Rocket Languages Reviews

Outstanding lessons and customer service. The conversations are what I usually encounter in the airport, and now I'm ready to speak better French and use it more. Customer service was very helpful getting the practice sessions to work on an older iPhone. Highly recommend. Merci.

After taking a few Japanese courses in college, I ended up moving and having no access to formal instruction. While I was able to learn a few words here and there through various internet sources, most free resources give only very basic information about grammar and writing. I purchased a few textbooks which helped explain some basic grammar and writing, but there was no way to effectively test what I had learned. I was able to read and write a bit better, but I had next to no experience speaking the language since nobody around me also spoke it. So I finally started looking up instructional courses and stumbled upon Rocket Japanese.

As a full-time college student, it is a bit pricey, but nowhere near as bad as some other courses, and it's definitely not as expensive as a college course. It also covers more ground than my previous college courses did! As of now, I've finished the first module and gotten started on the second. I have a few criticisms, but they're mostly related to organization and romanization. The content itself is great, though the audio lessons start off with exaggerated pronunciation for people who have never heard or spoken the language before. It appears to lessen as you progress.

Read More

I was somewhat reluctant to spend money on a Chinese language course as there are so many free resources available online. However, I decided to invest in Rocket Chinese so that I could follow a clear, structured course, to help me learn useful Chinese before I move to China to study later this year. I am so glad I did, as the course has been great. I love that I can download the audio lessons to practise when I have no internet access. I also like how each lesson contains not only the interactive audio, but also writing and speaking exercises, with the ability to record my speech and hear it back to compare it to the native speaker. I have already recommended Rocket Chinese to others who will be moving to study in China at the same time as myself.

I really enjoy Rocket Languages, there is a ton of content! Speech recognition works very well!

I like the format and emphasis on spoken language in the Rocket languages online courses. However, I was disappointed in Rocket Spanish because it is totally geared towards younger travellers going to South America, whereas I am an older person spending a few weeks in Spain. There was very little clear advice as to differences in pronunciation, grammar or vocabulary for the language as spoken in Spain - just occasional references. There were no systematic examples of polite conversation with an older person such as a hostess or landlady. I spent a lot of time trying to work out the polite forms of the questions and answers for the ones included in the lessons but had no way of checking whether my attempts were correct. There was no list of days of the week or months of the year which I got from a dictionary but it would have been good to have them included in more of the conversations - they're pretty basic.

I've had Rocket German German since 2009, and think it's excellent.

Being able to sit on the train, listening to the German *and* English being spoken, often with interesting explanations, it's been really useful.

Excellent value for money, and I have recommended it to other ex-pats who, like me, have moved to Zurich.

With a hungry passion to learn japanese for years I started off using only duo lingo pro. I quickly discovered I was going to need more than Duo if i really wanted to learn Japanese in a year. I downloaded a few more apps and I was burning through them as well, but still discovered I needed more to satisfy my hunger. Why? Because though these apps were good i was constantly questioning grammer and how i was being taught. I searched online and discovered rocketjapanese, but the price made me raise a eyebrow. At first I wasn't even going to try it, but I really wanted to learn japanese so i decided to give it a shot. I used the trial and knew right away this was what I needed. I bought it and have been using it everyday for at least 2-3 hours while still staying up on my duo and other apps if I even still have time. The fact i get to speak, speak with, and be spoke at while learning was beautiful to me. Sounds crazy, but i will actually look at a object and away from the screen on talking parts to make it feel more realistic when practicing. This is great, but i feel like should only be purchased/used by people who truly want to learn the language because though i'm a rookie at speaking japanese even I know consistency is probably the biggest factor into learning. It's worth every penny and you'll see if you decide to get it with all the lessons you'll probably go "wow, this is going to take some time" but it's totally worth it, if you're dedicated and motivated.

I have tried them all (Rosetta, Pimsleur, Duolingo) and I must admit that this program does the best job of teaching Italian. The reason is simple -- repetition. As a former teacher, I believe in repetition. Too many programs give you a lesson but do not reinforce it. Rocket does. Another plus is the response to my feedback. If I have a problem, I get a response within a day (two at most). Most programs don't bother to respond at all. Another plus is the detailed lesson given at the beginning of the section. If you really want to learn the "ins" and "outs" of the language, the explanations are there for you. All you have to do is read and absorb. Some programs (I won't mention names) never bother to explain anything; they just expect you to learn on your own. If you wonder why I have only given 4 stars for would I buy again, it is because I am not that young and don't think I'll be trying another language. If I do, it will be Rocket. Oh, one more plus -- the one-time price. Yea!

While I am just starting, I like the way you hear the entire conversation, then play a role in speaking the part. The feedback is instantaneous, where you get to hear your dialogue and correct any mistakes. It forces me to concentrate so that I put the emphasis on the correct vowel. After the conversation part, you get flash cards to test your knowledge and then write the words in Italian. It's a great way to begin learning the Italian language.

(Japanese, Level 1 review) Methodically located somewhere between Pimsleur, YesJapan/Japanese From Zero and Japanesepod101, Rocket Japanese provides a strong, content-rich guided learning experience that can serve as a backbone to any serious self-learning effort. Of all the programs I have tried (including Rosetta Stone, Textfugu, WaniKani, Living Language, the Genki textbooks and those mentioned above), this is certainly the most comprehensive and challenging from the start.
Conversation exercises, which are at the core of the program, are very well executed and the speech recognition system ensures that there is a degree of accountability here. For auditive learners such as myself, these work just as well if not better than Pimsleur, which is an old but effective way to memorize phrases and gain some initial conversational skills.
The main weakness of Rocket Japanese comes in the lack of a spaced repetition system. I STRONGLY advise learners to use an external flashcard software (such as Anki) or analogue flashcards for their vocab learning. Since actually creating flashcards is in itself good practice, however, I wouldn't deduct any points for this given the overall strong showing on display.

Read More