Rocket Languages Reviews
Find out what actual users have to say about our courses through their Rocket Languages reviews.
I used Rocket Languages as a valid help in learning languages. It is incredible how fast you can learn with only 30 minutes a day. I am learning Mandarin, and, believe me, the course is great. Do not pay too much attention to who tells you learning Chinese is impossible, and online courses do not work. You should see the face of my Chinese colleagues and customers when they hear me speaking Mandarin. Now, they are the ones who think: "That's impossible!"
This approach was so much easier for me. It helped that the information is chunked, this means I can make time in my busy schedule as well as not feeling overwhelmed by the information being presented. Certainly the value for the money is excellent, especially compared to other language programs.
Rocket Review has been a great review for my oral midterm coming up in Chinese. The speaking aspect is especially helpful as that is currently my weakest area. I am also able to get an idea of where I stand, and the rating system helps me to figure out what else I need to work on.
This program provided me with the audio I need to feel more comfortable with my Chinese class. I do like it but was a little disappointed that my account did not update when I purchased the premium plus. I hope this will be fixed in a timely manner.
Overall, I think this program is worth the investment I will recommend it to my classmates
On the plus side, the website is attractive and functions well. The interactive lessons are well-structured and nicely done. I appreciate that they make continued improvements, such as the addition of Write It in the testing sections. Also appreciate that both sound and text are downloadable and the website allows you to listen to only the parts of the lessons you want. I haven't taken advantage of any "social" features like the Forum but I appreciate that Rocket tries to foster a community. The "points" system is an interesting idea.
On the downside, I think there's too much repetition of non-essential vocabulary in the testing sections (I really don't think lesson or unit are words to keep hammering me with). I also think built-in flashcards linked to My Vocabulary would be nice or perhaps automated flashcards for each section. It's also not clear the sequencing of the lessons. This is partially intentional but you'll find yourself tested on material you haven't seen if you don't move across all the lesson types. That said, I've given feedback to the team on many points and they've nearly always been responsive and eager to help and take feedback.
I am just restarting to learn Mandarin using Rocket Chinese because I had been too busy teaching and building new courses at my current school in China.
Positive:
1. Listening, Reading (in pinyin - latin script and Simplified - chinese script), Writing (initially in pinyin) and speaking is available from the very first lesson.
2. Step by step in a logical fashion based on what would seem to be logical needs of a person new to learning the language.
3. Clear and colourful interface that is easy to follow.
4. There are now cute little incentive badges that give you a sense of your progress. These complement the already colourful interface, but I think this is helpful for both younger and older learners
While I like the course layout very much, there are just a couple of tiny problems that I suspect will be addressed quite quickly on the technical side.
1. I haven't yet figured out how to prevent my browser (Firefox) from asking permission everytime RocketChinese wants to use the camera/microphone. Because I am used to the 7/24 customer service, email is obviously slower, but their responses are usually within 24 hours... so, not intolerable.
2.
I highly recommend Rocket Languages. The online courses are excellent and very user friendly. As a beginner in Mandarin, I really appreciated the pace and teaching style of the instructors. I especially appreciated the explanations related to grammar. I was so impressed that I purchased an additional license for Level 1 for a family member and purchased Level 2 for myself. I'm looking forward to continuing on with Level 3 once it's released. Customer service via email was quite helpful and quick to respond. Overall, I highly recommend this program.
Just after one day with this program and the help of flash cards I made to help me study, I feel comfortable greeting someone in mandarin while actually knowing what I am saying, I know this will be a long journey but I feel this program will be crucial in getting me to speaking fluent mandarin!
good design of lessons and reviews. The built in tests are also important to provide feed back to assist in tracking and seeing progress.
The program really taught me how to speak Mandarin from day 1. The more lessons I complete, the more I want to practice and to take new lessons.