Changes for the Rocket Languages 2018 Edition released early

jason-oxenham-ceo

August 21, 2017
Updated: April 5, 2022

Hi all

I wanted to point out a few changes that we have made to the members area interface on desktop computers and laptops, just so no-one gets confused!

These changes are part of our roll-out for the 2018 Edition. Over the next few months we will be releasing more features to help with your language learning.

So, what's changed? Access free trials of all language courses One major change that you will notice when you login is that you will see free trials of all the language courses that we have.

This means that you can access and try any other language you want. Most of the free trials have over 5 hours of lessons that you can use to get a taste of what's in the full course.

The course that you last accessed will move to the front of the list for easy access when you login in the future.

Dashboard shows the last accessed lesson When you go into your course the last lesson that you earned any points on is displayed. This should make it much easier for you to pick up where you left off.

Also, the different lesson types are differentiated from each other in a more obvious way.

2018 Edition Dashboard

Changes to the Testing section Now, when you complete a Test, you will be prompted to re-test yourself on the phrases that you are weaker on or reset the Test entirely.

2018 Edition Testing

What's next with the 2018 Edition? We have quite a few things in the pipeline, some of which will remain under wraps until closer to the release date.

One thing I will mention is that the Rocket Languages apps are being totally upgraded from the ground up for the 2018 Edition. The latest technological advances means that rebuilding the apps is the most sensible thing to do to future-proof them as much as we can.

We will also be adding in Benchmark Challenges so that you will be more able to know and see how your skill level has improved over your time using Rocket Languages.

Exciting times here at Rocket! Why not login and have a look for yourself?

Nick Hoyt

August 21, 2017

I noticed the changes right away when I logged in today and started a lesson. It looks and works great! I'm excited to see what other changes you guys have in store over the coming months!

BoyWhoAsksWhyNot

August 21, 2017

Looks very nice! I'm enjoying the new features and am looking forward to the rest. Grazie a tutti!

Steven-W15

August 21, 2017

Wow, has Rocket Languages ever come a long way since I first started the course. Bravo!

KellyMJara

August 21, 2017

This is great! I really like the ability to try out the other languages, I LOVE the re-test prompt, and am really looking forward to the Benchmark challenge!
Thanks for all of your hard work, Rocket Team.

Ramsey-P

August 22, 2017

They are the best changes ever-realease more

jason-oxenham-ceo

August 22, 2017

Hi all - Thanks for the comments! We have some exciting changes coming up over the next few months. I know the team here is looking forward to getting them out to you guys as soon as possible!

Rodney-J

August 23, 2017

I too noticed the changes immediately and really enjoy them. I have to echo Steven-W15 that Rocket Languages have come a long way since joining a long time ago. I am really enjoying learning my new language even though it is taking me time to do so but that is expected. I like the retesting feature and am looking forward to the Benchmark challenge.

jppiov

August 23, 2017

The changes were impossible to miss !
I'm really enjoying my course, especially since I'm getting close (closer, anyway) to the end of my level 1 Japanese.

Goran34

August 24, 2017

I was really missing seeing a volume meter when you record your voice.
Now I can actually see that I'm recording something! Sugoi! :-)

ViliamM

August 26, 2017

how about a possibility to download a full lesson to mobile device - ios? Do you plan to add it in near future?

jason-oxenham-ceo

August 27, 2017

Hi Viliam - We are working on this, however it's not a straightforward thing to do. I can't give a timeframe but we hope to have it well before the end of the year.

ViliamM

August 28, 2017

Hi Jason,
thank you for your answer. How about My vocabulary functionality in IOS application? This would be very useful, now this functionality is awailable only on the computer.

jolietil

September 1, 2017

what about audio on all flashcards ?

KelllaurBailar

September 2, 2017

It looks great!

jason-oxenham-ceo

September 4, 2017

Hi Viliam - My Vocab is definitely going to be a Stage 2 part of the app development. So, it won't be on the next release.

Hi Joiletil - Audio should already be on the standard FlashCards that come with each lesson. If you are referring to the custom FlashCards then that is a little trickier as all that audio would have to be recorded.

sfpugh

September 4, 2017

The ability to redo non easy items in tests is a really useful addition. The same in flashcards and custom flashcards would be nice.
It would also be nice if flashcards had the option to show the user's native language first. I find it more difficult to go from my native language to the language I am learning, so the option to work in both directions would be great.

jason-oxenham-ceo

September 4, 2017

Hi sfpugh - You can toggle the languages by clicking the settings icon at the top right of any set of FlashCards.

sfpugh

September 5, 2017

Thank you, I can't believe I didn't find that after over 6 moths using Rocket German. I will help a lot!

Dan-H24

September 6, 2017

I join others in complimenting the new look of the dashboard. A remodel every now and then always is welcomed.

It also seems to me that the Rocket Record feature has been improved. It used to often think I was done speaking when I took a natural pause and quit recording. It now seems to be more patient and waits for me to actually finish.

jason-oxenham-ceo

September 6, 2017

Hi Dan - Well spotted! We have indeed allowed more time for people to say their answer.

markusinnocenti

September 7, 2017

The Rocket Record feature is much improved. Thank you! Less frustration! And the 'recording' graphic is kinda cool!

John-B1

September 10, 2017

Aloha, on Rocket Spanish is it possible to do a word and build on it with sentences? marcus senat me an email offering a 3 step multiplayer. I don't recall see this on RS, but Rocket Spanish has so many amazing levels.
I think I'm a charter member with RS going back almost eight plus years.

Mahalo nui loa,

John

jason-oxenham-ceo

September 10, 2017

Hi John - The interactive audio tracks break down the sentences in the conversations into their parts. And, generally, the extra vocabulary in each lesson also offers alternate or shortened phrases based on the subject matter of the lesson.

ChristinaP

September 18, 2017

I really, really love that you guys listen to our feedback! These changes are fantastic, and I love the new look.

Matthew-H68

September 19, 2017

I noticed the changes when I logged in today. The only, personally, frustrating part is that RocketRecord seems to be much more sensitive to everything but my voice despite closing the door to the room in which I learn Spanish. Is the extra sensitivity part of the 2018 updates?

jason-oxenham-ceo

September 21, 2017

Hi Brittany - There has been a slight change with how Rocket Record works but only so that members can now have a small pause between or during sentences without Rocket Record stopping and analysing the result. The sensitivity has not changed.

Matthew-H68

September 26, 2017

Gracias Jason! I thought that the sensitivity had changed, but found that my family's lifestyle had gotten a bit louder than in the past. Keep up the muy bueno trabajo!

jason-oxenham-ceo

September 28, 2017

HI all - A couple more features have been added.

Rocket Record: If you are using Chrome on a desktop computer then your ratings for each individual phrase are saved. So, when you revisit a lesson you can easily see your rating for each phrase.

And, when you do go back to a lesson that you have previously completed some Rocket Records on, it should drop you back to the last Rocket Record that you used.

I hope that you find these small changes useful!

Early next week we hope to have the beta version of the Benchmark tests live! These are probably going to be more useful for people starting out, but some of you more experienced campaigners may find them useful.

sfpugh

September 29, 2017

I noticed that rocket remembers scores on conversation transcripts now. I guess that is mostly a good thing but I was used to knowing where I was when I repeated a session as the scores were wiped.
One thing I have noticed is that on the very first session where the scores were remembered they were remembered wrong. The remembered scores were peppered with 0% scores on easy phrases which I know scored 100%. Later sessions seem to have been remembered correctly.

sfpugh

September 29, 2017

I spoke too soon, it doesn't appear to remember scores correctly at least in the German course.
Lots of random low score on phrases which originally scored 100%.

jason-oxenham-ceo

October 2, 2017

Hi Sfpugh - The way the system currently works is that if you rate a phrase using one of the Reinforcement activities then that over-writes any previous rating for that phrase. For example if you rate a phrase 100% within the lesson, and then using, say, Know it! rate the phrase at 75% then the aforementioned 100% will change to 75%.

In saying all that, we have discussed it internally and are going to change it so that ratings are maintained regardless of the Reinforcement activities. Hopefully this will avoid any more confusion!

sfpugh

October 3, 2017

Thank you for the explanation however I am not sure it quite works like that.
I went back to a lesson I had already done and had been marked down. I did one on the tests (hear it say it) and I made sure I got 100% on just about every thing and I couldn't see any change in the marks. But maybe you have already implemented the change.

jason-oxenham-ceo

October 3, 2017

Yes, the change has already been done!

jason-oxenham-ceo

October 16, 2017

Hi all - Just a quick update about another change. We have moved the FlashCards so that they are now part of the Rocket Reinforcement activities at the end of each lesson. In retrospect we should have added them in there in the first place, as it makes the navigation much simpler (particularly when it comes to the new apps due out soon).

You can access and create custom FlashCard sets under My Tools > My FlashCards.

And, you may have noticed, that beta version of My Benchmark is also live and you can find that under My Tools > My Progress.

Dan-H24

October 17, 2017

When I logged in this morning to continue studying lesson 17.4, I noticed that the dashboard correctly showed where I was in the lesson, that I had finished Hear It Say It, and was ready to begin working on Write It. When I loaded the lesson itself, all of the progress icons at the top stayed gray, even though I have completed Hear It. When I scrolled to the bottom of the page where the testing module should be, they are missing, and instead I see the rotating ball indicating it is working. I tried reloading the lesson several times, logging out and back in, all to no avail, after many minutes it was still working to load the testing modules.

Everything else on my computer is working properly (MacBook Air, Chrome), so I know the trouble is not in my set. There is clearly a bug in the new version that was just released. As someone who sets aside time first thing each morning to study Rocket Spanish, this is very frustrating; I basically have lost an entire day of study due to something that should have been worked out before the new version was released.

I hope that the technical people will get on this immediately so that I do not lose more time.

sfpugh

October 17, 2017

I don't have this problem on my Windows 7 machine using Chrome and studying German.
I wonder if it is a mac specific issue?

Steven-W15

October 17, 2017

I am not so much interested in using the Flash Cards but it is useful for me to see where I have finished a lesson (except for those). Would it be possible for you to add a button to mark a section as being done without having to go through it? (much like setting all entries in a forum category to read)

Ramsey-P

October 17, 2017

The flashcards are a good add-on to the lessons. The benchmark challenge seems to work perfectly.

jason-oxenham-ceo

October 17, 2017

Hi Dan - It looks like something is up with that particular lesson. I will get the IT team to investigate asap. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Hi Steven - If you would like us to set all FlashCard ratings to done then just let us know. We figured there would be a few people who would want that!

Dan-H24

October 18, 2017

Jason: thanks for getting this cleared up so quickly. And sorry for getting a little snarky with my email. I get cranky when things get in the way of studying.

It is still acting just a bit buggy though. Several times as I worked through the Write It test, it stopped responding as I finished writing and grading one phrase, it would not move on to the next until I refreshed the screen. I tried logging out and back in, but it continued.

Thanks again,
Dan

Steven-W15

October 18, 2017

Hi Jason - Thanks for your reactivity. Yes please, set all my FlashCard ratings to done. A+ Steven

jason-oxenham-ceo

October 18, 2017

Hi Dan - No problem. There is still an issue, which is affecting lessons with a large amount of Rocket Record phrases (the lesson you refer to has 136!). The latest Chrome update seems to have some aversion to loading/playing that much audio on the page. It is probably what is causing your issues with Write it! as well. We are looking into it!

Hi Steven - Will sort that soon!

yademas

October 19, 2017

I love the changes, but I'm kind of on the fence about the addition of flashcards at the end of every lesson. I have a good system already in place, and the flashcards do not seem like a good use of my time, and even seem a bit redundant, right on the heels of the "Know It" section. It would be nice to have a box to tick to disable them, or even to leave them at the end of the lesson but without them affecting the "complete" percentage.
That's just my initial reaction. I'll play with it for a bit, and see if I get used to it.
But thanks for all the cool new stuff!

Dan-H24

October 19, 2017

I never used to use the flashcards since I use Anki for words and phrases that I need to learn as I work through a lesson. Then I came to the realization that I needed to leverage every bit of Rocket Spanish to aid my learning. So now I do Hear It Say it to get Spanish to English, then I do the flashcards set to English to Spanish, then Write It to get a second round of Spanish to English, then finally Know It to get the second round of English to Spanish. Just because the flashcards are after Know It doesn't mean you have to do them in that order. The role play doesn't do much for me, but that's just me.

Dan-H24

October 19, 2017

Jason: apparently I spoke too soon in saying lesson 17.4 was fixed. This morning when I logged in to continue working on the lesson it did the same thing as before: the spinning wheel just keeps on churning and not loading the testing modules. Something is seriously wrong with this lesson.

Instead of getting upset, this time I am going to move on to another lesson and return to this one when it is fixed. Please let me know when it is resolved.
Dan

yademas

October 19, 2017

Another issue with the flashcards: The keyboard doesn't seem to work, at least in lesson 20.5 "What MAY HAVE happened". I usually would hit enter to flip the card and click the number 5 to rate it "good", but I have to do both with my mouse or touchpad.
I had the same issue yesterday with the flashcard section of lesson 20.1.

yademas

October 20, 2017

Yeah, it's official. I really dislike the flashcards as part of the lessons.
I feel like my time is better spent resetting and repeating any of the other sections of each lesson, rather than flipping through the cards that offer no feedback option.

Edited to add: I do like where they are located now, at the end of each lesson to which they apply.

Steven-W15

October 20, 2017

Jason - thanks for setting all flashcards to done. would appreciate you guys restoring the option to turn off voice recognition in the Play It! section. I like to simulate (and improvise) real conversations around the set dialog and the voice recognition effectively negates that possibility.

lesieur200

October 20, 2017

Would it be possible for there to be a button in the lesson that sets the flashcards to done? I am not a huge fan of them either. I prefer using vocab because I can get better at saying the phrase. If you cant, then can you set all my flashcards to done?