I highly recommend the Rocket French Course for people who are too busy to attend French classes or who are considering attending French classes. The latter applies especially to people who actually reside in a francophone country or, in my case, a half Francophone country. The other half speaks Flemish.

Here in Brussels, however, the population is about 90% French speaking with lots of foreigners who would like to learn French. Ergo, it would hardly be fair on the non-Anglophones for the instructors to teach it in English as they would in a US or a British class.

The other factor is that the instructors emphasize role-playing. It's almost as though you already need to know French before you can actually learn it, if you see what I mean. In which case, Rocket French offers an excellent way to prepare for the classroom environment. The vocals/listening comprehension segments are especially valuable; once I proceed to mispronounce a word, it takes a devil of a long time to correct myself.

I am learning to speak French not so much for business purposes but to enable myself to communicate with my neighbors or the folks down at my local pub. So, for me, that is the most beneficial feature of Rocket French: it enables me to become a part of the local community. Of course, one could always hang out in the expat pubs but is that really what you want? Besides, the drinks cost twice as much!

For those who are considering Rocket French, I could hardly imagine a better entry into the French speaking world. Rocket French covers all aspects of the French language from the grammar to comprehension exercises in all sorts of situations with lots of other exercises to keep you up to speed.

Bonne Chance!

Steve O'Neal
Brussels, Belgium