Rocket Languages Review
Rocket Languages is an audio program that is cheaper than many language softwares–but it is also more basic, lacking some components that users enjoy in more expensive softwares. It is strongly recommended to users to take the free trial before purchasing this software to be sure it’s what you are looking for. If you want lessons that involve lots of listening to and repeating sentences, this software might work for you. If you want to practice using words and phrases to express ideas (versus repeating sentences), then this software might not work. Here are the basics:
Format: Online, CD
Price: $99+
Discounts: Family discount described for multiple members using the same program
Language Lesson Delivery: Audio lessons that include dialogues; narrators ask questions and give answers, pausing for the user to repeat in between. The text for dialogues is shown, and the dialogues are explained in English. The user has the option to record and play back his or her own pronunciation.
Additional Components: There are basic lessons users need as background for dialogues, such as grammar, alphabet, and cultural details. There are games, text-based quizzes, and audio-based quizzes–but these components are very basic and tend to test recognizing sounds, not recognizing meaning of words and phrases. There are also community forums on which users can post questions and get responses from teachers and other users.
Free Trial Offered: Yes, 6 days, no credit card required
Note: The above information may change as the software is updated. To check, try the free trial.
What Does It Offer?
Rocket Languages teaches users sets of mini-dialogues, and basic background users need to understand the dialogues. The user plays the audio lesson, which presents dialogues. Between questions and answers, there are pauses during which the user repeats what was said. The speakers who present the dialogues are friendly, and they explain the words and pronunciation used in the dialogue. Short text quizzes on the material in the dialogue follow. It teaches pronunciation, and it offers basics and background needed to understand and read the dialogues presented, including alphabet, grammar basics, and cultural usage of various words and parts of speech. This software is mobile. You can listen to it while jogging, driving, or any other activity–wherever you can repeat aloud. Here are its main components:
- Audio lessons: The lesson is an audio recording presented by a pair of friendly speakers of the target language–it seems that one is a native and the other is a fluent speaker. They present a mini dialogue, explain it, and pause for the learner to repeat. Under the My Practice tab, learners can record their own pronunciation and compare it to the native speaker’s. Under the My Level Tab, they can check their memory of the meaning of phrases, and listen to their pronunciation on top of the native speaker’s. Here users can rate their progress and whether they know a word–this information goes into the Progress Checker. Also in this section, learners can complete a brief multiple-choice quiz (translating phrases).
- Language and Culture Lessons: This section includes written lessons on background like alphabet, grammar points, and other basics needed to understand the dialogues. Some audio is used, for example, in the alphabet, you can click each sound to hear it. For grammar, words and phrases can be clicked so you can hear them.
- Games: There is a section for games–but they feel basic and don’t always test language comprehension but sounds instead.
- Survival Kit: This is a group of lessons that is similar to Audio Lessons above but limited to the most basic words one might need.
- Assessments: Users can take two types of assessments–Rocket Rehearsal and My Proficiency. Each are multiple-choice formats with many questions. The site says these assessments were created using the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages as a guideline.
- Progress Checker: This tells you which lessons you’ve learned and which you still need to go. It’s based on the assessment tools you complete as you go.
- Forums: This is an online community where learners can ask questions about the lessons, language, or other topics like travel to countries where the target language is spoken. Forums can be searched by topic.
- My Toolbox: (includes Phrase Finder and My Vocab) My Toolbox includes a helpful Phrase Finder, into which the learner types in a phrase, and then sees the translation displayed. My Vocab is a section that includes words the user has chosen during the course of lessons. (To do this, during the lesson, the learner can double click onto a word, type in the definition or translation, and save the word so that it will appear in the My Vocab section.)
Does Rocket Languages Work?
Like most softwares for language learning, this one will work for a certain group of learners. Some learners simply want to hear a language and repeat sentences, get basic background, and be quizzed on this material. This software gives you that at a price lower than other, more comprehensive softwares that some users just don’t need to meet their goals. However, many learners want a software that will give them practice combining words and phrases into original sentences, and encourage them to use these words and phrases to answer questions, solve problems, and use clues to find answers–this software doesn’t provide exercises of this nature.
It Might Work for Users Who…
If you are an audio learner, like repetition, and just want to practice asking and answering set questions with some basics on grammar and cultural details on the side, this software might work for you. It may work if you are learning phrases from a basic introduction language guide, want to hear how words and phrases sound in the language, and practice saying some yourself. Rocket Languages might help users who plan on using the questions and answers you memorize with this software as building blocks to practice with a tutor or another learning program. If you are going on a trip and getting a new software to help you memorize some questions and answers to help you navigate a new country in a new language, this software will help you get your feet wet and get your ear accustomed to the sounds and basic vocabulary in the languages.
It Might NOT Work for Users Who…
This software might not work for you if you are an advanced speaker, as many of the topics cover basic vocabulary you might already know. This software is unlikely to work for users who get bored with repetition or those who mainly want to practice using language to solve problems, answer questions, or use words and phrases in new combinations. It might not work for visual learners who want engaging visuals like photographs and videos–but this makes sense, because these are expensive, so a software at this price range can’t be expected to offer powerful visuals. Some learners might not find the lessons engaging due to the format of listening and repeating over and over. Some audio learners would rather vary the repetition–and rather than just repeating dialogues, repeat phrases through songs, rephrasing sentences, debates, commercials, and recordings other than dialogues–but this software only has repetition of set dialogues.
Which Software is Better–Rocket Languages or Rosetta Stone?
This question can be quickly answered–use the free trial of each one. There are so many differences that it’s hard to list them all. The biggest difference is that Rosetta , but here are some:
- Rosetta offers an option for online tutoring that comes with their online program. It also comes with the CD package for a limited time (check the site to be sure this hasn’t changed).
- Rocket Languages does offer forums for asking questions, but not online tutoring.
- Rosetta uses visuals and immersion-based presentations for speakers of various languages, while Rocket Languages is audio and taught in English for English speakers.
- Rosetta Stone doesn’t explain many of the images presented–and this is an issue with many users who’ve reviewed the software–while Rocket Languages does explain the language used in the dialogues.
- Rosetta offers exercises that force the user to process the language to respond, whereas Rocket Languages requires more repetition-oriented responses, rather than questions that require a user to prove they’ve comprehended what was said (though the text quizzes and games do this to a limited extend).
- Rosetta offers more varied exercises, more complex games, and it tests language comprehension in each component. Rocket Languages offers fewer topics and less varied exercises and games.
- Rosetta is much more expensive. Depending on which program you get, Rocket Languages is a fraction of the price.
Using Rocket Languages, the learner listens to dialogues and repeats them. As the learner, you can also record your own voice and listen to the quality of your pronunciation compared to that of a native speaker. You choose the topic of your lesson, and there are many lessons (around 25-30) for each language. Then you can play the lesson, hear the instruction, repeat the new phrases and dialogues you hear. You can take quizzes choosing the meaning of the new phrases you’ve learned in text. You play games that help you practice listening as well. Some of the games–we couldn’t test all of them during the 6-day trial–test listening for sounds rather than meaning. For example, in German, a speaker says a phrase, and then the game requires choosing the order of the words, not the meaning of the phrase. (It may be that some of the games test meaning, not just sounds, but this is something to check for.)
Is Rocket Languages Worth the Price?
To answer this, try the free trial before buying the course. Some users will feel it’s worth the price because they simply want to hear and memorize questions and answers on various topics. Other users will feel they need tools to accompany this software that give them a chance to use the dialogues they’ve memorized in real settings–such as online speaking practice through LingQ, or writing feedback and chats through LiveMocha. Some may try this software and decide that they don’t want to spend the money because they feel the repetition isn’t as engaging as the methods of teaching used by some other softwares. Audio learners who stay engaged with repetition might find Rocket Languages lessons worth the price for the dialogues they’ll learn. Others might feel it’s worth the price because of the practice it provides in pronunciation and the fact that it’s downloadable.