Busuu: a Social Network Application to Learn Languages

calico journal (online) issn 2056–9017

Learning Technology Review

Busuu: A Social Network Application to Learn Languages

Michael D. Winans

PRODUCT AT A GLANCE

Product Type Language learning website and mobile app

Language(s) Users can learn English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Turkish, Russian, and Arabic.

Level From A1 to B2 (CEFR) and Travel Courses

Activities Reading, writing, listening, speaking, interacting with users of the target language (speaking, writing), select from a list, drag-and-drop, fill-in-the-blank, correcting written and spoken texts, questions and answers, etc.

Media Format Interactions over the web (for interacting with users) and downloadable apps for iOS and Android (both with offline lessons)

Operating System(s) Browsers: Chrome, Safari (10.0 and above), Internet Explorer (11.0 and above), Edge and Firefox. Mobile: Android 5.0 and above, and iOS 9.0 and above (iPhone, iPad and iPod touch).

Hardware Requirements Web-based, cross-platform

Supplementary Software or N/A Hardware

Affiliation

Documentation Support: https://help.busuu.com/hc/en-us (for English)

Price Free for Flashcard learning; Premium is $9.99/ month, $69.99/12 months, $119.99/24 months. Enterprise versions available for academic and professional organizations. 7-day money-back guarantee.

General Description

Busuu is a language learning platform that is downloadable onto iOS and Android devices. Busuu was founded in 2008 by Bernhard Niesner and Adrian Hilti. The name Busuu comes from a language in Cameroon that is nearly extinct. Busuu employees have traveled there, met with a community of Busuu speakers, and even created lessons on the Busuu platform to learn the language. In 2014, Busuu recorded 50 million users and has now grown to 80 million users with the claim that it is the “largest social network for language learning”. Users can interface with the application or software in one of 12 languages in order to learn the others. The order of learning can be self-directed, or users can take a short placement quiz that will start them at an appropriate level. The only free service is flashcard learning, which is much more interactive than the name implies. All other features are restricted to the premium version. The interactive aspects of the Busuu suite allow users to get feedback from native speakers and the downloadable lessons are available for phone applications. The highest competency level available is B2, which Busuu identifies as fluent. In the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the B2 level is considered an independent user who “can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics” (Council of Europe, 2001, p. 24). The feature that makes Busuu a unique option in the language learning sphere resides in its affordance of the social features that support its claim to be a social network. Users can add friends from suggestions that are based on the languages they are learning. An English speaker learning Spanish will find friend suggestions that include Spanish speakers learning English. Once users connect with a friend, they are able to review each other’s submissions and offer corrections of the target language form. Conversations start when a user produces a written or spoken response to a prompt and someone replies with a correction and comment. After listening to a spoken response, a native speaker can give audio feedback and/or text comments. For written responses, feedback is given in two ways: first, you can Learning Technology Review 119 fix the text and any corrections are indicated in green, and, second, you can leave a comment with further feedback. These two responses are aggregated into one and the feedback is posted (see Figure 1). There are also other methods to learn the language, namely the sequential lessons. These sequences start with material that is also accessible for free to non-subscribed users: flashcards that include drag-and-drop, word selection, fill-in-the-blank (logic and listening), true–false, and matching exercises in sections labeled Vocabulary, Dialogue, and Memorize. Sequences end with a vocabulary quiz that is only available to premium users. In lesson 11 at the B1 level for Spanish, there are four areas in the sequence, two of which are considered flashcards. The additional two premium areas are titled Grammar. These areas allow users to download a summary of the lesson which compiles all the tips in the Grammar section into one webpage that has a print button.

Figure 1. Conversation and feedback on a written response.

Two other premium benefits that are offered include offline access. First, lessons for the mobile application for iOS and Android allow users to complete lessons without Internet or cell phone reception. Secondly, once you finish the lessons of a given level, users can take tests and receive an official McGraw-Hill Education certificate that corresponds to CEFR levels. Busuu only allows users to take this 15-minute test once every two weeks. 120 Learning Technology Review

Platform support is offered in the same 12 languages that you can learn through Busuu. Support can be accessed on a dedicated website (English: https://help.busuu.com/hc/en-us) by clicking a help link located at the bottom of each page or from the main drop-down menu. From the support page, users are also able to search for answers through a knowledge base. If users are unable to resolve their issue, they can submit a request or use a chat box in order to receive help. A strong claim made by Busuu is that 22.5 hours of learning on their platform equates to one semester of college. Vesselinov and Grego (2016) conducted The Busuu Efficacy Study which was commissioned by the company to deter- mine the effectiveness of language study when using their courseware; the results should be considered within the context of a commissioned study. The study recruited 144 Spanish learners in the New York and London areas who participated in pre- and post-tests. Brigham Young University’s Web Based Computer Adaptive Placement Exam (WebCAPE) test was used to measure participants’ language level. This test is used to place students within the first four classes of the first two years of college-level language study. Vesselinov and Grego (2016) claim their efficacy score is both direct and objective, where efficacy is defined as the “improvement per one hour of study” (p. 6). It directly uses the time recorded by the Busuu servers for participants’ language learning and objectively uses the WebCAPE test for data about improvement. Busuu users were found to need, on average, 22.5 hours of study to increase their score on the WebCAPE test—an amount that equates to the requirements for one semester of college-level Spanish (Vesselinov & Grego, 2016, p. 19).

Evaluation

This evaluation was conducted via the website though the Android app was also used to verify differences between platforms. Due to the incremental and instantaneous nature of the implementation or modifications of technology on the web, it should be stated that this study was conducted in November of 2018 with a premium subscription1 which costs $69.99 for 12 months when paid in one installment.

Technological Features

Busuu’s free access only allows users to study one language and is limited to the flashcards feature. Because the interface is well-designed, functional, and aesthetically pleasing, users who are not willing to pay will get a functional product for free. Figure 2 details the free and premium features. Learning Technology Review 121

Figure 2. Premium features vs. free.

A user’s portfolio page shows their location with a small flag that represents the country of origin next to a photo. It also shows the language pro- gress which ends at B2 of the CEFR and represents the fluent level within the platform. After reaching the B2 level, the language journey is finished. The portfolio includes a list of all interactions with other users and corrections that users have made for others, which can be seen by a user’s Busuu friends. In addition, the system provides user statistics for words learned, days learned, activity streak, number of corrections given, thumbs up received, and votes for best correction. There is also the ability to create a personalized study plan to keep users on track to meet language learning goals that they set for themselves. Users choose goals, set schedules for their goals, and generate a study plan that allows them to work through achievable steps toward a completion date. The highlight of using Busuu is the access to social features, though there are the limitations of not being able to search for friends or interact through direct chat, a feature that we could expect would be integrated. This expecta- tion came from Vesselinov and Grego (2016) who claim that a key feature is “Busuu-talk (web only) which allows students to find language partners and practice speaking or text chatting” (p. 4); however, this feature no longer exists. As a consequence, the term “conversations” is a bit misleading because there is no feature for synchronous chat with the friends that users make. On the other hand, users will not experience unsolicited non-language focused 122 Learning Technology Review

(possibly inappropriate) messages. This is encouraging since it means users can stay focused on the task at hand: learning a language. The conversation feature does allow for the building of personal relation- ships, but all of a user’s interactions are viewable by anyone who is a friend. Users can only add friends that are suggested to them or that they have encoun- tered through offering or receiving feedback during spoken or written language practice. This means users are usually matched with native speakers. Making online friends is easy when users give and receive feedback, which can be motivating for learners. This seems to be the key affordance that makes this language learning platform uniquely beneficial. When I tested the platform, even though I am a native speaker of English, I was able to get feedback on my English too. Many of the languages that are available for learning on Busuu are languages that are not culturally bound to one nation. English, for example, is widely spoken around the world and so it does not represent one culture. As seen in Figure 1, I was unsure about “At the weekend” being a British construction since I speak an American dialect of English. The question was “What do you like to do at the weekend?” and I offered feedback on usage of the incorrect verb, but I also added a comment about the possibility of “at the weekend” being a UK English construction. Just 37 minutes later there was another comment that informed that “at the weekend” is, in fact, British English! This is the key feature of the Busuu website—access to real people speaking real languages from around the globe. From the interaction, the user to whom I gave feedback also received input about dialect differences between American and British English. This reflects what Liu et al. (2015) found in their analysis of social networking sites for language learning: “social networking features can maximize students’ opportunities for knowledge construction and collaborative language learning through peer interaction and scaffolding, networking, and self-directed learning” (p. 142). Although the focus is on native speakers giving feedback to non-native speakers, we can see from the presented example that there is a wide range of benefits afforded from this interaction. The dialects that users learn is not initially apparent, but learners of English are learning British English. The Spanish is also a European dialect from Spain and might not be the dialect of choice for those living in Canada or the United States since they live closer to Latin America, which is filled with rich varieties of Spanish. There is no direct statement of this fact nor a choice in the dialect you choose to learn, but there is an interesting way in which Busuu deals with this: users select a flag and language together. When users select English, they also select the British flag, and when they select Spanish, they also select the Spanish flag, which could be misleading for users of the service. For social interactions and giving feedback, this aspect could be disruptive, or possibly Learning Technology Review 123 productive, depending on the user perception of these sorts of experiences. In digital interactions across a global web, users will not just encounter one variety of any given language and the privileging of one dialect over another does not conform with the diverse language environment that exists online. The diversity of the languages taught within Busuu needs work. The Busuu partnership with McGraw-Hill Education began in 2015 and offers premium users access to language certificates that correspond to the CEFR levels. These are not backed by an institution, but McGraw-Hill is a reputable education company which contributes to the reliability and perception of the certificates, as does the Vesselinov and Grego (2016) efficacy study, which provides some support to the claim that 22.5 hours equals one semester of a college education. However, users should be aware that McGraw-Hill is primarily an education publisher, not a language testing service, and the Ves- selinov and Grego (2016) study was commissioned by Busuu. The Busuu support system is easy to access and navigate. Users find answers through various methods of searching, and chat and submitting a request is on par with other helpful knowledge base systems, up to and including the ability to up/down vote whether a response was useful or not. Signing up for the service is also easy as users can register with an email address or via their Facebook or Google accounts. Many of the features are what you would expect from a best-in-class web product irrespective of its language-learning focus.

Pedagogical or Authoring Features

The Busuu software functions well and there were no issues with interacting with the courseware. There were, however, language issues beyond the country-specific privileging of dialects discussed above. For example, a tip offers the Latin American equivalent for the term flat (UK English) or piso (Spain Spanish) as the term departamento. This is problematic; Latin America is a large geographical area that includes many Spanish speaking countries with dialects that do not always conform to a single word for such common terms. Departamento is primarily used in Mexico, but Costa Rica, for example, would mainly use apartamento for this term. From sociocultural perspectives, language and cultures are seen as inseparable, so blanket assertions and the privileging of standard dialects misses on opportunities to develop intercul- tural competence. Another authoring issue was when the vocabulary word la inmobiliaria was introduced, which is the feminine construction of the word. The visual context shows a male real estate agent. In addition to this, the translation below this word is estate agent’s which is also not correct (see Figure 3). In Spanish, the gender and number of the adjective match that of the noun. There were other 124 Learning Technology Review lessons where this issue was also apparent: for example, when asked to select the correct adjective for a feminine/plural noun, the correct answer was given as masculine/singular. Agreement of adjectives to corresponding nouns is important for word formation and a close inspection reveals a few omissions or misrepresentations of which users should be aware.

Figure 3. Issues with context and adjective agreement with the noun.

Teacher Fit

In 2016, Busuu launched a service for educational organizations (Busuu, 2018) and it is currently piloting French and Spanish at Weber State University. According to Peckenpaugh (2018), teachers will be able to track the amount of exposure and interaction with a language as opposed to simply calculating the lessons that have been completed. Peckenpaugh conducted an end-of-semester survey in which 81.6% of users felt Busuu helped them feel better prepared to participate in class. Since the lessons from Busuu will not follow those of the course text, allowing teachers to self-select lessons would better prepare this Learning Technology Review 125 platform for classroom integration since instructors would be able to coordi- nate their chosen text with lessons.

Learner Fit

For independent learners, this could be a great tool to motivate and facilitate exposure to a target language through the cultural exchange afforded by the social networking features of this platform. Users do not need to start at a specific level and are able to self-select topics that focus on their interests. The initial quiz also allows for a tailored approach by determining the user level and presenting material that has not yet been learned. For some users, being able to receive a McGraw-Hill Education Certificate that documents their language level might be an additional positive feature. However, the tests are short and not comprehensive, and they do not require any speaking, so it is difficult to reliably relate a user’s achievement to a CEFR level. That said, the tests are included in the premium subscription and emailed to users upon completion of each level, serving as a record of achievement even when the subscription ends.

Summary

With a user-friendly interface that is both easy to navigate and aesthetically pleasing, Busuu delivers a high-quality experience. However, the reason to choose Busuu over other language learning coursewares would be for social networking and interactive aspects. Interactions with native speakers of the target language can be interesting and motivating for users since they provide real feedback about how language is being used. As a well-designed courseware, Busuu benefits from unique features, but at $9.99 when paid per month, it might be a bit expensive for the casual language learner.

Notes

1. The reviewer’s subscription was purchased on Black Friday, with a 50% discount, at $34.99 for a 12-month subscription.

References

Busuu (2018). Homepage. Busuu.com. Retrieved from https://www.busuu.com/ Council of Europe. (2001). Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge, UK; Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://rm.coe.int/1680459f97 Liu, M., Abe, K., Cao, M. W., Liu, S., Ok, D. U., Park, J., Parrish, C., & Sardegna, V. G. 126 Learning Technology Review

(2015). An analysis of social network websites for language learning: Implication for teaching and learning English as a Second Language. CALICO Journal, 32(1), 113–152. https://doi.org/10.1558/calico.v32i1.25963 Peckenpaugh, K. (2018). Busuu. Teaching German, 51(1), 97–100. https://doi.org/10.1111 /tger.12060 Vesselinov, R. & Grego, J. (2016). The Busuu efficacy study. Commissioned study by Busuu. Retrieved from comparelanguageapps.com/documentation/The_busuu_Study2016.pdf

Producer Details

Busuu Limited 3rd Floor, 10 East Road, London, N1 6AD, United Kingdom Phone: +44 (0)20 3301 9955 Email: [email protected] www.busuu.com

Reviewer Information

Michael D. Winans is a doctoral student in Linguistics and Applied Linguis- tics at Arizona State University where his research interests include second- language acquisition (SLA) and computer-assisted language learning (CALL). Currently a Teaching Associate, he teaches writing, language, and linguistics courses.