Babbel Live Review Summary

Babbel Live delivers 55-minute classes in 5 languages to groups of up to 6 learners over 16 years of age. Teachers must be Native or C2-certified, with a teaching certificate and experience. Pay is not advertised, but is reportedly €12-14 an hour, and you must have 10 hours availability a week.

Babbel Live Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Reputable company
• For teachers of 5 languages
• Small bonus for maintaining a high student rating
• Complimentary access to Babbel language courses

Cons:

• Pay rates not advertised
• Less company demand for English teachers
• Penalties for late cancellations, and deductions for student no shows
• Must be available for 10 hours a week, though these aren’t always filled
• Can take months to respond to generic applications

Neutral (some will prefer, some won’t):

• No younger students (below 16 years)
• 55-minute lessons may be considered too long

Is Babbel Legit?

Babbel is a legitimate app-based and online language learning platform. Founded in 2007, it has its headquarters in Berlin, Germany, with a US office in New York. Its legitimacy is underlined by being named for the 3rd time as one of the GSV 150 Most Transformational Companies in EdTech in 2022, while also possessing a Trustpilot score of 4 out of 5.

What Is Babbel Live?

While millions of Babbel users learn languages independently through the app, Babbel Live offers the opportunity to study and practice alongside fellow students under the instruction of a live teacher. This video provides a brief introduction to this service:

What Are Babbel Live Classes Like and How Does Babbel Live Work?

Not all of Babbel’s 14 language courses can be studied as part of their live program. There are currently 5 Babbel Live languages that are available (note that local languages are geo-blocked, e.g., you will not see English as a teaching option if you are accessing from an Anglophone country):

• English
• Spanish
• French
• Italian
• German

Babbel Live tutoring takes place via Zoom and encourages student conversation while practicing pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary within a cultural context.

Babbel Live teachers do not facilitate a whole course, but are responsible for delivering individual classes within it. Teaching materials are pre-prepared by the in-house Curriculum Management Team, and are tailor-made for each learning level, from Newcomer (A1) to Advanced (C1).

Here is a video demonstration of the Babbel virtual classroom, including clips taken from a live lesson:

How Long Is a Babbel Live Class?

Babbel Live lessons last 55 minutes.

How Many People Are in a Babbel Live Class?

Babbel Live classes usually contain up to 6 students (though this reportedly can increase to 8 over the holiday season)

Babbel Live Teacher Salary

Unfortunately, up-to-date and accurate information regarding Babbel Live teacher pay is hard to track down. The Babbel Glassdoor page reports an average base rate of €12-13 an hour, while one reviewer on there mentions being paid €14. Another site (known to contain unreliable information) claims $12-35, though the company pays in Euros. A Facebook teachers group thread reports that the rate is ‘different based on where you live. The original base was a little low’. This all contradicts Babbel’s claim that it provides ‘a transparent payment scale’. (Please do contact us if you have first-hand information to share about this.)

There is a bonus of €1 per hour for teachers who maintain a monthly rating of 4.8 or above. Additional perks include access to Babbel’s app-based courses from the start, plus Live classes after 1 year.

There is reportedly a $24 penalty for late class cancellations, while student no shows can result in half pay.

Babbel Live Hours

Babbel Live teachers are required to be available for a minimum of 10 hours a week, while lessons last 55 minutes. Beyond this, you are flexible to choose your own schedule, with classes available 24/7 due to the platform’s global userbase.

Babbel Live Requirements

Here are the requirements to become a Babbel Live teacher:

• Fluent in your teaching language: You have an outstanding command of the language you wish to teach. If this is not your native language, an official C2 CEFR certificate is required. You also speak and write well in English for communication with the Teacher Relations Team.
• Teaching certificate: you hold a teaching certificate from a recognized educational institution. A degree in a language-related field is a plus. 
• Teaching experience as a second language teacher. Online experience teaching groups is a plus. 
• Technical equipment: high speed internet connection, headset with microphone, laptop/desktop with a camera.
• Technical skills: you are very familiar with Zoom. You enjoy discovering new features and incorporating them in the virtual classroom. 
• Adaptability: you handle unexpected technical problems as well as challenging teaching situations confidently and professionally. 
• Communication and connectivity: you are able to bridge the virtual gap by keeping students engaged and motivated. You are dynamic and able to combine didactic excellence with friendliness and openness. You communicate easily with the Teacher Relations Team when necessary.
• Energetic and passionate about teaching, eager to learn from your students as well as your peers and to adapt to a developing field.
• You hold proof of freelance status: you are responsible for handling your invoices and taxes.

Babbel Live Application Process

Open Online Teacher positions are advertised through the Babbel careers page. If a suitable role is not currently listed, you may also submit a Babbel Live teacher application at any time (though this can sometimes take months to elicit a response):

• Name
• Email address
• Language you wish to teach
• When could you start teaching?
• Where are you based? (The country you reside in)
• Teaching Availability (every teacher is required to be available to teach at least 10 hours per week)
• Do you have experience as an online teacher?
• Do you have experience with the virtual platform ZOOM?
• Upload your updated CV (preferred in English)
• Teaching Certificate (upload any certificate or educational training that enables you to teach a foreign language)
• Video introduction (1 minute max.): record a short video introduction in a setting where you will teach, showing your presence on camera and teaching style. The video should be no more than 1 minute and should introduce some phrases in the language you are applying for. Loom is recommended for recording your video. Once your introduction video is ready, paste the link. Alternatively, you can also paste the link to any video you may already have. Please note that it is not possible to attach or upload a file in this form.
• Why do you want to become a Babbel Live teacher?
• How did you hear about Babbel Live?
• Click the box below to acknowledge that you are a freelancer (In order to become a Babbel Live freelance teacher, you must be self-employed in your country of residence. A freelance teacher is responsible for declaring their own taxes and social security insurance)

Babbel Live Interview

The Babbel Live interview is fairly straightforward, posing standard questions about your personal background, experience teaching adults online, digital teaching methodology, and availability. You will also receive feedback on your video demo and have the opportunity to ask any questions of your own.

Successful interviewees are expected to attend an onboarding session before teaching their first class, while there is ongoing professional development in the form of one-on-one feedback, workshops, and access to training materials.

Babbel Live Reviews

Babbel Teacher Reviews on Glassdoor provide the company with a respectable overall rating of 4 out of 5, with 86% willing to recommend them. Below is a collation of comments left over the last year, along with the most-detailed review from that period. These talk positively about the students, provision of teaching materials, and friendly support staff, though there are complaints about rescheduling procedures and availability not being filled:

• Advantages:
  • “flexibility – hourly rate – communication – workshops – diversity working with students from all around the world
  • They provide you all the materials, so it reduce [sic] the time teaching preparation. You can learn languages for free. You work as a freelancer so you can work and travel
  • WFH, Good salary, Materials provided for you, Bonus +1 euro per hour if you get a monthly rating of 4.8 or more
  • Good salary (higher than average). Great student body: all students are niche and humble learners. Flexibility: you get to choose the hours you want to work for the next month
  • It’s a great ambience to work and very good team
  • Consistent steady part-time work
  • Working at Babbel has many attractive features including an amazing support team, great clients to teach classes to, a solid curriculum to follow, nice pay, and total flexibility.
  • Very friendly staff and smooth hiring process.
  • Work from wherever you want with a good hourly rate and a nice coordination team.
• Disadvantages:
  • Not being able to reschedule classes if you need to cancel them
  • Sometimes some students don’t come to class you get the half of the payment for that class hour. They just give you few hours of classes per week between 10-15
  • Min. 10 consistent hours throughout the month, Might not give you all of your availability
  • Rules about minimum hours and cancellation policy change all the time. They can’t always schedule all the hours you want to work and you end up working less than your availability.
  • Can downgrade salary at the last minute
  • Groups of six students at times. Those teachers or tutors who prefer 1:1 may find it overwhelming.
  • Lack of teacher training, stressful scheduling process, and lots of unpaid prep time for each class”

Conclusion – Is Babbel Live Worth It for Online Teachers?

Babbel is a reputable company, generally well rated by its Live teachers. It is relatively easy to apply, though responses can take time, while there is less demand for English tutors. The company’s reluctance to advertise its pay rates, and more negative reports of scheduling issues, penalties and deductions, may also warrant some caution.

You can apply for Babbel jobs here.

A full list of other online teaching companies can be found here.