Rocket Languages Review 2024: Should You Choose It? (Course Overview and Alternatives)

Learning a new language online means checking for multiple platforms. This is because each platform has its own teaching style. Being a language learner, the only thing I look for is to help people like me to achieve their goals. So, I make sure to share my experience with a new platform, so that they don’t choose a platform that is a wrong fit for them. Recently, I have used Rocket Languages, and trust me, it follows a unique approach. Although I enjoyed using it, I would share my observations about the platform in this detailed Rocket Languages review guide. 

Let’s get started with it.

Quick Takeaways

• Rocket Languages is a platform that teaches you a language with a unique approach. 
• There are only 13 languages with 26 courses. 
• The course pricing depends on the type of plan you choose.
• You get some additional activities for specific languages like Travelogue and Sort It!

What is Rocket Languages?

Rocket Languages is a platform where you can learn a new language easily. It is a platform that made my journey easier. There are only 26 courses on this platform for 13 different languages. But each course is worth trying. The languages it offers are-

• Spanish 
• English
• Sign Language
• Italian
• Chinese
• Arabic
• French
• Japanese
• German
• Korean
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Hindi

Is Rocket Languages free?

Yes, but technically, No. Confused? If you have seen other language learning platforms, you must have noticed that some of the content is free, but to access it fully you must take the subscription plan. To get it freely, just sign up using the email id. You will get some content freely. However, to avail all the benefits just buy the subscription plan.

What is the pricing of Rocket Languages?

The pricing on Rocket Languages is different, depending on the language you are learning and the area of living. As I wanted to use it for German, there were three plans, starting from $149.95 to $449.85. Whereas, if you want to learn Hindi, there is only a single plan for $99.95. The price you will pay also depends upon the level of the language and which plan you are taking up. There are two types of plans-

• One Time Payment
• 6-Months Plan

Further, I have discussed the pricing of each of the plans, one by one-

One Time Plan

The prices are divided on the levels of the language. The table below shows the pricing of the courses-

Language	Level 1(Beginner to Intermediate)	Level 1 and 2(Beginner to Advance)	Level 1, 2, and 3(Beginner to Advanced)
French	$149.95	$299.90	$449.85
Spanish	$149.95	$299.90	$449.85
English	$99.95	Nil	Nil
Russian	$149.95	$299.90	$449.85
Portuguese	$149.95	Nil	Nil
ASL	$99.95	Nil	Nil
Japanese	$149.95	$299.90	$449.85
Korean	$149.95	Nil	Nil
Arabic	$149.95	Nil	Nil
German	$149.95	$299.90	$449.85
Hindi	$149.95	Nil	Nil
Italian	$149.95	$299.90	$449.85
Chinese	$149.95	$299.90	$449.85

Taking up a lifetime subscription plan allows one to skip some exercises or choose the learning preferences.

6-Months Plan

If you want to choose a 6-month plan, the price varies with the language. Here is the table comparing the prices-

Language	Pricing (per month)
French	$75
Spanish	$75
English	$20
Russian	$75
Portuguese	$27
ASL	$20
Japanese	$75
Korean	$27
Arabic	$27
German	$75
Hindi	$27
Italian	$75
Chinese	$75

How does Rocket Languages work?

Rocket Languages use a different approach to learning the language. It covers multiple aspects of language like speaking, reading, listening, and understanding. I have mentioned them one by one-

1. Voice Recognition

For me, learning a language means having the right pronunciation. The voice recognition tool helped me to get it right. I could check if my pronunciation matches the native speakers. 

2. Interactive audio lessons

To get the right pronunciation, you must know how the native speakers actually talk. The audio lessons make it easy for you. It will help to improve conversational skills and learn other language aspects. 

3. Chunking approach

It is a common approach that is used on most of the platforms. The content on this platform is broken down into smaller and manageable parts. It is an extremely crucial way to teach beginners and intermediate learners.

4. Motivating students

What is the most important thing when you are doing something new? It is to stay motivated. Rocket Languages do exactly the same thing. There are leaderboards just like Duolingo leagues to keep you updated. You also get badges and progress tracking to check on the platform.

5. Practical exercises

There are a lot of engaging exercises in which you must take part. When I was in the exercises there were flashcards and many writing and speaking exercises based on real conversations. All of them are repetitive and increase the difficulty level.

6. Cultural lessons

I am a person who enjoys learning about new cultures. It may be a possible reason why I enjoy this platform so much. If you are like me, you will also love the platform. It provides the cultural norms and practices of that particular country.

Rocket Languages Review: Course Overview

Although, I have discussed what you can expect from it, here is a course overview of the Rosetta Stone-

1. Audio lessons

As I already mentioned, to perfect your pronunciation, it is important to understand how native speakers talk. In each audio lesson, you will get dialogues in a podcast style. You will see different words in them in your first go. Each lesson is 20 minutes and you can also pronounce different vocabulary words. There is also a transcript with each audio lesson. At the end, there is a quiz on a topic you have learned in the lesson. To take it, choose the Play It exercise. In it, you select one side conversation and talk with the computer. 

It will use the voice recognition tool to assess your pronunciation level. When I used it for the first time, there was such poor feedback. But with practice, I could get good feedback. However, after some time, I again received bad feedback. It was confusing for me as I did so well in it. That was the time when I realized the voice recognition tool did not work well. 

2. Cultural aspects

It is the major reason why I fell in love with Rosetta Stone. Think, you are getting a language learning platform along with the cultural aspects of the language. In this section, there are grammar instructions and cultural notes. It may be a boring thing for you as it mostly has text, but trust me, it was really useful. In my Spanish lesson, I got to know some background of the language. 

3. Writing lessons

Writing is an important part when you learn something that is written differently. Here, you get exercises for languages that have different writing styles. In my opinion, these exercises were not up to the mark. The explanations were good but the exercises weren’t. Of Course, it is important to learn the writing style but with rocket languages, it is not sufficient. You must look for another platform. 

4. Survival kit

They are not actually the lessons but they are the groups of the related words. These words are not even in any content. Of Course, it is a bad technique to teach the words. In such a scenario you must avoid using it and try some other platforms like Anki and Memrise.

5. Tracking the progress 

Unlike other platforms, it allowed me to keep track of what I have learned so far. I believe, there is no point if I can not check how much I have learned so far. There was a dashboard that allowed me to check what I had done in the lessons. It is easy to use. I could also check how I was in the lessons. As mentioned above, there are badges you must earn. You can accumulate the points to get various badges. It is a fun incentive to study your targeted language. However, I believe, one is their biggest competition. Thus, progress tracking helps me a lot.

If you think this is all you get, you are wrong. Further, is something more interesting.

Extra activities (Reinforcement Activities)

Earlier, I have discussed how the course is designed. But here are some exercises that are used with each language course-

1. Flashcards

Flashcards are a great way of teaching a new language. Most language learning platforms teach you the language by enrolling in the Flashcards style on the platform. There are three levels of the flashcards – 

• Easy 
• Good
• Hard

In this activity, I got a word on the screen, for which I had to translate it. All I did, was to speak the translation loudly and click on the flip option. Just like other platforms, I had to check it by myself. Undoubtedly, this is not a good way to analyze, but it benefited me a lot. The biggest drawback of the platform is that there are no flashcards for the previous lessons. 

2. Know It!

This exercise works almost similarly to flashcards. There are English words and phrases that you must translate by saying. If the answer is correct, there are points for it.

3. Hear It! Say It!

From the name itself, you know what is in the exercise. Press the play button and hear the recording. Try to repeat the word and record yourself. There is also a score out of 100. I scored 50 on my first attempt.  There are again three levels: Easy, Good, and Hard. However, it may get boring sometimes.

4. Quizzes 

As I mentioned above, they are part of audio lessons. In these exercises, there are multiple questions based on the audio lessons. There are two main types of questions in a quiz- Vocabulary and Comprehension questions. I personally enjoy vocabulary questions. It’s because there is repetition of the conversation in the targeted language.

Extra features

There are some additional features you get with the above one. I have mentioned them below-

1. Sort it!

In this exercise, I got different chunks and I had to arrange them in a proper order. It is a good way to practice reading exercises.

2. The traveligue

It is a feature that you have to purchase. If you want to travel to a foreign country, make sure to try them. Why am I saying that? Actually it is like a fictional story that can help you learn how to travel in a specific country. I took a Russian course. There was a fictional couple’s experience, where I got a chance to practice a highly relevant language. It helped me to know about planning, flying, and accommodation. I could also understand what kind of experiences I may get to face while traveling.

Important: These extra features are not for all the courses. Sort it “Sort It” exercises are only available for the languages that have non-Latin script. On the other hand, The traveligue is for French, Spanish, Italian, and Russian courses.

Can You Become Fluent With Rocket Languages?

For any language learning platform, this is a common question to be asked. The main goal of the platform is to achieve conversational fluency. But is it so? Maybe. For this, you must understand the term fluency. Fluency is the level of conversation in which you can communicate with native speakers without making any mistakes. To become fluent in a language requires a lot of effort and time.

In my experience, I think you must use some additional resources to become fluent. It is because I took the level 3 course which was an advanced level. Of course, it was a good course, but when I reviewed the content it was for C1 level only. If you want to get a C2 level, you must try some other courses.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of Rocket Languages?

Now the most important part is the benefits of using this platform. Following are some advantages that you get using Rocket Languages-

Pros	Cons
There are cultural stories	Expensive than other platforms
Audio lessons are impressive	The free version is very limited
Additional resources for specific languages	Multiple exercises to boost your confidence
Multiple exercises to boost up your confidence	There are only 13 languages

Is Rocket Languages worth it?

I would say, it’s definitely worth using this platform. The course is structured in a proper manner with comprehensive plans. There are so many interactive exercises that helped me to learn the language properly. Every exercise is unique in its own way. One gives you translations and the other develops your communication skills. I don’t think I am wrong, if I may say, being a beginner requires a lot of effort to learn a language.

Rocket Languages are the ones that made my life easy as a beginner. I didn’t have to worry about where to start from. As a one-time payment, it may be difficult for you to pay the amount, therefore if you are on a budget, I would recommend looking for some other alternatives. 

Alternatives of Rocket Languages 

There are a lot of alternatives available online where you can learn a new language. Every student has its own way of learning. You may not like the technique used by this platform. Thus here are some alternatives that you can check on-

Free

If your major concern is budget, here are some platforms that provide their services freely-

a. Duolingo

Being a beginner, I always recommend people to give it a try. There is a simple reason behind it. Firstly, it offers free courses, and secondly, the course is majorly developed for beginners. The gamified approach of the platform is superb. There are a lot of fun features like Duolingo gems and leagues which make it more interesting. Every section of the course is ready to teach you something new. Although it does have Duolingo Plus (paid version), you must stick to the free version of it. 

b. Tandem

If you have some basic knowledge and want to improve your communication skills, choose Tandem. It is a language exchange program where you can find a partner to practice with. I have used this service, and trust me, it has given me some amazing friends from across the globe. Of Course like other free platforms, there is a limitation on the features you get. There are two inbuilt features, Translations and Auto Corrections.  If you are on the free version, you can only translate 20 sentences a day.

Paid

If the budget is not a big issue but the teaching style is, the following are some apps that may work for you-

a. iTalki

iTalki is a top teaching platform in the world of language learning. Every person who enjoys live classes and wants to learn a new language knows about it. There are multiple languages and teachers on the platform. The price you will pay depends upon the language, the teacher, and the duration of the class. Although I have only taken classes for a month, I look for free resources on it. Yes, you heard me right. There are many free services like finding a language exchange \partner or taking part in communities.

b. Pimsleur

If listening to audio is your style then you must not miss this app. There are different topics on which you will get multiple audio lessons. For each language, there are 150 audio lessons of 30 minutes duration. There are some game-like exercises that I always enjoy taking up. The subscription plan starts from $19.95/month.

Conclusion

Rocket Languages is a platform that helps you learn a new language with the assistance of multiple features. Although it is a paid app, there are also some limited free features. The app provides courses at different levels, and each level offers exciting features, ranging from audio lessons to writing exercises. The aspect of the course I enjoyed the most was its cultural elements. There is a story of a fictional couple traveling across a new nation. If you aim to become proficient in the language, consider using other platforms along with it. However, a tight budget may restrict you from using this platform; instead, try seeking out some better alternatives.

FAQs