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Sunday, February 9th
Rocket Spanish was Rocket Languages first course back in 2005. They had so much success, they added languages. The two creators had experience with very traditional methods of learning Spanish and knew there had to be a better way. By talking with native speakers and an expert in the Spanish language, Rocket Spanish was born. They wanted to create fully-downloadable interactive Spanish lessons including the audio and speaking portions, and that they did.
First, choose your level
You determine your current Spanish level, from 1-3. It's a bit daunting to do your own placement for Rocket Spanish, but you can see the topics taught in each level, so it makes it a bit easier.
Plenty of material
Rocket Spanish's Level 1 has more than 130 hours of Spanish lesson time, 31 audio lessons, 33 language lessons, 33 culture lessons, 31 practice conversations, and 3,000 voice-recognition phrases. Levels 2 and 3 have about the same amount of material; this is a pleasant surprise, as many online language platforms have fewer lessons and less quality as you advance.
Topic-based lessons
In Rocket Spanish's Interactive Audio tab of the level, the lessons are themed according to topic or event, such as concerts, unforgettable moments, or cyberspace. Listen to the dialog and quiz yourself to determine how much you actually understood.
Grammar, culture, and audio
When you click on the Language and Culture tab of your desired lesson, you'll see that Rocket Spanish's lessons are grammar themed, whether by tense or another grammar theme such as ser/estar. Later in that lesson there are culture topics such as concerts or being late to a party. Audio lessons might include Mexican legends or other fun-to-learn topics. In this section you'll also get practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening, all to improve your complete comprehension.
Improve your pronunciation
"Play It” is the interactive speaking and listening component intended to prepare you for comprehensible conversations. When you repeat the prompt, Rocket Spanish's speech-recognition technology will type what they heard you say and mark what you did well and what wouldn't be understood or was wrong. Their technology is more accurate with individual words than with words and phrases, though, and it can stop listening to you, even if you're not done.
Which package should I purchase?
You can buy Rocket Spanish Level 1 as a standalone language course. It was $59.98 at the time of our review; one thing we've always noticed about all of Rocket's languages is that there's almost never a time where there's not a sale or discount happening. Lifetime access to Levels 1 and 2 as a package was on sale for $119.96, and the complete package of Levels 1-3 was just $179.94.
You purchase the course, it's not a monthly subscription
What you'll find most often with online language classes is that you'll have a monthly or annual subscription. If you're busy or gone for a month, you lose out on the money you spent for the lessons. For about the price of an annual subscription to other programs, you can keep all the material from two levels of Rocket Spanish. If you're super busy, Rocket's lifetime access and one-time fee might be better suited for you.
60-day money-back guarantee
If you're not satisfied with your Rocket Spanish purchase, you must email Rocket within 60 days of making the payment in order to receive your refund.
Great if you like structure, but it's repetitive
If you like structure, Rocket Spanish is great. You choose your level and get going, taking the lessons in order. It's organized in a traditional manner: learn the grammar and practice it listening to audio, learning culture, and take assessments at the end before you move on to the next lesson. The format is similar from lesson to lesson, and there's not a lot of fun features to keep you motivated for long.
It's not a lot of fun and there's no video element
Rocket Spanish could use some fun characters to keep you entertained more than just the "fun of learning”. This is very much an audio course. Visuals, such as more imagery, animation, and especially videos would be more entertaining and helpful, especially for visual learners.
Not for kids
There's no kids' version of Rocket Spanish. Some consumers have complained that not only isn't there a kids' version, but the one version that's offered would not be attractive to kids.
The curriculum is great but the motivation is lacking
Rocket Spanish has a great curriculum that will take you to about an intermediate level of proficiency and an advanced level of grammar. We applaud that they work on building all of your communicative skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and that they cover all or most of the major grammar points as well as many culture tidbits. That said, it's time Rocket updated itself, though. Adding animation and visually-appealing features as well as varying the lesson format more often would be helpful, create a more fun and motivational environment, and increase our rating of Rocket Spanish beyond the rating we've offered.
Have you ever wanted to learn Spanish? Maybe you would like to interact with native speakers while traveling. Or perhaps you would like to speak Spanish with your contractor or other people you do business with.
Here are some fun facts for you to consider. According to a recent US census, Spanish is the most common non-English language spoken in US homes, 12x greater than the next four most common languages. The US is the world's fourth-largest Spanish-speaking country. And, as such, jobs in the US are always looking for bilingual (English-Spanish) speakers.
No matter why you want to learn Spanish, the real question is which online Spanish lessons are right for you. With so much of our life being digital and using apps regularly if not daily, it's only natural to want to explore apps or online methods for learning Spanish. There are many to choose from, and we can help you sift through the options.
The first thing to consider is how much Spanish you already know. If you're just getting started, your choices are almost endless, as many programs have an abundance of material for beginners. In fact, some of these programs focus so much on the beginners that they seem to run out of steam when creating material for the intermediate students, and then there's none if you want to hone your advanced Spanish with them. There are those who cater to all levels of proficiency, but it's certainly not all, and you have to know which is which. No worries - wherever you are on your Spanish-learning journey, we have excellent online programs and apps to recommend for your needs.
Another consideration is your learning style and preferences. Some learners need motivation through lessons with animation, gamification, and prizes. Others find animation and gamification overwhelming and would rather get straight to business, preferring the old-school grammar lessons and vocabulary flashcards. Consider if you want your Spanish curriculum to tell you where to start and then follow those lessons in a linear fashion. If you do, great. However, other people want to choose their own path and select lessons where the theme is of interest to them. Either way, there are plenty of online Spanish lessons that will suit you.
Once you're more aware of why you're learning Spanish and how you want to learn it, there are a few more aspects you should consider as you choose where to take lessons:
The experts at Top Consumer Reviews have evaluated, rated, and ranked the best choices for online Spanish lessons. We're sure that with this information, you'll have what you need to make the right choice for your goals in learning and becoming fluent in Spanish. ¡Ya vamos!
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