Since you are here you probably already know, but Rocket Languages Spanish is a popular online software for learning Spanish. They teach you the language through audio lessons, workbooks, quizzes, games, and more. They offer many other languages such as Rocket Italian or Rocket German, but their most popular seller is Spanish. I heard a lot about Rocket Spanish since it’s so popular so I decided to check it out. Read how it stacked up in our Rocket Spanish Review.
Since Spanish is the fourth largest language in the world, coming in around 400 million speakers (only 100 million less than English), it’s definitely a language worth learning. Not to mention the endless travel possibilities it opens up to you. You will be able to travel anywhere in Central America, South America (excluding Brazil), and Spain. It’s also quite an easy language to learn if you are a speaker of any European language as it is very similar.
There are a few significant differences between English and Spanish, though. For example, there is the fact that Spanish is a phonetic language. This means that letters are pronounced uniformly and each letter has its own sound.
That’s actually beneficial, as it also means that Spanish is a fairly easy language to learn for newcomers, especially when it comes to spelling and speaking. The connections between letters and their specific sounds mean that there are usually no surprises in the pronunciation.
So is Rocket Spanish worth it? Does it really help you learn the language in 3 months? Here’s my Rocket Spanish Review.
Rocket Spanish Review: Pros and Cons
Let’s start with the pros and cons of this product first so you can judge if it’s even worth your time.
Pros:
- Plenty of lessons and bonus material to go through
- There is audio to accompany the text (a must in any program)
- You can record yourself and compare it with the native speaker (“Rocket Record”)
- There are flashcards and games to help retain information
- There is a forum to talk and practice with others
Cons:
- Needs to be used with other language learning resources to be truly effective
- You learn too many words and phrases that you might only use if you are traveling
- You have to be connected to the internet if you wish to use the online digital version
Interactive Audio Lessons
This is the core of the software and how you learn. With over 65 audio lessons it’s really the backbone of it. This is the section of the site you will be in the majority of your time. Basically, you are given a dialogue between two or three people and you are supposed to listen to it and read along out loud. I actually really like how they do this vs Rosetta Stone or other programs because it gets you speaking the language really quick. It also gives you words in their context which shows how they are used and where they are put in a sentence.
After you have listened to the dialogue a couple times, you are then supposed to practice using the “Rocket Record” function. You simply record yourself and compare it with the native speakers accent. You are also given the ability to role play in the dialogue — meaning one person in the audio is taken out and you speak those parts instead.
The last part of every lesson is called My Level. You can take a short quiz over what you just learned as well as a something called “Hear it Say it.” This little feature gives you a clip of audio and then you are suppose to guess what it said. It is supposed to help tune your ear to the words and phrases.
Overall, I like how these lessons are laid out, but I do wish they had included a little grammar in each lesson.
Survival Kit
The survival kit is a bonus you get for actually purchasing the full program. It comes with many extra things such as a Beginners Spanish book, Conversation course, Vocabulary supplement, and more. I found these things were nice but were more just things to justify the higher price of the software. Not bad though, as they are extra resources.
Community
There is a forum section on the site that you can use to get feedback and chat with other learners of the language. The problem I found is that the forum isn’t very busy, so it’s not the most useful thing. I’d recommend a more populous offsite forum such as the How to Learn any Language Forum. When the forum does have people posting, it is nice for connecting with others to chat with over Skype or learn grammar with others but I wouldn’t bother with it.
Conclusion
They say you can learn Spanish in 3 months with this; is it possible? Used with other resources, just maybe, but by itself, no. If you are going to buy this, I recommend that you get more resources to go alongside it. Such as the Teach Yourself Series or Colloquial Series. It’s a great software and almost worth the price, but don’t rely solely on it alone. Final line being, if you have the extra money to spend on it, go for it.
Where to Get it and Other Practical Details
I hope my Rocket Spanish Review was useful for you. Click here to get a free six day trial and try it out for yourself. It costs $99.95 for the level 1 digital version (134 hours) or $259.90 for the whole course (370 hours). You also get a 60 Day Money Back Guarantee.
Zach, the “Languageholic”
Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links, which means you don’t have to pay more, but we get a small commission if you choose to pay for a course.
