Rocket Languages Review
Back in 2004 Rocket Languages, developed a Spanish language course designed to help students worldwide speak from the first lesson using practical, everyday Spanish.
Since then, it has expanded to other popular languages like French, Italian, German, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic and more. All their courses rely profoundly on online tools and technology to deliver extensive, interactive lessons that mimic real-life situations.
What’s is included in a Rocket Languages Course?
- The Rocket Languages Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Chinese courses each consist of 3 levels.
- The Arabic, Hindi, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Sign Language courses each consist of one level.
Each level has over 120 training hours and includes:
- Interactive Audio Lessons: More than 30 downloadable audio-style lessons based on native speakers’ conversations.
- Language & Culture Lessons: More than 30 lessons on the workings of the language with audio tracks, and useful, interesting cultural lessons.
- Reinforcement Testing: Each lesson includes a mixture of tests to enhance and reinforce language learning.
- Voice Recognition: The voice recognition tool lets you practice your pronunciation with thousands of different words and phrases.
- Personalized progress tracking: Earn badges and points, and keep track of your test results.
- Learning tools: You can save your own notes on lessons, keep a personal word list, study with Flashcards and stay motivated with the Advanced Learning Techniques.
- Lifetime online access: Unlimited 24/7 access to the online members area, including the members forum.
How does it work?
A Rocket Languages course takes a practical, “fun” approach to mastering languages with real-life conversational lessons and examples in context.
The Audio lessons use a “chunking” method to break down and explain conversations step-by-step, while at the same time teaching grammar and vocabulary.
The Language & Culture lessons go into more depth, covering grammatical structures and more vocabulary. As a fun bonus, they provide helpful cultural tips.
The RL Courses use the newest technology to make learning more interactive, with features like the "Rocket Record": a voice recognition tool. Rocket Record enables the student to record their voice and provides immediate speech-to-text feedback (available in Chrome browsers and iOS/Android apps only).
The lessons are well presented, and the audio is clear and easy to follow. The Testing section covers multiple skills like reading, writing, hearing and speaking. Coupled with these Testing tools, the course keeps on track with your learning progress - and the statistics are a truly handy tool. It shows where you need improvement. Another little psychological hack the guys and girls at Rocket Languages have implemented: Being able to earn points and badges makes learning more competitive and keeps your motivation up.
How Much Does it Cost?
Each level of each language retails for $149.95. This might seem a bit high, but considering you get 120 hours of language study it really isn't. A course at your local college or a private tutor will set your back much more.
(BONUS: you can get considerable discounts by using the coupon code ROCKETDEAL at checkout!)
If you want to learn a language, but you don't have access to the internet, there are also 20CD packs containing the Rocket Languages audio CDs. These run for $299.95 per level.
If you're on the fence, I recommend just signing up for their free trial. You can cancel any time, and if that isn't enough, they also have a full 60-day money back guarantee:
Spanish free trial
French free trial
German free trial
Italian free trial
Japanese free trial
Chinese Mandarin free trial
...and more
Pricing for each course is competitive, compared to other language learning programs on the market today. And you get lifetime access. Plus, there is a significant amount of lessons and material per level.
Summary
You can check out Rocket Languages here and their team has done a great job at effectively using technology to help you in your language learning journey. You get a low-stress learning atmosphere and learning is kept easy and fun. It serves as a good starting point for beginners. For the more advanced learners or those studying a language for business, they might find more benefit in the higher levels that tackle more advanced language topics. Beginning students will appreciate the stress-free and relaxed tone of the course, as well as the ease of use, and truly handy tools to master basic conversational skills.