If you're looking for the best way to learn Spanish, you've probably heard about Rocket Spanish. This is definitely one of the best programs out there, but there are pros and cons... So, here's my honest and critical Rocket Spanish Review.
Always wanted learn the beautiful Spanish language?
Maybe you need it for work or travel? It is never too late to get started!
Knowing the language is one of the best ways to feel closer to the authentic Spanish or South American cultures as you will start understanding those beautiful Spanish songs, watching movies in Spanish and maybe even reading Spanish classics like Don Quixote in original. Nowadays there are many different options for learning Spanish: from traditional classes, to online courses, to YouTube videos and language exchanges or even dating a Spanish speaker...
Recently, online platforms for learning languages have became very popular and there are loads of these courses out there on internet. Each of these platforms offers different approaches and techniques to learning. With so many options, it can be hard to decide which one is the best fit for you. Now, let's get started with the Rocket Spanish Review!
Rocket Spanish is one of the most popular online platforms to learn the language. It offers interactive and professional features for language learning which have already proven to be very effective.
However, before you decide to go with Rocket, you may want to go through the platform, understand all the opportunities that it has to offer and be sure it can give you all you are looking for. It’s a tough decision, so take your time and let’s review Rocket Spanish, step-by-step!
Structure of the Rocket Spanish program
Let us first look through the structure of the platform to understand what to expect once we have it. The good news here is that Rocket Spanish is initially available for free trial with no need for you to attach any credit cards or take any obligations for the future. This is a good opportunity to make use of, as you can complete a simple registration and get immediate access to your trial account, or you can also choose to access the system as a guest user. In this way, you can see the platform from the inside and try out all the features before you make the decision of going with it.
As you log in, you can start exploring all the interesting features and opportunities of this platform. Once you are in the system, you can see your personal, user-friendly dashboard, where you will find all the tools and lessons for your new Spanish course.
On the left side you can start exploring the key three levels of the course you will be offered to practice. Here you have:
Premium: level 1
Premium plus: level 2
Platinum: Level 3
Each of the levels comes with the key part of the course- the Interactive Audio Lessons. These are recorded modules on the most different topics out there, and as your level of knowledge increases, the topics move from basic conversations to talks about the most different aspects of life out there. You can also find transcripts of each module right below the bar where you actually play the video- all very simple to find.
Now, what is special about the Rocket Spanish platform is that the system has the great feature to actually practice all the material you learn from the audio module. You can complete the available writing, listening and of course speaking exercises, take the quiz and even take notes.
The most interesting feature however is called Rocket Record. This allows you to record your voice as you learn new phrases and sentences. The platform then processes your voice and automatically rates your “performance”, and hence you get to know how close your pronunciation is to a native speaker. This is pretty cool, as you actually get feedback on your speaking- I don't know another program that offers this feature.
Language and Culture Lessons
Each level also comes with the Language and Culture Lessons in which you can learn how the mechanics of the language work, as well as have some useful cultural insights. Of course, here you also have the reinforcement activities that follow each module you complete.
Finally, you will find the most useful Survival Kit Lessons in each of the levels you will be practicing. These are modules on some of the essential topics, which will allow you to start making conversations and have enough vocabulary to express and describe the most commonly used ideas in Spanish. This is ideal for those learners who need to be able to have basic conversations in a very short time, like if you're going to visit Madrid or South America soon. It's best to start practicing what you learn straight away!
Track Your Performance
As expected, learning a language can require lot of dedication and constant motivation. And as it usually takes time to learn a whole new language, it is always essential that you keep staying motivated throughout all of your learning.
Rocket Spanish offers an interesting approach to keeping the learners motivated. The scheme can be found under the Tools bar which is again on the left side of the screen, right after the three levels we have been exploring.
There are bunch of tools in here which can come in handy as you practice and learn on, while the best part remains the opportunity to actually track your performance. Each time you practice and achieve good results during your session, Rocket Spanish reviews your progress and awards you points which are eventually calculated on the Leaders’ Board where you have scores of all the other learners. Here, you can see the “leading” learners and aim to have your record on the list as well. In addition, you can set your daily goals manually and aim to complete them as you practice a session. This gamification can be a great motivation!
Tracking your progress
As you explore the Tools section, you will find some other useful features such as the Forum, where you can publish any questions regarding learning Spanish for the community to answer. You can also use the Vocab section in order to find and save any words or expressions you may want to remember...
From this bar you can also access all the Notes which you make during each module, so you have it all in one place for your further practice.
With all these features, Rocket Spanish really is a complete, all-in-one system for learning Spanish!
Okay, that's an overview of the program, with it's structure, and how it tracks your progress. But no Rocket Spanish review would be complete without considering the pros and cons of the program...
Rocket Spanish Review: Pros and Cons
The platform has proven to be effective for a lot of learners, as seen on the review page of the platform, which is always good to check out and hear about the previous experiences of others.
Meanwhile, let's look carefully at all the advantages as well as challenges of this platform. Here we review Rocket Spanish's key advantages, as well as the major challenges you may face if you choose to use this platform.
Pros
Ok so let’s start from the positive side and review all the key advantages of the Rocket Spanish course:
First of all, the platform aims at helping the learners speak and interact in Spanish in the shortest time possible. Due to this approach, all the modules will teach you the most useful phrases and sentences from the very first lessons. Instead of teaching you simple vocab, which is later on harder to put into use. So you can expect to be able to make simple conversations after just a few modules, which is super cool.
The course is quite interactive due to the useful audio modules as well as the great reinforcement activities which follow each lesson. In this way, you will have a dynamic two-way learning experience and won’t feel like you are simply watching a video or listening to people speaking and lecturing you about something you can hardly follow.
Rocket Spanish has great customer support. As you practice on an online platform that is new for you, it is natural that you will have questions. In this case, you have many options to resolve your issue or get an answer to any of the questions you may have. First of all, you can of course check out the useful FAQ available on the platform, where you will probably find the answers you may be looking for. Then, you can always contact the customer support team via email, live chat or phone, and they will help you in a very short time. This is pretty useful as you just start using the platform or have a specific question which you are not able to find an answer to.
And of course learning via a quality online platform can help you save time and money on the learning process. You will not need to visit a course or a tutor, adjust timing etc. You can practice any time you have a free morning or evening, in the car as you drive to work or Uni, as you go jogging etc. So it’s pretty convenient. You can use the mobile app of the platform, which is even more convenient, as you may wish to practice your Spanish from any place, during your travel or anywhere outside.
Cons
Well by now the platform may sound perfect, but it’s not all that simple. Just because it worked for many learners, that doesn´t mean that it's for everyone. So let’s review the main challenges we can expect from the platform:
While having all the great features on the platform is useful, it can be quite challenging to keep up with them all. At first sight and especially for beginners, the platform can be quite complicated and rather confusing. It is sometimes better to have some basic simple features that will keep you away from distractions and will help you concentrate on the actual learning. While the platform presents all the features in the most user-friendly systematic way possible, the entire list of the features still remains kind of complicated.
Another challenge regarding the wide range of the features is that you may not be willing or have time to use all of the offered features. I mean, there is a lot out there and you really need lot of time and motivation to go on using them all. This all takes time as well, so maybe this again can be a distraction for you, instead of simply letting you concentrate on learning the language.
Another main challenge I can see here concerns the self-recording part. It is surely a very useful feature and can make up for the lack of the “actual teacher” as you wish to work on your pronunciation. However it can take quite bit of an effort to record your voice each time. And what about the people who do not wish to do it every time or at all…? Maybe there is a gap in here, which may have an influence on the actual quality of learning. Something to think about…
The entire concept of online learning is kind of specific, and while some people may be especially good at keeping motivated this way, for others this can be a major challenge. As you are your own “coordinator” in learning here, you may find yourself not motivated enough to keep practicing daily or in any regularly enough to really get comfortable with Spanish. Of course, the platform offers the motivation system with all the score taking etc., but is it enough…?
Of all the different ways to learn Spanish, Rocket Spanish is a great option if you are looking for a convenient and quality program which can allow you start speaking the language in a short period of time. Due to its pragmatic features and its interactive approach, the platform has provided good results for me and for thousands of learners.
At the same time, the platform can seem to be a bit confusing due to quite large number of different features, so make sure you take the offered tourof the platform and go through all the sections and features. The video is about seven minutes long, and it shows all the available sections of the platform and will help you get started on the right track.
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