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Learning Croatian will come in handy when you travel. After all, it’s the official language of Croatia (with about six million speakers), one of the three languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a minority language in Serbia!
That being said, getting a Croatian learning app would be one of the easiest—if not the most engaging—ways of doing this. But, if popular ones like Babbel (or Duolingo and Rosetta Stone) don’t have the lessons you require, then it’s high time you’ve looked for an alternative.
These days, there seem to be a lot of options in the market. We’ve gathered some of the best ones over here but first, let’s find out more about Babbel.
What is Babbel?
Babbel is an acclaimed platform designed for bite-sized and interactive study. As one of the oldest language apps, it’s been praised for its structured content and extensive lessons which cover the core competencies of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
Babbel has much to offer in terms of course material. From its multi-level tutorials to mini-games, speech recognition technology and review manager—it’s got enough activities to make your studies exciting! (And, provided its user-friendly interface, you’ll practically have no trouble leveling up.)
The app prides itself on giving users a holistic learning experience. So, apart from getting the full academics, you’ll also see these integrated into realistic situations. Pretty sweet, right?
However, Babbel only offers 14 languages on their website, which is a shame if you want to take up Croatian. So, if you want to start studying now—or prefer a different teaching style altogether—then you ought to look for alternative Croatian learning apps, instead!
The best Babbel alternatives
Although Croatian Babbel isn’t in the works, you’re not completely low on options. Whether it’s gamified lessons that you want or an audio-supported course, you’ll certainly find an app for that! Have a look at these:
1. Pimsleur
Pimsleur lets you study as if you’re listening to an interactive podcast.
With its daily, 30-minute audio courses, it’ll cover the basics of dialogue while integrating core vocabulary and grammar. In essence, you won’t just get school-like tutorials, but you’ll likewise get a taste of authentic, spoken Croatian.
Its lessons are largely based on the Pimsleur Method, a scientifically-supported approach to natural language learning. Although the app isn’t as playful (compared to Babbel), its tutorials are engaging, thorough, and set for the long run!
Key features:
- Audio lessons that polish your conversation skills
- Shows vocabulary and grammar in day-to-day contexts
- Helps you read, speak, and understand Croatian quickly
2. Mondly
Mondly is easily the perfect app for active learners. It’s largely composed of dynamic vocabulary, grammar, and dialogue lessons that help introduce the language.
What’s cool about Mondly is that it integrates a competitive leaderboard system with its courses so that you’ll be motivated to keep improving. On top of that, it even has audio (recorded by native speakers) and a hands-free mode to test your listening and speaking skills!
Free users get one lesson a day, but with a Premium subscription, you can study as much as you want.
Key features:
- Has courses for beginners, intermediates, and advanced students
- Great audio quality
- Bite-sized lessons with fun activities and exercises
3. Ling
Craving a fun and effective way to learn Croatian? Look no further than the Ling app! Forget rote memorization – Ling transforms vocabulary building and grammar practice into a series of interactive challenges. Matching games, puzzles, and quizzes keep you motivated, making those new Croatian words and concepts stick.
Ling adopts a well-rounded approach, incorporating cultural insights alongside vocabulary and grammar. Learn how to greet someone appropriately, order food like a pro, or even navigate everyday situations – all delivered in bite-sized lessons that fit perfectly into your busy schedule. Just ten minutes a day is all it takes to make significant progress on your Croatian journey.
And to top it all off, Ling boasts a unique chatbot feature, with whom you can practice your conversational skills!
Key features:
- Visually appealing and engaging exercises
- Teaches vocabulary and grammar
- Improves conversational skills through chatbot
Other resources to learn Croatian
Croatian apps are best paired with other resources, such as books, games, videos, and the like! And fortunately, finding new learning materials has never been this easy.
Školica Croatian Language School: With 12 years of experience in their belt, Školica’s online lessons are guaranteed to bring you success. Regardless if you’re a beginner or an advanced student, you’ll surely find the right class on this website.
italki: Getting a language tutor comes with numerous benefits; not only will they help you practice speaking, but they’ll give you some tips and insights as well! On italki, you may choose from a variety of community and professional instructors and arrange 1-on-1 classes online.
Clozemaster: Play games and compete with friends on Clozemaster, an interactive learning platform! They mainly use Cloze Tests, a context clue-based assessment, to improve your reading comprehension skills.
Cudoo: Acquire Croatian vocabulary, learn basic grammar, and master Croatian pronunciation with Cudoo’s courses. The courses come in three levels and there’s even a specialized Business Croatian course. Each course comes with a certificate of completion too!
Learning Croatian from the Streets: This YouTube playlist by Easy Languages is absolutely fantastic. By exposing you to “street culture”, you’ll get to hear how Croatian words and phrases are used in real life!
Hippocrene Beginner’s Croatian: If you want to learn how to read, write, and speak Croatian, then check out Beginner’s Croatian. This book presents clear units and exercises on vocabulary and grammar, contains history and culture notes, and even comes with 2 CDs!
Croatian TED Talks: As you might know, TED Talks make the best listening material. Now, you can get Croatian-language transcripts and test your understanding right on this website!
Simply Learn Croatian: Functional, user-friendly, and—of course—simple, this phrasebook app comes with a number of uses, whether it’s for travel or study! It includes flashcards, audio support, and a neat review quiz to keep you up and about.
Conclusion
Given Babbel’s reputation for interactive learning features, Babbel Croatian would’ve been an amazing language course! However, since that’s not on the table, you’ve got some work to do in finding another app.
It’s a good thing that, nowadays, there are many alternative platforms and resources that you can consult—some of them even rival Babbel’s lessons! So, don’t stress about it because you have a lot of great choices at hand!