn a new language from scratch or seeking to improve their speaking and pronunciation. Most suitable for those happy to learn purely in the target language and to learn intuitively rather than in a structured analytical way.
Best for: Anyone from a beginner to intermediate ability in the target language as there’s a range of levels. And if you’re not sure of your level, you can take Busuu’s placement test. It’s also great wherever you want to learn, either on the go or on a desktop.
Price
From $7.99 per month
From $6.95 pm
Number of users
500,000 active users
500,000 active subscribers
Overall
Overall: Rosetta Stone propels your language-learning forward by adapting a program of courses to suit your learning aims. It immerses you in the target language (combined with visual and audio clues) so you can learn instinctively and without relying on translations. It also stands out by offering additional features such as voice and object recognition.
To providerOverall: A fun, comprehensive app that effectively develops all areas of language communication. When you join you become part of the community of Busuu users and can submit written and spoken work to native speakers for feedback. I found Busuu to be very effective and started listening, reading and understanding right away. It’s priced competitively and for what’s on offer, it’s good value.
To providerSupported languages
Spanish, French, German, Italian, English, Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, Filipino, English (US), Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Korean, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Latin America), Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese
Spanish, Japanese, French, English, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Polish, Turkish, Russian, Arabic and Korean.
About
Rosetta Stone is a language e-learning service founded in 1992 with the aim of unlocking the secrets of language learning success. This is why it was named after the actual Rosetta Stone (which unlocked the secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphics).
It's now one of the oldest and best known names in the industry with 500k+ active subscribers.
As well as having platforms designed for personal and business use, Rosetta Stone has a K-12 educational platform. Around 15% of schools in the US subscribe to one of Rosetta Stone's products.
Rosetta Stone is very immersive and uses only the target language (combined with audio, images and speech recognition) to teach you from the very start.
“Busuu’s core belief is that amazing things happen when we learn together and combining human interactions, expert-created courses and smart learning technology is the best way to learn a language,” Neil Ballantyne, Busuu.
Busuu is a language e-learning service founded in 2008 designed to provide a complete self-study and language practice environment.
It’s now one of the best known names in the industry with 120+ million learners.
Via Busuu’s global community you have the opportunity to connect with millions of native speakers - proven to be the best way to learn a language.
Busuu also partners with experts on linguistics and learning to design their courses and keep them relevant and up to date.
Studies carried out by the Universities of New York and South Carolina show that 15 hours studying on Busuu premium is the equivalent of one semester of language college.
How it works
To get started on Rosetta Stone you choose the language you want to learn and either go for a three day free trial or subscribe to one of the options (see costs below).
Following this, you choose your proficiency level and your learning aim (travel, work, etc.). Rosetta Stone will then present you with a learning plan based on your answers:
These plans are the core part of the program. The overall aim is to teach you useful vocabulary and phrases that match your learning aims.
Each lesson is split into bite-sized parts which challenge you in different ways and help to keep up your engagement.
Rosetta Stone also offers a range of supporting features such as:
- Speech recognition to hone pronounciation
- Seek and speak (object recognition)
- Phrasebooks
- Stories
- On demand videos
- Live tuition with expert coaches and native speakers (for Lifetime Plus subscribers)
All of these are described in detail in the features section below.
To get started on Busuu you simply sign up for a free account on your laptop or download the app.
You will be asked some simple questions about which language(s) you want to learn and what you hope to achieve. You then either choose your level or take a placement test if you are unsure what level you're currently at.
All Busuu courses fall into 4 levels based on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). This provides an approved standard for identifying language proficiency. Each level contains several lessons which target writing, reading, listening and speaking.
- Beginner A1
- Elementary A2
- Intermediate B1
- Upper Intermediate B2
What a lesson is like
Generally, whatever the level or language, Rosetta Stone’s lessons are structured in a similar way.
They are grouped around communication topics depending on your purpose for learning (eg: business, travel, etc.) and designed to teach useful vocabulary and phrases which you then practise.
Lessons themselves are split into bite sized exercises conducted entirely in the target language.
You’ll usually hear and see a word or phrase along with a number of pictures and try to match them together. The aim is to get you learning actively and intuitively, rather than just memorizing words and translations. You’ll also be asked to repeat words and phrases using voice recognition.
Busuu’s lessons are grouped around communication topics depending on your purpose for learning (eg: business, travel, etc.). Each one is designed to teach useful phrases and sentences which you then practise.
Practice activities include gap fills, multiple choice questions, sentence reordering and writing activities. You can also have written and recorded speaking exercises corrected by native speakers. Or use a private messaging facility, which allows you to chat with language partners in the community.
Generally, whatever the level or language, lessons are structured in a similar way.
- They start by teaching the target vocabulary for that level and topic using video flashcards, translations, audio clips, gap fill, matching and writing activities, etc.
- Within the first couple of lessons you will be given the chance to connect with the community to receive feedback from native speakers. You’ll also be asked what your native language is and will receive requests for feedback from others learning your language
- After each group of lessons there is a checkpoint. This may include quizzes, puzzles, games, missing word exercises and word identification. You must score at least 80% to move to the next level
Who is it good for?
Rosetta Stone's learning style would suit anyone who's:
- Learning a new language from scratch
- Keen to improve their skills in another language
- Happy to learn purely in the target language
- Like to learn intuitively rather than in an analytical way
- Appreciative of consistent, predictable content
- Interested in applying language-learning to real-life scenarios
- Keen to join regular small group live tutorials
- Needing to learn flexibly on any device
The Busuu learning style would suit anyone who:
- Wants to learn a new language from scratch
- Has some grasp of a language and wants to improve
- Has a busy schedule and needs to fit lessons around their life
- Loves interactive apps with a strong community feel
- Wants a focus on developing conversational language
Likes the flexibility of learning on mobile and desktop
While Busuu would be ideal for anyone who’s always wanted to start learning a new language it will also suit those who are relatively proficient but want to improve.
Right away Busuu will have you speaking, listening and improving your conversational skills and grammar in your chosen language.
Features
- Personalized learning
- Flexible learning
- Speech recognition
- Seek and Speak - object recognition
- Phrasebooks and stories
- Regular live small group classes led by a tutor
- Gamification
- Personalized learning
- Fun, interactive lessons that touch all learning styles
- Checkpoints
- Cultural insights
- Flexible learning
- Speech recognition
- Ability to connect to native speakers
- Smart reviews
Is it worth it?
A lot depends on the type of learner you are.
If you like to work things out for yourself and are happy to plunge right into your chosen language then Rosetta Stone's dynamic immersive approach is likely to suit you well.
It will teach you the vocabulary and phrases you need to achieve your language learning goals. And though its core lessons can feel a little repetitive, Rosetta Stone gives you the freedom to jump ahead or focus on the specifics that interest you. It also provides lots of fun resources to help you actively practice the language.
And if you subscribe to Lifetime Plus you'll be able to boost your learning real time feedback with live tutorials from expert native speaking coaches.
But if you are a very analytical person who wants to understand the grammatical structure of a language, or you want a strong focus on writing, it may not be the best choice for you.
While I'm nowhere near proficient in speaking French, after a few hours on Rosetta Stone I was speaking more confidently and precisely than before. Also, the additional features such as seek and speak, stories and videos were a great way of immersing myself in the language outside of core lessons.
Overall, with a free trial option for three days, I think Rosetta Stone is worth trying out. After choosing your goals, you can get a feel for the site by taking a few lessons. As most users agree, it's a helpful place to start and gets you speaking actively in your new language.
Busuu aims to help you become confidently conversational in your target language and it does a pretty good job of achieving that aim.
I found it easy to use and thought the lessons were well structured, engaging, effective and ‘sticky’. Not surprising when Busuu partners with the likes of Pearson, McGraw Hill, and El País to keep abreast of the most cutting edge teaching and learning methods.
Busuu’s stand out feature is its strong community feel. Your written and spoken work can be submitted for feedback from native speakers which is the best way to authentically learn a new language.
It’s also comprehensive, helping you to improve all aspects of communication: speaking, reading, writing, and listening.
That said, there’s always room for improvement. Busuu does not offer as many languages as some other apps, and its quality is not consistent across all the languages offered.
It’s great for the more common languages like Spanish and French, but its Chinese, Arabic, and Russian courses aren’t as comprehensive. That said, you can use the free version to see if the language you want to learn is taught in a way that suits you before committing to a subscription.
There’s no free trial, but you can use the free version for as long as you like to see if this is the right platform for you. The pricing point is very competitive and there are frequent discounts available making it even better value.
Busuu is well worth your time and money if you’re considering learning a new language. With the option to use the free version for an unlimited period of time, plus a 14 day refund window if you do purchase premium membership, what have you got to lose?