Addressing the myths of online language learning! Part 1

This post is a (edited) repost of a Rocket News article from a month ago. We are now posting these in the Forum so that members can more easily comment if they wish! -------------- Bonjour tout le monde! In response to feedback that we've received over the last 9 years, from customers and non-customers alike, I'm going to share with you some of the common obstacles and myths that we come across when people consider online language learning. As there's quite a lot to cover I'll tackle a myth a week over the next few weeks! Myth #1; Aren't online courses just textbooks put online? The answer to this is a resounding NO! When Mark and I first founded Rocket Languages back in 2004 (such a long time ago!) we were one of the first to use the power of the web to deliver more than just the usual grammar book text stuck online in PDF format. Believe it or not the vast majority of competitors back then pretty much just scanned a text book into PDF format! During 2003 and 2004 we spent over 12 months, along with Mauricio and Amy (from Rocket Spanish), developing and putting together our Interactive Audio Course in MP3 format. While the Interactive Audio Courses remain core components of all Rocket Languages courses, improvements in technology and teaching methods have meant that we've been able to add many features to our courses to improve the learning experience. Over the last couple of years alone we've added in; Rocket Record for voice and pronunciation comparison, Hear It Say It testing for understanding the spoken language, Know It for really testing your on the spot recall, A points and badges system to really motivate people to keep on studying, iOS and Android apps, Individual progress tracking, And our most recent large additon; our member reviews so you can share your experiences with our Rocket course In addition to that we're always tinkering with smaller improvements to the user experience! Language is an ever evolving thing that changes a lot more than you'd think. New words become "par du jour" and old ones go out of style. All of this brings us to the advantages of learning online over textbooks, the ability to; Keep up with advances in technology, Keep up with trends in teaching methods, And being able to change our courses to stay on top of ever changing languages. A traditional textbook can do none of these. I have a stack of French textbooks in my library but I really struggle with the lack of interactivity and feedback. Usually after a couple of pages I am done and end up heading back to our own Rocket French online course! Now, to finish off, here are some of the latest Member Reviews. You can see more by clicking here: Remember, you're welcome to add your own review anytime you like, just click the link at the top of the page. The more member reviews we get the more custom we get, which means we can afford to give everyone updates for FREE! So please do it now! Mandy Lovell from Australia writes: Love using Rocket Spanish it is so addictive! My children are wanting to learn as well when they hear me practise. I find learning through this system very helpful and more realistic than other language systems available. Thank you for a great course! And Darnelle Caballero from New Jersey writes: We decided to go with Rocket Languages because it got better reviews than the leading language learning software on the market. Once we saw the price was VERY right, we were sold. I didn't immediately see the family discounts and contacted customer service, who promptly answered all my questions and got everyone on board quickly. I can't say I'll be learning another language in the near future; I'm still trying to master this one. But if I did, I would absolutely use Rocket Languages again and would definitely recommend it to a friend. In fact, I already do recommend it to everyone who asks of me which program they should use to learn a new language! All the best with your language learning. Amicalement Jason Oxenham CEO Rocket Languages

Hi Jason, my purpose of learning the RJ is to achieve JLPT N1 level of proficiency. Does RJ provide a certificate at the end of the course or after passing a certification test?

Rocket Languages use to have proficiency exams that one could take at various stages of the course. With their recent changes, they removed them. I have heard that they plan to reintroduce them in some form. I hope they do. They were removed before I had a chance to take one of them.

Interesting. I really like to have an access to proficiency exam when I be ready to that. I'm brazilian, I learnt English after one year in classic school plus two on line course. Since last year I was planning to learn French but couldn't find any good online course. After I saw an job opportunity in Canada I made a contact with a French school here in Brazil recognized by French Government called Alliance Française but they are very expensive and it takes too much time which I haven't. So, after I got the prices I searched for the meaning of Bonjour on Google I clicked in a link and in another and found this amazing site. Did my 6 day trial and joined forever. I'm very excited and I already have plan to start Hindi in one year from now (I was in India 3 times working, in the north they speak a mix of local language called Punjab plus Hindi. Sometimes they mixed it with some English words, watched it on TV there. I have plan to Italian language course too.

Hi Jason, I am not familiar with the Common European Framework of References for Languages. But I think certification is a motivation tool that does provide a sense of satisfaction and achievement for a language learner. So I think many members would like to get some forms of certification at the end of the course.

Hi Jason. I totally agree with JK. I only got a chance to take one of the old proficiency tests before they were removed. I remember you saying I was one of only a few who took them, but interest is rising I'm pleased to hear. Keep up the good work. Grahame

Count me too. I would be interested in certification testing and certificates.