No Vietnamese on Babbel? Here Are 3 Great Alternatives

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Are you a fan of Vietnamese food? How about Vietnamese coffee? Do you imagine yourself on a motorbike crossing through the streets of Hanoi? Does Vietnamese culture intrigue you?

Vietnam—with its beautiful sites, rich history, and even richer cuisine—is endlessly fascinating. And if you want a deeper appreciation of this culture, I highly recommend learning Vietnamese.

Vietnamese has about 90 million native speakers and is spoken as a second language in Vietnamese communities in the US, Australia, the Czech Republic, and more. It’s a tonal language with a vocabulary that’s significantly influenced by Chinese and French.

There are lots of apps to get you started. But if you’re specifically looking for a Babbel Vietnamese course, that is yet to exist.

Don’t fret though, there are plenty of options for you!

What is Babbel?

But first, what’s Babbel and what’s with the hype?

Babbel is one of the best-selling language learning apps in the market. For good reason — it’s a holistic approach to learning languages and has been proven to help with enhancing reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. It’s a huge help for improving grammar, too.

In my review of Babbel, I talked about how the app gives a better understanding of the language through authentic conversations. The sample dialogues are far from rigid and can even be funny sometimes. What’s more, you’re asked to sound authentic too by pronouncing words as accurately as possible.

But while Babbel has lots of good features, it has one limitation: it offers only 14 languages including Spanish, French, German, Russian, and Indonesian. Unfortunately, there’s no Vietnamese on Babbel so you’ll have to look elsewhere.

The best Babbel alternatives

Here’s some good news: there are many great alternatives to Babbel as well as effective apps to learn Vietnamese. To make it a bit easier for you to choose, I listed the best of the best below:

1. Mondly

Learn Vietnamese on Mondly

If you crave structure and a well-rounded way of learning, look no further than Mondly. This app has 250 practical lessons laid out in an easy-to-follow format. It also features practice conversations, vocab builders, conjugation tables, and grammar tips.

As if that’s not enough, Mondly also releases new lessons daily, as part of both its free and premium plans. You also get weekly quizzes and monthly challenges, plus a leaderboard that will surely fire up your competitive spirit.

To learn how to pronounce Vietnamese words, I recommend taking advantage of the Conversation feature, the Chatbot, as well as all the ‘hands-free’ versions of all the lessons. Mondly’s speech recognition is pretty accurate, making it a great tool for perfecting your Vietnamese speaking skills.

Know more about this app with my Mondly review. Better yet, sign up and enjoy savings with this Mondly promo!

Key features:

• Well-structured and practical Vietnamese lessons
• Gamified but robust resource for Vietnamese vocabulary and grammar
• Lots of listening and speaking drills

2. Pimsleur

Try Pimsleur Vietnamese for FREE today

If you’ve heard the phrase “Tiếng Việt khó!” (Vietnamese difficult!) from locals, know that they’re referring to the six tones and multiple strange vowel sounds in the language. Vietnamese grammar is relatively easy but pronunciation is another story.

And so, if being conversational in Vietnamese is your goal, I’d recommend using an audio-based app like Pimsleur.

Pimsleur teaches how to sound like a native through its 30-minute core audio lessons. All Vietnamese words and phrases in the lessons are spoken by native speakers so you’re hearing authentic pronunciation and accents.

The whole course spans 16 hours of audio and by the end of it, you’ll have grown more confident with your speaking skills.

Learn more with this review of Pimsleur. Or try it free now!

Key features:

• Learn authentic pronunciation and accents from Vietnamese native speakers
• The Pimsleur method is a scientifically proven way of building long-term recall.
• Relevant Vietnamese vocabulary and applicable grammar

3. uTalk

Learn Vietnamese on uTalk

uTalk is an awesome game-based app that helps you learn practical Vietnamese vocabulary and phrases quickly. The app is packed with over 2,500 everyday words and phrases across more than 60 topics, covering everything from travel to food!

A key highlight is the crystal-clear audio provided by both male and female native Vietnamese speakers. This ensures you hear and practice the correct tones and pronunciation from the start.

As a primarily vocab-centric app, uTalk skips the heavy grammar lessons and focuses on getting words to stick in your long-term memory using increasingly challenging, fun games. This progressive approach is great for beginners looking to build a rock-solid foundation of useful words right away.

Here’s a review of uTalk, if you’re curious about its features and benefits. LLFH readers also get an exclusive discount here.

Key features:

• Perfect for expanding your Vietnamese vocabulary
• Features both male and female native Vietnamese voices
• Five progressively challenging games to improve recall

Other great resources to learn Vietnamese

For a well-rounded approach to learning Vietnamese, I recommend using a variety of resources. Combine apps with Vietnamese books, online courses, or video content and you’ll find yourself immersed in this beautiful language.

Preply: Highly recommended for faster learning, Preply connects you to highly-rated, native-speaking Vietnamese tutors who can help you navigate this language. While the tutors currently offer only beginner courses, the cultural info you’ll get from locals will prove handy. Plus, the rates aren’t bad!

Ling App: If you enjoy learning through minigames, puzzles, and flashcards, Ling is for you. This app features a variety of exercises, including a chatbot for conversation practice, that’ll help you on your way to fluency.

Vietnamese Stories for Language Learners: If you’re an intermediate learner who craves variety, why not add stories to your learning routine? This book contains 40 folk stories presented in parallel Vietnamese and English versions. A great tool for building reading comprehension, vocab, and knowledge of Vietnamese folk culture.

Glossika: Mimicking the way we learned languages as children, this app presents thousands of sentences to teach Vietnamese. You repeatedly practice thousands of these phrases with native speaker audio, using spaced repetition to build fluency, muscle memory for speaking, and intuit grammar without formal rules.

italki: For private coaching, connect with a Vietnamese professional teacher or community tutor on italki. This will allow you to get lessons customized for your level, as well as personalized feedback. AmazingTalker is a great alternative too.

Elementary Vietnamese: Originally made for Harvard University classes, Elementary Vietnamese is a solid textbook for tackling Vietnamese language skills. whether you want to learn reading, writing, or grammar, the lessons and exercises in this book will come in handy. Access the audio files for listening and speaking practice.

LingChat: This nifty app is like your personal AI language coach, entirely focused on making you speak Vietnamese fluently. You practice with diverse AI companions in realistic scenarios, getting instant feedback and corrections to improve your grammar and pronunciation through constant conversation.

Cudoo: With Cudoo’s Vietnamese courses, you get a solid introduction to the language and develop an understanding of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. The courses also integrate cultural context for a well-rounded delivery.

Mango Languages: This language learning program teaches Vietnamese using a conversation-based methodology focused on real-life dialogue. It breaks down phrases with helpful grammar and cultural notes, and its Voice Comparison tool lets you practice your tones against native speaker audio for spot-on pronunciation.

Udemy: Find a variety of video courses on Vietnamese, taught by independent native-speaking instructors. Udemy has everything—from quick beginner grammar to specialized travel phrases, often at great prices, making it a flexible, on-demand learning option.

VietnamesePod101: Featuring tons of audio and video content recorded by native speakers, VietnamesePod101 is a solid resource for learners of all levels. You can choose to learn from its paid online course, podcast, YouTube channel, or receive daily lessons via email.

Netflix: While Vietnamese films and TV shows can’t be your sole tool for learning, they can be great complementary resources for training your ears and getting glimpses of Vietnamese life. The Scent of Burning Grass, Camellia Sisters, and Furie are good titles to start with.

Final thoughts

The lack of a Babbel Vietnamese course may have left a void but these fantastic resources more than fill the void.

The truth is, these tools can only get you so far. Without motivation and discipline, it’ll be hard to progress in your Vietnamese learning journey. So, remember to practice good study habits, enjoy the process, and soon, you’ll master Vietnamese!