Busuu is this a scam? Review and Customers Reviews

Busuu – is a service offering free and paid language instruction. Twelve languages are available. In the free version you can learn only 1 language, in the premium subscription – all. Lessons are compiled by teachers and are aimed at developing 4 language skills. Research has proven that just 22 lessons with Busuu can replace a semester of higher education.

Reviews of the service are positive. The application and the web version of the site are called convenient and simple, the lessons are interesting and effective. But there are also complaints about the company’s work. Let’s find out what users don’t like and study Busuu in detail to find out if it’s a scam. online school Busuu?

 

Why Busuu?

Busuu is a language learning community that connects users from all over the world. The service has developed courses in 12 languages available in the web version and mobile apps. To learn, you can use the free version or buy a premium version to get access to additional features. To test the effectiveness of the service’s lessons, a team of scientists from the universities of New York and South Carolina conducted a study. They proved that 22 hours of learning with Busuu provides the same knowledge as after a semester of classes at a higher education institution. All students showed progress after 16 lessons in Busuu. The benefits:

• The possibility of free training.
• Official certification with a premium subscription.
• Checking assignments by native speakers.
• Additional features with Premium.
• Discount if you pay for a year or 2 years.
• Interesting lessons and exercises.
• Ability to skip to different parts of the course without completing previous lessons.
• Access to lessons without an Internet connection (premium subscription required).

On the site busuu.com there is a detailed description of the courses, the scheme of the service, information for training companies and educational institutions.

How do I study online at busuu.com?

You only need a computer or an iOS or Android smartphone to learn. In the free version, you need to have access to the Internet. The paid subscription has an “Offline Mode,” with which you can download lessons and take courses without an Internet connection. You can use an unlimited number of devices to log into your account. You can take a language proficiency test before taking the lessons. You can also take it later, the function is available in your personal account. Lessons are designed by experts in linguistics and pedagogy. Each lesson is built around one topic and contains vocabulary, grammar and practical exercises which gradually develop your speaking and writing skills. Each lesson repeats the words you have learned in previous lessons, strengthening your memory.

Written assignments are available to test your knowledge, the result of which can be sent to native speakers for verification. There is also a voice recording exercise where you can practice by inserting your voice into a dialogue and listening to it to understand how you speak. Each lesson consists of several assignments. To complete the lesson, the student must pass each assignment and each unit within the lesson. You must score at least 75% to pass the assignment. When all exercises have been completed, the percentage score in the upper right corner of the lesson screen will change to 100%. A student does not have to pass an assignment to advance in the course. You can move on to any part of the course without completing the previous lessons.

Busuu Personal Cabinet

To register on the website busuu.com You have to choose the language you want to learn and enter your name, email, and password. You will get access to an account, which has several sections:

• Creating a training plan. You have to answer a few questions in order for the service to create a program.
• Friend requests.
• Notices.
• Account – information about language proficiency in percentage, number of words learned, corrections, positive feedback, active days, settings.
• Lessons – a list of all assignments by level.
• To help – finding those who know the language you are learning, sending exercises to be tested in the form of a photo or video.
• The control test is a list of weak, medium, and strong words.
• Inviting friends – a personal link to attract.

Mobile application

Busuu has apps for iOS and Android gadgets. They allow you to study anywhere from your smartphone or tablet. The app has lessons for practicing language skills:

• for the development of spoken language and exercises;
• examples of pronunciation;
• grammar tips;
• audition;
• writing instruction;
• dialogues;
• memory practice;
• vocabulary development.

You can send written exercises to native speakers to help you improve your skills, set a goal and learn 150 topics and 3,000 words with special training. You can test your knowledge with quizzes and vocabulary games. You do not need an Internet connection to use the mobile apps.

 

Courses on the Busuu website

This course offers lessons for language learning from beginner to upper intermediate level. The curriculum covers the 4 skills of writing, reading, listening and speaking. Busuu collaborates with McGraw-Hill Education, a renowned educational company. Together, they have developed a certification that certifies language proficiency and topics that meet the CEFR. After passing the test, students receive a level completion certificate from McGraw-Hill. You can only take the test with a premium subscription. Certification is now available in the following languages: English, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and German. In myAlpari there is a section “Test”. It contains all the words you have had time to learn. When passing the course, the student receives a didactic card, the words or phrases from it go into the vocabulary.

The service checks how the student is doing with the exercises on the use of these words. Based on the results, they are divided into groups to determine, on the basis of a special algorithm, which words to practice. If the student wants to practice some words or phrases himself, they can be added to the favorites. Words that one does not want to see can be removed from the list. In the premium subscription, the “Conversation” feature is available. This allows you to send the results of your exercises to native speakers. They will give feedback on them. Those whose comments the student likes can be added as friends to receive their feedback further. Students receive exercises from other students. They can be corrected. You can also select other students’ results in the Help section. It’s also where you can search for users and add them as friends.

Foreign languages

On the site busuu.com You can learn up to 12 languages. These include English, French, Japanese, Spanish, Turkish, Italian, Chinese, German, Russian, Portuguese, Arabic, and Polish. With a premium subscription, you can choose any language and learn multiple languages simultaneously, switching between them in your personal cabinet. In the free version only 1 language is available. The service allows you to choose one option of training: a full course, business (not for all languages) or travel. For popular languages additional lessons are available. With a premium subscription it is possible to create your own learning plan. All you have to do is tell us when you want to study and for how long. The service will send notifications and performance reports.

For business

The service offers language learning programs designed for companies and educational institutions. The solution includes licenses for organizations and access to a management platform. It helps you keep track of your students’ or employees’ progress. You can view reports on the progress of groups and individual students. Reports can be downloaded in csv format. You can buy licenses through the “For Business” section of the site or by contacting the sales department. Busuu charges a fee per student. The price depends on the number of licenses (from 5) and additional services ordered. Licenses can be added at any time. A general language course and a business program, which prepares you for communication at work, are available for businesses. Large organizations are offered individual course design.

For educational institutions

Educational institutions can offer Busuu to students as a teaching method to supplement their curriculum. Based on what students have learned in class, they can be assigned tasks that are done outside of class. Educators have access to a management platform to track student progress and registration. What Busuu offers:

• Official certification from McGraw-Hill Education.
• Work in the web version and on mobile devices.
• Additional training at any time with an offline mode.
• A management platform to track student progress.

 

Free Busuu courses

You can learn 1 language for free. You can take lessons and do exercises. Additional features are not available.

 

Additional services

The service offers employment.

Employment

Busuu offers jobs with the company. Busuu.com has a Careers section with a list of jobs and job descriptions. What the service offers:

• Health insurance.
• Remote work.
• Beneficial pension scheme.
• Extended maternity leave.
• Virtual Yoga.

 

Tuition at busuu.com

The service offers a premium subscription. Two options are available: premium and premium+. After the end of the paid training period, the next one will be charged automatically. They give you access to additional features:

• Offline mode. Access to lessons without an Internet connection.
• Conversation. Feedback from native speakers. You can send them completed exercises and receive recommendations. Available on Premium+.
• Individual study plan (Premium+ only). Programming according to the student’s needs.
• Grammar Lessons.
• Smart Test.
• Vocabulary Trainer.
• Obtaining a certificate (premium+ only).

Subscription Cost:

• Premium – €9.99 per month, €5.83 per month if you pay per year, €5.41 per month if you pay per 2 years.
• Premium+ – €10.99 per month, €6.66 per month if you pay per year, €6.24 per month if you pay per 2 years.

 

How to pay at busuu.com

The available payment methods depend on the device used for purchase. If you make a payment through the site, you can use a bank card (for currencies euros, dollars, rubles, pounds sterling, Mexican pesos, real, Polish zloty, Swiss franc), PayPal, Boleto (only for Brazil). If you subscribe on iOS, choose one of the methods available in the App Store (bank cards and PayPal). If you subscribe through your Android mobile device, use PayPal and cards (not available in all countries).

The service offers a 14-day refund. After payment, you can test the project for 2 weeks and request a refund if you don’t like the training. This service is available only for the first payment of the subscription. If you extend it, you cannot request a refund. Once you subscribe, it will be automatically renewed when the paid period ends. If you want to finish the training, remember to cancel your subscription.

Paying for training in your personal account

In the cabinet you can go to the page with the choice of subscription. After specifying the desired option, you will be redirected to the payment page with a bank card.

Other ways to pay for online courses

By subscribing from your mobile device, you will be able to automatically extend the period of use of the learning app.

 

Busuu bonuses

The school does not offer any bonuses or promotions.

Discounts

If you pay for a year or two subscription, you can buy courses at a discount of up to 43%.

Affiliate Program

With an affiliate program from CPA-networks, you can get an additional reward from each sale.

 

Complaints against Busuu

Users like the work of the service. The effectiveness of training, interesting lessons and exercises, checking assignments by native speakers – the pluses that most students say. The only complaints are the comments about the automatic renewal of the premium subscription without notifying the user.

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Regulatory agencies and laws

The service is owned by the English company Busuu Limited, registered at 55 City Place House, Basinghall, London.

• Read the terms of the privacy policy
• View user agreement

Busuu.com User Agreement

The site has a “Terms and Conditions” section where you can read the User Agreement. The document describes the services and the cost of providing them. There is a clause about paid services:

Describes registration terms, privacy policy, content and links to other sites. There is also information about discontinuing the service:

Customer Service

You can contact support:

• by e-mail: [email protected];
• via the feedback form on the website;
• through pages in social networks VKontakte, Facebook, Twitter.

Security

The service site has a valid SSL certificate. This indicates that the data users transmit to the site is encrypted and inaccessible to third parties.

 

Is Busuu a Scam?

Busuu – service offering free and paid learning of 12 foreign languages. In the free version you can learn 1 language, in the premium subscription several. Many additional features are available in the paid version. Students say the lessons are effective and the exercises are interesting. Everyone who pays for a subscription can be certified and receive a document confirming the level of knowledge.

The disadvantages include only automatic deductions for renewing subscriptions. There are students who decided to cancel their studies, but forgot to unsubscribe and the money was withdrawn. Therefore, it is necessary to unsubscribe in time so as not to encounter such a problem. Given the fact that the website has the details of the company that developed the service, it can be noted that Busuu works under the laws of the UK. Millions of users have been trained on the site and through the app. Therefore, we can conclude that Busuu is not a scam.

 

Conclusion

Having studied the work of Busuu, we decided that we can recommend the service to our readers. This is a convenient platform for learning foreign languages with the possibility to take 1 course for free. Having paid a premium subscription, you can use additional features that will help you learn your chosen language faster. If you have been trained on Busuu, tell us about your experience in the comments to this review.