Rocket German Reviews

Voice Recognition is poor.
Especially small words & words starting with letter "S" !!

I am in the last (7th) Module of Level 1.

Generally, I like the course because it is very structured and explains language concepts very well. I like that there are dedicated grammar lessons that clearly concentrate on building your grammar foundations. A complete opposite of Duolingo which has no grammar explanations at all.

Some people find the humor in the course stale but I have no issue with it (not great but not bad either, tolerable).

The course does a pretty bad job in all flashcards and speaking (translation) exercises when the "you" word needs to be translated into German (translates to one of "du", "ihr", "Sie"). None of them are commented so you just make frustrating mistakes. There should be clear hints what is expected there.

The lessons are generally very long (often takes an hour to finish) which is not great. I think they should be broken up to smaller lessons that are no longer than 30 minutes. Due to the long time required to finish a lesson, I often cannot finish one during a single day and can only do the remaining part next day.

The Android app has been rewritten since I started the course and it is much better now (huge improvement there, congrats to the devs).

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I would recommend Rocket Languages if you are a complete beginner. But it is frustrating for someone, who has basic familiarity with the language and is looking to improve. The program has too many elements, like the speaking, writing, quizzing, etc. And the conversations are so basic and repetitive that it is annoying. I wish there was a version that offered a refresher approach or a reading based approach for those who know the basics and want to expand their vocabulary and brush on grammar. Alternatively, it would be nice if one didn't have to purchase the basic levels in order to get the more advanced sessions. Rocket language dialogs seem to focus more on tourist activities. Also, I think it would be useful to have all of the presenters speaking with the proper accent. In the German course, only one of the presenters is a native speaker. Finally, the speech recognition is slow and often spotty - and that's on the desktop version. In the iOS app, many of the quiz/practice functions don't work at all. I purchased the program because it was on sale, but I should have just relied on reading German books and media and on watching movies in German.

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It is very frustrating that I cannot offline download the lessons in the app itself on my iPhone. It would have been better that way. I want to be able to use it in the car that way. I know you can download it through iTunes, but that is too cumbersome.

There is a lot to love about Rocket Languages - particularly the way you are encouraged to speak and interact with the material. The material, though, is the reason I am cancelling Rocket German Level 3. There are many useful words, structures, and conversations here, but I seriously have to question the didactic approach. Explanations of necessary grammar concepts were often missing or incomplete. Useless vocabulary (e.g. "Ha ha") is given equal weight with sentences much too long to memorize. Good model sentences are mixed in with numerous old song lyrics, tongue twisters, and "Max und Moritz" lines which should be presented just for entertainment. I was spending far too much time trying to weed out the material that had no real value for learning German. I must admit that I'm disappointed in this course. I've used Rocket French and was very impressed, but this course needs an overhaul before I can either use or recommend it.

Note from Rocket Languages: Hi David, thanks a lot for leaving us a review. We're currently in the process of reviewing Rocket German - so this is valuable feedback! We're sorry you weren't satisfied with the course and hope you might reconsider after Rocket German Level 3 is updated. Until then - happy learning! Your Rocket German Team

with more practice, there'll be a light at the end of tunnel.
wundebar!

First of all, In the middle of exercises (as I'm trying to speak a German phrase) I get annoying popup windows asking me to write a review of Rocket German. I think that's pretty indicative of how much Rocket cares about me actually learning, an how much it just wants more business. In fact, just above this box where I'm typing, Rocket has a link to some "example reviews" which are glowing reports of how when you buy RG, all your wildest fantasies will come true. Since RG insists, though, here is my review...***

Right after I paid $250 dollars for the three German courses (the first of which I didn't even want, but you have no option to remove it from the bundle) I get directed to another page telling me I should really also buy another add-on course that normally costs $50, but they're going to give it to me for $30. Classic used-car salesman tactic. I decline. I'm directed to another page saying "Ok, we'll give it to you for $20, but only if you buy it right now. No kidding, this is your last chance!" Does it get any more sleazy than that?***

The German course was clearly written by native German speakers, which is good, but not really checked by a native English speaker for the quality of the English dialogue.

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First year of German course is good, but the quality goes downs in the second year.
Also, they are spammers: does not matter how many times you hit unsubscribe, you will continue to receive the wonderful 60% discount a LOT. I do not recommend at all.

I am having a lot of fun with Rocket German, and next, Rocket Spanish. This program is pretty great. I hope lots of people make use of it. Other programs I have tried did not compare.

Awesome does not express how really really ausgezeichnet the program is. Every time I come back to the lessons, I learn something new. Each lesson provides practice in many different situations. The tests at the end of the lessons are a little too easy, but it works. Being able to add words to my vocabulary is also a great feature. I really enjoy the option to take the final exams. That gives me a very good idea of how I am progressing.