Rocket Italian Reviews

It is a pretty good app compared with all the apps I have tried. Would like to purchase it, but there are a few concerns personally. Hope alphabet table will included in future. overall, I rate it a good language learning application. Will consider to get it.

Just completed Duolingo - learned a lot of vocabulary and got a crash course in grammar. However, I'm completely at a loss when attempting to make conversation. I can tell immediately that this course is the right next step after Duolingo.

Overall Rocket Italian is a pretty good system. You get exposed to the language in a variety of ways and have some explanation as to why a particular pattern exists.

It does have the problem that there is only one correct answer for each thing. This of course ignores the fact that many things can be said in slightly different ways. As an example the phrase "She is angry" technically can be said as either "Lei è arrabbiata" OR "È arrabbiata" however the only accepted answer is "È arrabbiata". In other places an answer is only accepted if it has a he/she indicator.

There are also numerous places where the English phrase refers to you plural but for some strange reason they have not realized that _every_ place they do that needs some kind of indicator that they mean you plural rather than you singular since English only has 'you'.

Overall the issues with Rocket Italian aren't that big but they make it feel more like you are memorizing lines in another language rather than learning another language. The dialogues are the worst for this as they slowly take away more of the words you are supposed to say but you have to say the phrase word for word to get it right even though there are times when you could get the same meaning across with slightly different words. (They really should package the dialogue portion so that it can be used by actors memorizing lines as that is what it does.)

I've been using Rocket Italian since December 2019. I purchased Levels 1, 2, & 3-Instant Lifetime Access and the Travelogue. (Yes, I am committed to learn Italian.) I am on Unit I- module 6. In addition to Rocket, I use 2 other Apps/programs along with Rocket Italian. After 3/12 months of use, I feel I can write an accurate review.
Pros
1. I love the structured lessons
2. Like having the audios of Alex and Maria (audio lessons and reviews)
3. Like having the ability to record myself and mimic pronunciation

Cons (or possible areas to improve)
1. I wish there was a way to manipulate and build sentences rather than solely memorizing. (Maybe this happens in later units, I don't know.)
2. I wish that in lessons, such as in Language and Culture, where they may be over 90 terms to learn, that the lesson be divided in smaller lessons. Memorizing close to 100 terms is overwhelming and a big challenge. Maybe limiting the terms to a more manageable number would be beneficial to the learner.
3. I wish there was a method to answer questions on a lesson directly on the lesson page itself rather than on the forum. Also, I would appreciate if someone from Rocket could answer those questions rather than relying mostly other learners.
4.

Read More

Overall this is a very good program.
*I compare this with DuoLingo online learning as well as a personal coach I use with Verbling. Also against Babble
which I used for 6 months.
*Price is kind of high but it is for a complete program so I'm neutral on this rating.
*Lessons are interesting. I could use less of the banter but still, very good content when focused on actual language
skills. Of great importance to me are the moderators speaking in a clear and moderate speed. Rocket delivers on
this!
* Now to my most concerning (to me) knock...Some of the exercises are terribly long in the Language and Cultural
sections. It's not uncommon to have 50, 60 or greater than 70 words, phrases or sentences to learn, memorize and
recite back. Personally, I get very frustrated when i fail due to sheer volume of material. Knowing how difficult and
frustrating these exercises are, I have to fight the urge to simply by-pass these sections. Reducing the volume within
Language and Cultural modules would be a huge plus for me.

So far the course is great... Checks off all the learning avenues to guarantee your success.

I need a lot more practice! Cant figure how to answer the flash card section. I will keep trying to figure it out! I will review again

it is actually very good at reinforcing grammar and pronunciation. The cultural component is not that strong, but at least it is introduced. I am at the intermediate level, so it took me a while to figure out where to start. Regular tests would help me evaluate how well I have learned to make sure I am working at the right level or if I need to go back to some beginning lessons. I am always concerned I might have missed something important at the beginner level. (Maybe I am missing a feature that is already there). I use it along with quizlet to help memorize vocabulary and conjugations.

The sexism is very irritating--the male character constantly sexualizes his Italian co-host.

It would be helpful to be able to fast forward/ be able to review the lessons --the ratio of chitchat to content is off. Less of Alessandro and more formal grammar explanations would be great.

I really like the mix of exercises for each lesson. I am hoping to get to more phrases soon rather than single words. I would like to be able to do some longer quizzes. that represent a few lessons at a time. But good so far.