Rocket Italian Reviews

I enjoy these lessons very much. They are easy to use and learn from. The annunciation, for the most part, is very understandable and easy to repeat after. I enjoy the quizzes and wish I had a microphone attached to my computer so I could record my own phrases.

One of my favorite features of Rocket Italian is the fact that there are many opportunities to listen to and imitate native Italian speakers. Even though I've been learning Italian for approximately 1.5 years (I've completed all 5 of the Pimsleur Italian courses (the 5th was just released in May 2015)), I know that one can never underestimate opportunities to listen to the target language as it should be spoken. I also appreciate that Rocket provides ample opportunities to speak the language, and even provides feedback of pronunciation with the Rocket Record feature. Another feature that I really like about Rocket is the attention it gives to explaining grammatical and cultural aspects of the language. I've checked out a number of textbooks (and have even taken a formal course in Italian (with textbooks I absolutely detested)), and am impressed with how clearly and simply Rocket explains complex grammatical concepts.The areas of Rocket that I believe are weakest are opportunities for reading and writing the language. There are opportunities to read the conversation transcripts and the vocabulary exercises, but these are limited to short samples.

Read More

The Rocket Italian Premium level is great for learning basic travel phrases. The voice recognition software works very well and if you use all the tools they provide for you regularly you'll definitely feel comfortable pulling out Italian phrases when you need them. I do like to listen to the audio lessons several times though. Also I with there was more variety in the testing and practice. An exercise where the student is given a completely new sentence that they have to give back in Italian would be really helpful.

I found the first level excellent. Both presenters were extremely clear. I'm on to the intermediate course now though and finding it much tougher. It's the same female presenter and she's excellent, but the male presenter in this course is really difficult to understand, pronouncing words considerably differently from the original. They also leave way too little time to repeat the phrases in this one on the first attempt. The second seems to be ok. I've timed the first and in a lot of cases they leave less time than it took for them to say it, so hopeless for me as a beginner! A bit pricey, but overall it seems to be working.

The learning process is orderly, and the instructors are engaging. Alex can be a bit wooden at times, but that is a minor issue. I need to go through the lessons again and again. Difficult to learn a new language as an older adult, but Rocket Italian is an excellent way to get started. The lessons provide plenty of opportunity to practice. You need to use the website and do the exercises. The audio is not enough for me. I like the daily point system which gives you a goal to strive for. The goal can be met with modest effort (not too little or too much is expected in a given day). I'm still in the first series. I feel I am improving, although iyou must trust the process to derive the benefits. Practice, practice, practice!

I am taking the Italian course and it's been great so far. The recorded dialogues are clear and engaging and increase difficulty at an appropriate rate. I am actually surprised at how motivating the point system is -- I find myself staying longer to complete course work and rack up points. The exercises can get repetitious, but that comes with the territory in a language course and is really jus what one should be doing. I have purchased three levels of instruction and am looking forward to completing all of the levels before I go live abroad for a year.

I have tried every audio software and physical classes to learn languages; Rocket is the first course I have actually enjoyed and stuck to! The content is very in depth and engaging; I particularly like how they explain how the language works culturally. As I am living in Italy I found this very useful. It is the most interactive software and the various tool really make you feel like you are making progress while making it easy to memorise.

1) Great Customer Service: after completing my first lesson, the sound stop! No more sound. It was not my computer because I had sound on everything else than Rocket Italian. I tried the chat and a very nice lady (Marie) helped me. She found the problem very quickly. In no time, I was back to my lessons.
2) Very effective method to learn a foreign language (at least for me!) I love the progression.
3) I find it very useful being able to record my phrase and listen to it after: it helps me improve my accent.
4) Only negative point so far: tooooooooo much English speaking by the guy at the beginning of every lesson. More Italian please!
5) It would help having many different persons talking Italian instead of only two persons. This would be more representative of the real life.

Bottom line: I think that I will be able to learn Italian with Rocket Italian. Would I recommend it to a friend? Mmmm Yes, but with a little hesitation because of the very small sample of Italian voices.

Great start with introducing simple useful words and a variety of conversation. Molte bene.
Uno: Reasonable speed to start
Due: Followed by increasing speed to normal speaking dialogue.
Tre: Steps you through with increasing dialogue in a manner easy to follow.
Quattro: Provides pronunciation tips of vowels and double consonants.
Cinque: Keeps up motivation
Sei: Self test requiring typing in the words as heard with proper spelling reinforces auditory and visual learning.

I need to get the microphone connected, but I am sure this feature will also impress and be very helpful.

I studied Spanish and Portuguese up to B2 level many years ago and I have school French so Romance languages are not new to me nor is language learning as an adult.

I started with this course as a beginner in Italian 6 months ago. I am now completing the final Platinum stage of the course. I reckon that I am now at level B1 or lower B2 in the Common European Framework language classification.

What I like about Rocket Italian: The interactive pronunciation check using the Chrome browser; practical and useful conversation topics from the start; variety of practise in each exercise, repetition, writing, translation English to Italian and repetition of the dialogue. The point scoring system which helps maintain motivation

What I do not like: Lack of attention to detail in course material particularly towards the end of each level with mistranslations, and other mistakes. When you point out the mistakes in the feedback they are corrected but it is as if they rely on their students to proof read the course. Too much English spoken in the more advanced lessons. Odd choice of what grammar points to explain. (In some lessons simple and obvious points were explained while more complex grammar items were not.

Read More