I got a subscription for Rocket Italian for Xmas 2012 and worked at it fairly consistently until we traveled to Italy in May. I was hesitant to speak Italian until we got into a situation where no-one spoke English and then surprised myself by being able to communicate with some farmers who sold us wine and olive oil. On another occasion I got so immersed in a conversation about some church architecture that I completely forgot myself and chatted for some time with a local man about 'domes'. My husband was totally impressed (he didn't know what we were talking about) and takes full credit for giving me the course as a gift.