There are so many language courses on the internet nowadays, how can you know which one will suit you best?

Many courses cater for different learning styles and follow various education theories. Some have flashy games and “streaks,” which motivate you to do a little every day.

Those games can be good for vocab learning but are unlikely to help you gain conversational fluency. And when you break a long streak, you might be so disappointed that you never feel motivated to get back into it again (true story.)

This article reviews the popular Rocket Languages programmes, which have followed the ethos of “building a culturally connected world through the power of language” since 2004.

In it, I'll take you inside the members' area to give you a feel for what the course offers. And, of course, I'll give you my honest conclusions on the best and the not-so-wonderful aspects of Rocket Languages courses.

The Good

The lessons use interactive audio and visual recordings, so you're using both sight and sound when you're facing new concepts.
Straightforward, easy-to-use interface
Teaching is backed up with plenty of opportunities to practice vocab and the focus points of each lesson.

The Bad

Lessons are long, and the grammar explanations are somewhat confusing, especially for a beginner.
Annoying opening and closing music on each recording
Reinforcement activities follow the same pattern on every lesson – again, boring after a while

The Cost

Rocket Languages offer a variety of course packages and pricing options. You can buy a whole, three-course package for US$449.85, two courses for $299.90 and one course for $149.95. Pay upfront by credit card, PayPal or direct debit, or via their six-month payment plan option.

Rocket Languages Review: The Verdict

There's a lot to like about Rocket Language courses. They follow practical learning strategies, including reading, writing, listening and speaking in their programmes.

I found plenty of opportunities to practice speaking aloud. Being to record your voice and compare it to a native speaker would be very helpful in improving your pronunciation and accent.

However, after taking a lesson each day, I found myself increasingly annoyed by some unnecessary repetition, and the “sameness” of the format began to pall.

(My top recommendation for language learners is my Uncovered courses, which teach you through StoryLearning®. Click here to claim your free 7-day trial.

What Is Rocket Languages?

Rocket Languages is a business that provides comprehensive courses to beginner, intermediate and advanced learners in 13 major languages, including English, French, Spanish, Hindi and American Sign Language.

You can do the lessons on a desktop or through an app on Apple and Android devices (although you can only listen to your voice recordings and pronunciation on the desktop versions.)

What the makers say: “Immersing yourself in a language lets you see the world through a different lens.”

The Rocket Language founders believe that before you can immerse yourself in a language and culture, you need to have comprehensive, immersive, and effective tools and lessons.

What's Included In Each Rocket Languages Course?

Interactive Audio Lessons
Language and Culture (grammar) lessons
“Play It” (interactive conversation practice)
Reinforcement Activities
Vocab lists of words and phrases
Language learning expert tips
Survival Kit (additional audio lessons on essential vocabulary for various settings e.g. the family, colours, household items, food etc.)

A Look Inside Rocket Italian

Interactive Audio Lessons

These are core, 15-40 minute lessons, each based around a new conversation. After an introduction and a review of the previous lesson, you hear the whole excerpt, spoken at a conversational speed.

That speed varies according to the level you're working on, i.e. a level three conversation is more prolonged, faster and more complex than a conversation at Level One.

A transcript scrolls down as you listen so that you can read and listen at the same time. Of course, you can always close your eyes or look away if you want to practice understanding a conversation without that visual prompt.

Once you've heard the whole conversation, the instructors break it down piece by piece. They explain grammar and vocab points, pronunciation and intonation.

For example, Parli Italiano can be a statement “You speak Italian” or a question “Do you speak Italian?” depending on the inflexion you use.

Language And Culture

Rocket Italian says: “In order to be able to speak Italian, you have to understand how it works!”

So, in this section, the lessons focus on the mechanics of Italian, how the language works – grammar, pronouns, etc. – and give a glimpse into aspects of Italian culture at the same time.

Play It

Focusing on pronunciation practice, the “Play It” segment repeats the lesson's core conversation. You can see and hear each sentence and take part yourself by taking one of the roles.

Pressing the microphone icon lets you record your attempts at saying each sentence. You can then play it back and compare your pronunciation with that of the native speaker's.

If you're playing one of the roles, your voice is automatically recorded, and you're scored for correct pronunciation.

Finally, you can adjust the difficulty settings to match your current speaking level. So when you've perfected speaking slowly, you can speed it up and practice at a conversational level.

Reinforcement Activities

Each lesson includes five vocabulary practice activities, and the pattern seems to be the same at each level.

The activities are:

Flashcards,
Hear it Say it!
Write It!
Know It!
Quiz

Each time you play, you can say whether a word was easy, good or hard. That lets you go back and review the “hard” ones again and again until they become “easy” instead.

Script languages include writing lessons e.g. you can practice Kanji and Hanzi scripts and see the romanized versions, too.

What I Like About Rocket Languages

The desktop interface is intuitive and easy to use. They've made every effort to ensure that you understand how it works by including a tutorial, FAQs, email support and a community help forum.
There are plenty of chances for you to listen to native-level speech and imitate it in the interactive lessons and the “Play It” sections.
The microphone option: it's constructive to hear your voice and see how closely your pronunciation resembles the instructor.
Lessons include opportunities to read, write, listen and speak – all at the same time if you wish.
You can download the lessons to study again later if you want to. Interactive dialogue lessons download in audio format, and other lessons come as PDFs.
Certificates and Benchmark tests. Keep track of your progress by taking regular tests (found by clicking your icon and then “tools”.
The use of dialogue as a teaching tool and including snippets of culture help to make the lessons enjoyable.

Rocket languages review desktop interface

What Is Missing From Rocket Languages

There's not a lot of fun in the Rocket Language courses that I tried. I'm not talking about flashy games or bells and whistles. No, I mean that every session seems rather earnest.

To get the concept of each lesson, you need to repeat it many times. In the forum, some people recommend making your own physical flashcards and working away from your device as well as the online lessons.

And, to be honest, the lessons didn't hold my attention enough to want to revise them again and again.

I also missed the opportunities to listen and understand without reading along with the dialogue. Now, I know I could look away or close my eyes. But human nature prevailed, and I took the easy route of reading while listening instead.

It would be easy to encourage students to challenge themselves with a “listening only” section where they concentrate only on understanding what they hear. If there is such a section in Rocket Italian, I didn't find it.

How Much Do Rocket Language Courses Cost And Are They Worth It?

Individual courses start at $149. For that, you have lifetime access to over 120 hours of tuition (including updates.)

Bundling two or three courses costs more upfront, of course, but reduces the price overall.

In addition, Rocket Languages offers a “family discount.” In this, you can purchase one programme (or bundle) for the couple or family to use, then buy extra access passes for $49.95 (each).

That lets each person track and monitor their progress individually through the program.

All pricing is in US dollars.

These are expensive courses (although they are discounted at times throughout the year), especially if you're paying upfront.

If you're the sort of learner who relishes detailed, methodical, repetitive study, then you'll love Rocket Language.

However, if you need some fun and a reason to keep plugging away at your language learning, a different course might be in order. In that case, you'll probably enjoy the excitement you'll get from Uncovered .

An Alternative To Rocket Languages: Uncovered Courses

Uncovered is a comprehensive online beginner course that takes you from a complete beginner in a language to an intermediate level. And it's fuelled by a fun and unique method called StoryLearning®.

StoryLearning teaches languages naturally, just as you learn best when you're a child – through stories. In Uncovered, you'll find yourself gripped by a tale that's unveiled, serial-style throughout the course.

It's not just any old story, though. It's an original story, written especially for Uncovered, with each word deliberately chosen for what you can learn from it in that context.

Of course, we don't let you read a story and then leave you hanging. You also have an experienced teacher by your side—one who knows the difficulties and pitfalls of learning another language because they're a language learner too.

Your teacher will offer support with explanations in English and tips to help you learn along the way.

Uncovered teaches all of the key aspects of the language: reading, listening, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and speaking. So by the time you've finished, you'll be a confident intermediate level language speaker, ready to go out and use your new language in the real world!Click here to claim your free 7-day trial.