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Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through our links on this page.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorPlanning for business travel is a lot more involved than booking flights and packing your laptop — you also need to prepare yourself for optimal communication with partners, colleagues and locals. Recently, I was in Florida and was surprised by how many people spoke Spanish. Now, I know that figure is nearly a quarter of their population.With an upcoming trip to Quebec on my calendar, and knowing that almost everyone there knows at least a little French, I decided to take the time to study some of the language beforehand. I tested out Babbel and this was my experience.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againWhat: Sale on BabbelPrice:$223 with code LEARN (Was: $420)Where to buy:Babbel Language Learning: Lifetime SubscriptionThe reason I decided on a Babbel in the first place was that I’d heard so much about this particular app online and through friends. Trying to find free language resources wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, and I didn’t want to commit to expensive, in-person courses.Babbel also made it easy to set up realistic goals. Becoming fluent in French before my upcoming trip didn’t feel like a realistic goal. Now that I have a lifetime subscription, I may want to learn other languages in the future or brush up on my French. I selected my reason for learning, my desired proficiency and my target deadline, then the app set a weekly goal for me.In just the first course, I’ve already learned how to greet people and say goodbye, introduce myself, share where I’m from and which languages I speak, order at restaurants and ask how much something costs, talk about my profession and say my age and ask for contact details.Babbel does a great job in explaining the informal and formal differences between different pronouns and terms. For instance, I already know that I should address clients and those I don’t know with “Bonjour!” and my familiar colleagues with “Salut!”Each lesson also prompts me to practice my pronunciation, usually after seeing and hearing a new term. This remedies a common concern with learning a language through an app — Babbel calls it speech-recognition technology.While the software will let you know if you completely mispronounce a word, it’s not foolproof. One of my favourite features is that it motivates you to actually say the words out loud because that’s what you’ll be doing in the real world.There is also an entire course titled “Listening and Speaking” where you can sharpen more of those conversational skills. After taking a few lessons, these tend to focus on vowels and consonants.A big concern I had, with my Quebec trip still being quite a few months out, is that I would forget a lot of what I learned if I started now. But that’s no real reason to put aside language-learning goals and the app had a way of accounting for this.Babbel keeps track of each new term you learn and how many times it’s been reviewed, ensuring that you only see it as often as you need. You even get to choose the review method between flashcards, writing, listening, speaking, or playing a mini-game.The review sessions have their strengths and weaknesses. A huge advantage is that their system seems to work, though a disadvantage is that if you take a break from the platform, it doesn’t seem to factor that in and you may get some difficult prompts in the mix.While I chose to study French, Babbel has 13 other languages to choose from and you can easily switch between them at any time. Whether you’re u sing it for business or pleasure travel, or simply to pick up a new and marketable skill, learning a new language is a fun and rewarding experience.I recommend Babbel for anyone looking to learn a new language for travel.What: Sale on BabbelPrice:$223 with code LEARN (Was: $420)Where to buy:Babbel Language Learning: Lifetime SubscriptionPrices subject to change. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.