Find out what actual users have to say about our courses through their Rocket Languages reviews.
Overall, I understand the structure of the course, but it seems like many aspects, especially in testing, are done by a cookie-cutter algorithm which makes some really critical mistakes.
First, some technical issues. I use Chrome, as recommended, and there are a few things missing. Most notably, the on-screen Korean keyboard is not there. Also, I often do not have the button to mark a Writing lesson as completed. Finally, unlike in the app, there is no way for me to cut a voice recording off if I wish to restart, which often means waiting quite a while for the program to try to sort through gibberish.
Now, for the "cookie-cutter" aspect that bothers me. Frequently in the Audio lessons, the native speakers will say something that was not part of the lesson. This is fine, except that these phrases get put in the testing sections. For example, in the very first lesson there are introductions of the two native speakers. One says that he served in the Korean Marine Corps, then was discharged and migrated to the United States with his parents. He says this in Korean. This is a great way to get acquainted with the sound of the language. However, then this phrase comes up in the testing section of the exam.
Response from Rocket Languages
Response from Rocket Languagess:
Thanks for the thorough feedback. We discussed this in-house and have the following comments:
1. A Korean keyboard is coming, as is the ability to rate a lesson that has no Tests (like the Writing lessons).
2. That is a large undertaking for arguable impact. Nevertheless, we will add it to the discussion for upcoming features.
3. Our courses are designed so that members can pick and choose what areas they wish to work on. It's ok to leave out harder phrases and come back to them, as the system stores the individual phrases rating.
4. Again, we will add this to the discussion for future features.
5. As far as we are aware there is nothing racist about our courses. Please follow this up with customer support support @ rocketlanguages.com
I found the program very useful. This makes me so motivated to accomplish my learning of German even if it's seems difficult at the beginning(especially i'm learning it for the first time).
I can't deny that there is a remarquable progress in my learning due to the methodology of this Rocket Language.
As a completely new person to Korean, this course is not what I should have chosen to begin with. To be able to feel like you "completed" the lesson, you have to write things in a language they have not taught you yet! The lessons are too long and having to learn the "extras" to feel like you completed the material they were focusing on is also frustrating. I have no incentive to move through the material, because I feel like I can't even perfect the first few lessons!
The voice detection sometimes is very poor, which means saying the same thing fifty times at lightning speed to get credit for it. I like other programs for learning Korean better than this one. I might come back to it after I have a better foundation.
Response from Rocket Languages
Response from Rocket Languages: The Write it! tests can (and probably should) be left until you are more comfortable doing them. In saying that we will look at how these Tests work for beginners. With regards voice detection, the best results are achieved with a headset mic, or using one of the apps.
At the moment, unfortunately I did not have the chance to practice my French, but I am sure it will be great support...No doubt about it...Italian will positively be handy . Both will contribute a lot to my achievements and personal satisfaction as well. Sources that I made use of them, were quite practical from the life outside itself..Listening versions that were accessible were fantastic.....I have alreadty reccommended all the respective pages to my relatives and friends without no hesitataions.... Hope it will create the same responses as well. Thanks once more to all...
So far RL is okay. The audios are entertaining, but a tad slow and I wished that they were a bit less English-heavy as it really breaks my French-thinking mindset. Any technical issues (and there are quite a few given the nature of the voice recognition software) that are reported fall onto deaf ears. Overall, it's an okay program, but needs heavy supplementation from grammar and vocab books (as all learners should have anyway).
I tired the free trial for Rocket Languages as I was a bit skeptical. I really enjoyed the free trial. Its a great way to immerse yourself into the French language. I went ahead and bought all three levels! So far I am still in the early stages of level one but everything is going smoothly. I can't wait to use what I have learnt when I go to France to visit my boyfriend.
Although Rocket Languages tells a good story, waiting 2 days for an answer to a question is ridiculous! For this reason alone I could not in good
conscience recommend it to someone learning their first foreign language
Response from Rocket Languages
Response from Rocket Languages: We strive to answer support questions within 2-3 working days
Hi there,
Course seems like pretty good but when it comes to customer service. Its very poor.
In the past I have sent couple of queries but no One ever responded not I can not be able to access my premium French language course.
Could you please resolve the issue as soon as possible .
Thank you
Regards,
LAXMI
Response from Rocket Languages
Response from Rocket Languages: We have received and replied to your emails. Please check your spam folder in case the replies are there. You can also retrieve your password from the Lost Password link on the login page.
The course content is great, the design, layout and structure of the course is great. A lot of content, gets you to a good level of language ability if you study it correctly. The price is very high when you consider all of the free resources available though. I use the high price as a motivation to study, so that I'm not wasting my money, but it must dissuade so many others.
On the plus side:
• I like the way grammatical rules are discussed in understandable, laymans’ terms
• It’s easy to learn/revise words and phrases
• It’s easy to develop your listening skills to understand what people are saying and its easy to develop skills in identifying what to say
But there is room for improvement:
• Speech recognition needs improvement
o Gives some poor pronunciation 100%, but doesn’t recognise closer attempts
o When sentences are long it often cuts you off
o Often (every session) crashes for no reason and you have to log in again
• Its easy to put all your effort into reading and writing – rather than developing listening and speaking skills