Rocket Languages Reviews
Find out what actual users have to say about our courses through their Rocket Languages reviews.
Generally the best language software I have found, but I have two gripes:
1. the level 2 courses have identical dialogue in Italian and French, which makes them so much more boring the second time around
2. There is no reduction in the quantity of english as the level increases. The program should phase out the use of English through level 2 and it should be almost entirely absent in level 3 in my opinion. For this reason I will not buy another level 3 course.
Response from Rocket Languages
Hi Tim - Thanks for the review. The Italian and French Interactive Audio lesson conversations courses are similar but not identical. The Italian/French gets more complicated as you go up the levels. Also, the Language & Culture lessons for Levels 2 & 3 are about to be fully revamped within the next 2 months.
I need a lot more practice! Can't figure how to answer the flash card section. I will keep trying to figure it out! I will review again
Response from Rocket Languages
Hi Peggy - For instructions on how to use the Flashcards, click the help icon next to the title!
I like the the course so far. As I've only started, I cannot say much. But the microphone does not work sometimes when recording. Also it would be good if courses were too, because some of the learners such as me cannot always pay for it. But otherwise, it is satisfactory.
Response from Rocket Languages
Hi Aiman - We haven't had any other people report issues with the voice recording. Note that Google had outages recently that may have affected how the voice recognition works. If it is still not working for you then I would suggest looking at this FAQ; https://www.rocketlanguages.com/help#226 and if that doesn't work send an email to customer support with details of what device and microphone you are using. I am sure we can resolve it!
I like the variety of lessons. All of the lessons involving spoken Spanish are helping me with my biggest weakness, which is understanding Spanish when it is spoken.
I do have one major complaint, and that is that more effort should be put into giving a more accurate and useful English interpretation. The addition of an exact literal translation would both provide lessons in the word order of Spanish, and also help with learning new Spanish words. All too often I am wondering if this word that I have been introduced to before has a new meaning, or does it just look that way due to the interpretation being based on what a sentence means, and not on what it actually says. (e.g.: "me gusta" means "I like", but it literally says "me it pleases")
Response from Rocket Languages
Hi Wayne - You may not have noticed, but there is a "Lit." notation next to phrases that need a literal translation. Mouse-over that, and it will display the literal translation. We don't do this everywhere, as literal translations can be viewed as a crutch if used extensively.
I thought all the lessons would be audio such that you could listen in your car or with headphones while working out or walking but some require you to read and hear. I think even alphabet, numbers and grammar can all be made in an audio version. Also, I do not like the fact that you can’t stop and review an audio lesson. At least on an iPhone you can't just stop a lesson and go back to the beginning. You have to let it play out until the end to start over.
Response from Rocket Languages
Hi Looman - Thanks for your review. The grammar (Language & Culture) lessons have a lot more English explanations and tables that don't work well as just audio. On the iphone app, you need to expand the player at the bottom of the screen. With that you can use the slider to move through the audio!
Wish there was more grammar lessons and verb conjugations.
Response from Rocket Languages
Hi Hannah - Make sure you check out the Language & Culture lessons, which have lots of detail on verb conjugations and other important grammar topics.
I think RS is trying to do too much. Needs to be shorter. If you follow the lesson plans now, it takes 2-3 hours to fully complete a lesson. That’s too much for the average person. You might consider having stages of lessons - a shorter test section then another layer for those who have more time. Flash cards should note be 68. Maybe 20 of the most important, for example.
Love the narrative lessons, they are perfect.
I'm learning ASL and I just got to the numbers part- I was shocked to see that numbers 1-5 are wrong! Numbers 1-5 are always signed with the palm facing in, not out. If they got something so simple wrong, it makes me a little worried about how much they really know the language. Was this course designed by hearing or Deaf people?
Response from Rocket Languages
Hi Eileen - Thanks for your review! I just thought that I would let one of our Sign Language experts respond... "While it is true that simply counting the cardinal numbers 1-5 in ASL the numbers are done with the palm facing in, for most practical uses of the numbers in daily communication the palm faces out - for that reason they are shown this way in the lesson. For example, if you were to tell the time you would not sign 2:05 as "time 2:05" with your palm facing in - it would face out. Another example would be a phone number - no matter which number 1-9 ,the palm always faces out. Really, there are many different deep language rules connected with number usage - for example how you count days, weeks and months - which will be introduced and explained in later lessons. Some of team who contributed to this course grew up using ASL to communicate, others attended ITP programs and are RID certified, while others have been educators in the Deaf community for nearly 20 years. Thanks to this feedback we can make some adjustments to the lesson to explain clearly why we are showing the numbers this way." So Eileen, thanks for your feedback. We will change it to make it clearer!
This was an amazing experience until the 2021 update, which reformatted all of my notes, and pretty much trashed a year of work. UGH.
Response from Rocket Languages
Hi Lee - We fixed the issues you were having. It is all sorted now!
I really am enjoying the course so far! I do miss the old "write it" sections from the 2020 website though. They were really helpful in reinforcing the new concepts and I hope they return in the future. The "sort it" sections just don't help as much.