How can I practice speaking?

The Rocket Reviews are helpful, because you have to pull the Italian phrase out of nowhere. I find the multiple choice quizzes completely useless because the correct answer is already there. What I need practice with is thinking of how to say whatever I need to say on the spur of the moment--if I need to ask directions or talk to someone at a hotel in real life, for instance. Is there any place in Rocket Italian where I can take quizzes that are like the Rocket Reviews, without having multiple choice options?

Ciao Mary, in the Rocket Italian course there are different areas created to test your learning progress. The quizzes at the end of each lesson have been created to verify what a student has learned on that lesson. At the end of the course you also find Rocket Review lessons as well as Role Play where you can pretend to be either Maria o Alex and practise your pronunciation. If you want to practise it even more, we also have added a new great function called Rocket Record. You can listen to the tutor voice and try to replicate the sound recording yourself. In this ways you can listen again your voice and compare to the native speaker pronunciation. I hope this helps. Ciao

I just signed up. My grandparents and parents spoke Italian to each other. I was never taught, but did understand a bit as a child. I want to learn Italian. Where do you suggest I begin?

Hi Rosanne, welcome to the Rocket Italian Forum! With Rocket Italian you get access to: 31 Interactive Audio lessons 31 Grammar and Culture lessons 3 MegaGames Quizzes for each lesson as well as progress tracking Bonus Material, like the popular Rocket Role Play tracks, 10 Bonus Audio lessons on different topics as well as access to the forum. When you access the Rocket Italian Learning Lounge you will find all your Rocket Italian course material in one location. The lessons are organized in a way to make the learning process easier for you. All you have to do is go through the lessons in the same order as they appear. I would also recommend to take a look to the "motivational centre" which gives you few tips and techniques about learning a language. Another new feature that has been added to the course recently: the Rocket Record. It gives you the possibility to record yourself saying Italian word and phrases over and over again, and then compare your wave form to the one pronounced by the native. I'm pretty sure that you will be able to start to practise your Italian with your family in no time! Buon divertimento with Rocket Italian :) Ciao