About Us
The Rocket Languages Team
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The Rocket Languages Story | |
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Meet the Rocket Languages Team | |
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Crew | |
The Rocket Languages Story
Libros Media (Rocket Languages Trading Company) was formed in early 2004 by two friends, Jason Oxenham and Mark Ling.
Jason, a dedicated Francophile, and Mark, who was studying Spanish at university, were both familiar with the language learning material provided by universities and bookshops.
They both agreed there should be a more effective way to learn a language, and embarked on a mission to create a learn-Spanish course that:
- Is fun to use
- Easy to follow,
- Minimizes study time,
- Gives people the confidence to actually SPEAK Spanish!
After 12 months of research, with help from their Chilean friend Mauricio Evlampieff, and Spanish language expert Amy Waterman, the original Rocket Spanish Premium course was created.
The core component of Rocket Spanish was (and due to its popularity, still is) the downloadable and iPod/MP3 compatible Interactive Audio Lessons, which feature conversations between Spanish speakers.
Each conversation is broken down so the learner can follow along and pronounce Spanish words and phrases aloud as though they’re taking part in a real life situation. The 32 tracks average 25 minutes in length, and become more challenging as the learner works through the course.
Rocket Spanish Premium was an instant online hit, with customers sending in rave reviews about just how much better Rocket Spanish was than anything else on the market.
As a result of this success, Rocket French Premium soon followed and now the Rocket Languages stable includes Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean and American Sign Language.
Fast-forward to 2011 and Rocket Languages is a recognized leader in online language learning courses, having further developed and refined the products to keep pace with customer, e-learning and technological requirements.
In fact, Rocket Languages has been so successful that there are now over 800,000 registered users of their products.
Recent course enhancements include:
- Language and Culture lessons to help learners speak naturally
- Software Games for a fun and effective way to reinforce the lessons
- Interactive Quizzes with instant feedback, so learners can test their new language skills
- Rocket Language Certification Tests, equivalent to the A1 and A2 levels of the Common European Frame of Reference for Languages
- Voice comparison for every word and phrase used in the course
- My Vocab; a feature that lets you store words for future reference, along with the corresponding audio track
- My Notes; a feature that lets you add notes and reminders to a lesson
- Online Member Forums, so learners can interact with other members and the Rocket Languages teachers
And, true to the Rocket Languages spirit, we give our members access to all of these course enhancements FREE.
We also recognize that language learning is a lifelong love affair and to that end, all of our learners have lifetime membership to their course.
So, what are you waiting for?
Meet the Rocket Languages Team
Cast:
This modern day Queen of the Nile is your effervescent guide into the ancient ruins of Egypt. You’ll meet Amira Zaki in her element, as a teacher, as she presents to you with a charm of a Pharaoh, the rich, intricate rudiments of her native tongue. Educator by day, explorer by night, be prepared for a lexis journey as Amira takes you through temples and tombs as a world of Arabic language unfolds before your eyes.
The gem of the Rocket Languages orient is Lin Ping. Behind her exotic exterior lies a gritty, practical approach to one of the most spoken - and most challenging - languages in use today. She is ready to delight anyone with the finer points of Mandarin - characters and all.
The chic and sophisticated face of Rocket French, Marie-Claire is a native Parisian, born and bred, and loves her city and country with a passion. She has traveled a lot in her career as a language teacher (she also moonlights as a fashion designer), but is always glad to get back home. For her, it is a real privilege to share her culture and her language with like-minded people.
Paul is the exuberant face and biceps of Rocket German. He grew up in Lederhosen, like his father before him, but in fact he’s spent most of his life trying to get out of Lederhosen, which is another story. Paul wants you to enjoy learning German, so he's always thinking of new ways to help you remember words and how to pronounce them.
Nikita is the face of Rocket Hindi, and the brains behind this popular course. Born and raised in India, Nikita is extremely passionate about her native language and takes great pleasure in teaching others to speak Hindi. A fan of Bollywood movies, Nikita hopes to spread an appreciation for the Hindi language, and provide learners with insights into the delights of Indian Culture.
Maria DiLorenzi is the passion that burns deep in the belly of Rocket Italian. A native Italian speaker from Rome, she has taught the language for the past ten years, to all kinds of people of different ages and nationalities. She is renowned for her unflappable patience and resolve in her teaching, and a genuine concern for every student who crosses her path.
Sayaka is the eternal light of Rocket Japanese. She is a native Japanese speaker from Osaka which is the second biggest city in Japan. She's got a real passion for her language and culture, and with a smile that even looks good on radio, her Rocket Japanese listeners just can't go wrong.
Sujung Lee is our very own Karaoke-loving Korean gal. It is the love of her native tongue that provides the enthusiasm with which she guides learners through the delights of Korea with her friend Taewoo; stopping off at all the sights along the way. Hailing from Seoul, Sujung is also a fan of soccer and has been known to enjoy the odd Soju or two!
Originally from Chile, Mauricio is a native Spanish speaker who is in love with his country’s culture, language, and heritage. Author of the popular Rocket Spanish course, he is known for his enthusiasm and insight into the language of his homeland, and takes great pride in sharing this love of the Spanish language and culture with students the world over.
Profoundly deaf himself, Jake is not only fluent in American Sign Language, but also in New Zealand Sign Language as well. An accomplished instructor, he currently works with young deaf people - and, in his leisure time, he's learning to play rugby.
Crew:
A founding member of the company, Jason is the Director of Rocket Languages, and brings to the company a wealth of knowledge and experience in ecommerce & multimedia learning environments.
Debbie is the Marketing Manager at Rocket Languages and also looks after the web development team. Debbie is responsible for the marketing and branding strategy across the organization.
Lesley is our Product Development Manager. She studied French and Spanish interpreting and is a devout Francophile. She has lived and worked in France, Korea, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and New Zealand. She is passionate about languages, travel and culture.
Nathalie Doering
Nathalie provides language support and product development for German, Spanish, French, and Sign Language. Born in Germany, she holds degrees in linguistics and education, and is passionate about her languages and travel.
Margaret is the Rocket Languages Customer Services Manager, and also provides Sound Engineering support. She openly admits that the best part of her job is interacting with current and prospective customers of Rocket Languages.
Henry is a Cognitive Science graduate who has years of experience in optimizing eCommerce websites. When he is not making sure that you find us faster on the web, he enjoys catching throwing, kicking and chasing things.
Marius is a commerce and information systems graduate with years of IT management and consulting experience who looks after the systems behind our websites. When he's not performing some coding magic, he enjoys exploring the golden section, photography and baking bread.
A recent graduate in Computer Science, Hesham is the youngest in the team. He spent his youth living in several different countries, piquing his interest in different cultures and ethnic groups. When he's not working to improve the Rocket Languages website, he's involved in some sort of sporting activity or playing with his various electronic gadgets.
Bruce looks after the members area and tries to keep things running smoothly. His goal is to make your entire visit faster, safer and easier to use.
Phil is a literature graduate with a passion for reading, and is a copywriter at Rocket Languages. When he's not finding new, exciting ways to describe our language learning products, he's renovating his new house or writing literary reviews for an international online journal.
With a background in education and publishing, Donelle is a Copywriter at Rocket Languages. A language junkie from way back, one of her favorite places is the airport, on the way to her next adventure.
Romina is an Italian native speaker from Udine in the North-East of Italy. Traveling and languages are one of her biggest passions. She is working on the product development of Rocket Italian and she is the good soul in the office helping out with everything and anything.
With a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Western Sydney, this Canadian-born gal is a recent addition to the Rocket Languages’ team. Adding the finishing touches to the Product Development side of things, Janine’s journalistic experience has seen her in many career hats, including reporter, freelancer, and music critic for publications far and wide.
Amy Waterman became fluent in Spanish while living and working in the Andes Mountain region of Ecuador. Her extensive experience in Spanish learning systems led her to formulate the concept behind the Interactive Audio component of Rocket Spanish.
Stefanie is the full German teaching package: born and bred in Berlin, she holds a PhD in linguistics, a Masters in French and German philology, along with a Teaching Diploma and ESOL teaching qualification. She's been teaching languages to people between five and 85 years of age for more than a decade now, and still finds it exciting when a student understands the concept of cases in the German language!
Julie Reason is an Australian-born English woman with a passion for languages, music, and British comedy. She holds a degree in Modern Languages from Oxford University, and has worked as a freelance writer and copyeditor in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
Who is using Rocket Languages?
- L in Canton, United States (0 seconds ago) - Rocket French
- Marjie in Casselberry, United States (0 seconds ago) - Rocket Arabic
- peiling in Taipei, Taiwan (0 seconds ago) - Rocket Spanish
- Tyler in Burlington, United States (0 seconds ago) - Rocket Japanese
- Krypton in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia (0 seconds ago) - Rocket French
