Saturday, January 18th
2025 French Lesson Reviews
Rocket Languages
- Free access to some lessons
- Pay once for lifetime access per level: no auto-renewing subscription
- 60-day satisfaction guarantee
- Accurate speech-recognition software
Rocket Languages had its inception back in 2004, when the founders looked for a way to better improve learning French. Since then, Rocket has grown into a global leader in online language learning, offering programs in 14 different languages with over 2 million members.
Using tech to test your speech
When you think of learning French, you might think of the beautiful way it's spoken. Well, that's what you get each time you start a lesson with Rocket Languages. You hear an audio segment, similar to a podcast. Then you get to speak and the technology does a pretty good job of recognizing what you say and how well you said it. It's great to know if you'll be understood. You'll get grammar, vocabulary, and culture lessons, as well as plenty of practice. It's great for beginner and intermediate learners but doesn't advance much past that. Pay once per course for lifetime access rather than a monthly subscription.
It's based on audio
When you learn a lesson, you start out with audio that's like a podcast and you'll see English and French subtitles to help you understand. You can slow down or speed up the French. Next, you'll have a chance to practice speaking.
Speech-recognition technology
After you hear a dialog, you can play the part of one of the characters. When it's your turn to speak, click on the microphone to talk. You'll see what you said written down. The green letters or words are what you've said that's correct and the red are mistakes. You'll also get a percentage correct so you'll know if you'll be understood in a real situation. This speech-recognition program is a pretty good one and quite rare in online language programs.
After the lesson dialog, there's instruction, practice, and more
You'll get a full lesson, including a breakdown of the vocabulary and grammar or structure. After the lesson and practice, including pronunciation practice and flashcard exercises, you can take a quiz to see how well you've learned the material, helping you decide if you want more practice or move on to the next lesson.
Costs
Here's the pricing breakdown for Rocket's 3 language levels:
- Level 1: $59.98
- Levels 1 & 2: $119.96
- Levels 1, 2, & 3: $179.94
Free trial lessons
With Rocket's free access, you can use a few lessons at each level. It's nice to try out, but we don't think it's enough to really get the hang of having a French conversation. It really is more like a free trial to see if you feel comfortable with Rocket Languages before you invest in the course.
Pay per level
The fee to use Rocket Languages is straightforward: you pay per level. Pay for whichever class or classes you want to take. We didn't notice significant savings when you get packages that bundle levels. If you'd prefer, there's a payment plan where you pay every six months for a year.
You get quite a bit with Level 1
You'll have 138 hours of lesson time including audio, language, and culture lessons: 29 practice conversations, 3,636 voice-recognition phrases, and a "survival kit” of additional words and phrases. There is about the same amount of material in Lessons 2 and 3. Oftentimes the higher levels get cut short with material, but that's not the case with Rocket Languages' French lessons.
60-day money-back guarantee, but only when paid in full
If you're not satisfied with Rocket Languages' program, email them within 60 days. You must include the receipt number that's on the receipt emailed to you when you signed up. Don't delete that email. Processing can take up to two days and the refund up to five days before you see it on your statement. Be aware: if you choose the payment plan option, you will not receive your first payment back; you will only have that future second payment canceled.
It's a really good program
Rocket Languages can help you learn French in a podcast-type format, and right away you're speaking French where a program recognizes your voice and speech and lets you know what it understood. It's not perfect, and that can be frustrating, but it can be motivation to work harder. There are activities to practice and even assessments to check your progress, and it's great for beginners and some intermediate learners. Be patient with the repetition of the activities, it's how you learn. There's no annoying auto-renewing subscriptions here, but there is a one-time course fee which isn't cheap. We still encourage you to try Rocket's limited, free access and start hearing and speaking French right away.
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When we think of someone speaking French, we think soothing and seductive, as it's simply dreamy to hear. We think of the romance of Paris with the Eiffel Tower, of Southern France with the rolling lavender fields, of the Alps with the snow-capped mountains, of the coast with the warm sandy beaches. And of course there's the decadent French food and wine.
Learning French allows you to more fully enjoy French culture. When you learn French, it opens the door to learning phrases that the French speakers use in conversation, manners and mannerisms, how the French live and interact in everyday situations, and perhaps gaining an appreciation and insight into their art and history. There are so many doors to be unlocked once you take the first step.
French Lesson FAQ
Continued from above...
Naturally, when we think French we think of France. Yet French is actually a global language and the official language of 29 countries, so you can practice your French language skills in more than one place. French is also a heritage language in all or part of Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, and even the US - like Louisiana.
Picking up the French language may be easier than you might think. Some of us are intimidated by the unusual sounds and the silent letters, but did you know that there are many words that look like English? We'll bet you know these French words: table, responsable, ambiance, brilliance. There are about 1,700 words in French that look like the English word, so there's a good start.
When choosing among the several options for online French lessons, here are some things to consider:
- Free trial. Look to see if there's a chance to try out the lessons before you buy them to see if this is how you want to learn and to see if you'll stay motivated. Most options include at least a free trial, and some have free access to a limited amount of lessons so you might be able to get all of what you want for free.
- How they teach. Today there is such a variety of teaching methods in the various online French lesson companies. You can learn individual words with flashcards first and then build to speaking or reading. Some teach by where you hear conversational phrases and build on those. Some build their lessons around grammar and vocabulary while others don't teach grammar specifically - you'll innately catch on the more you practice. Some cut to the chase like textbooks and some use AR and VR to keep you hooked and motivated.
- How much French you may already know. If you're a beginner, the French lesson world is your oyster - there's so much for you to choose from. If you are at the advanced level and want to polish your skills, most online programs don't teach to your level; though there are a few that could work for you.
- Your budget. There are some programs where you should be able to get quite a bit of practice for free. Others have a reasonable cost. Some have options for you to have a one-on-one instructor, and those will cost a bit more.
- One-time purchase or monthly subscription. There's the good, old fashioned way of purchasing a course, and that's where you keep the lessons, learning at your own pace, guilt-free if you need to take a long break. The subscription method is where you pay per month or year to use the product and it automatically renews at the end of that subscription time. You'll be motivated to not take a long hiatus from lessons if you know that your subscription auto renews whether you use it or not.
- Satisfaction guarantee. Most have a period of time where you can try out the courses to know if you really like them and want to continue. If you're not happy within that time, simply ask for a full refund
Top Consumer Reviews has researched and ranked the most popular French courses available today, to make it easy for you to choose how you'll want to learn French. Whether you're thinking of learning French for the first time or brushing up on what you may have taken in high school, now is a great time to learn French online as there are such a variety of French lesson programs out there. We're sure you'll find at least one that you'd like to try.
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