When comparing FSI Language Courses vs Busuu, the Slant community recommends Busuu for most people. In the question“What are the best sites for learning foreign languages?” Busuu is ranked 9th while FSI Language Courses is ranked 25th. The most important reason people chose Busuu is:
Since Busuu puts learners in direct contact with natives, the learning is done in a realistic way - not an idealistic textbook way.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Available for some less-common languages including Thai
Pro Free
Pro Good for learners at all levels
Pro High-quality content
Pro Fast-paced
Pro Teaches realistic conversation behavior
Since Busuu puts learners in direct contact with natives, the learning is done in a realistic way - not an idealistic textbook way.
Pro Fast response time
For popular languages, translations can be received very quickly from real people.
Pro Teaches by theme
Instead of teaching words by most used, they are taught by case. This way, users can prepare for specific situations.
Cons
Con Includes some outdated vocabulary
Con Created for American diplomats, so includes some specialized vocabulary that is less relevant to other learners
Con Some drills are too repetitive and boring
Con Ineffective "review" section
When a section is over, there is a multiple review session. Many of the questions are totally irrelevant and are not useful for learners.
Con Chat system doesn't support letters with accents
Busuu only accepts regular characters in the text fields, so non-native languages may be limited.