At any point in the course the user can take the benchmark test. Users are asked a series of questions and give three lives. Each time they answer incorrectly they lose a life. The longer the user lasts by answering correctly, the higher his or her score. The purpose of this benchmark test is so that users can track their progress as they work through the course levels. While taking the benchmark test everyday may not prove that beneficial, taking it every week or so will allow the user to see the difference in their French proficiency.
The folks behind Rocket French break their program into two basic types of lessons: the language and culture lesson which center on grammar, and the audio lessons which focus on conversational phrases.
Many language courses struggle to teach conversational French and French grammar. Typically a language learning company will make the decision to focus their product more on one than the other after all it's simpler to produce courses that way. Rocket French is the rare course that thoroughly exposes you to the practical and theoretical aspects of the language. A small excerpt from an audio lesson. The audio lessons will teach you words and phrases in contextual chunks, so that you can start speaking quickly this is also a great way to learn words implicitly through context.
An excerpt from one of Rocket French's Language and Culture lessons. Meanwhile the grammar lessons get down to the nitty gritty and help you understand the rules behind the phrases and vocabulary you are learning. I like the fact that Rocket French keeps both lesson types separate. This gives you the option to focus on one or the other if you so desire, making for a flexible course.
Another unique aspect of the course is that it allows you to study a new language in a way that's holistic. There are four aspects of learning a language: listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Lessons feature activities which let you flex your French muscles and practice speaking through pronunciation practice and voice recognition software.
The audio lessons help you develop your French ear too. The course also gives adequate attention to the French alphabet as well as reading and writing. All this adds up to a well balanced approach to teaching French that will leave you the student with an invaluable understanding of all parts of the language. If you prefer an auditory learning style then Rocket French is certainly worth checking out.
Not only is the course well organized and thorough, the quality of the recorded audio is quite good. Rocket French also offers a free trial so users can check out the curriculum without having to pay anything. Back in the day Rocket French was only available as an online course through their website. However the team behind the course has since then made the transition over to mobile.
The mobile app version of Rocket French works seamlessly and has all the valuable features of the online web based version. Rocket Language courses are known for being effective, comprehensive, and very much to the point. They aren't known for being overly fun or entertaining. Thus if you're looking for a novel way to practice or learn a foreign language this course may seem a bit stale.
Rocket French is known as an awesome audio course. The aesthetic of the course is very practical. From a visual perspective the course is easy to navigate and simple to use. However there is a lack of visual elements in the actual lesson material aside from the occasional hand drawn caricatures. It would be nice to see more visual elements in the course material to help reinforce the audio and written content. If you prefer a visual learning style then this course may not resonate with you.
Perhaps with the first level of Rocket French out of the three there's likely to be some overlap with Pimsleur and MT, but from the 2nd level and definitely the 3rd level Platinum the difficulty is definitely above MT and Pimsleur in my opinion. One drawback from memory, at least with the first level is that the French accent from one of the 'narrators' is a bit odd, but it doesn't matter too much as the French he speaks is taken from the main dialogue, for which you hear it spoken 'authentically' within the same lesson anyway.
It's a minor thing I feel. PDFs which are provided contain the odd errors too, but nothing major. Perhaps another draw back is the use of English for explanations throughout the recordings. Still, better off using Rocket French to improve your French, even if there is plenty of English, than not.
In general there seemed to be much more emphasis on vocab contained with in the dialogues than grammar. Hardly any use of the subjunctive, so if that's what you're after I wouldn't recommend it. When I would run through a lesson I'd shadow or repeat closely after the recording everything in a lesson, until i could do so without pausing, and without making errors. In preparing for this Rocket French review, I was seriously impressed by the high quality and scope of its audio and dialogues.
The presenters in the audio comment on and engage with the material which makes it fun and interesting to follow. Due to the comprehensiveness and high quality of the audio alone, I believe the price for Rocket French is absolutely justifiable.
Being able to engage with other French learners is a really great feature to help both you and for you to be able to help others. It seems as though the forums are also actively moderated by native French speakers. The desktop version was previously very outdated in fact, I raised this negative point in my earlier Rocket French review. The latest edition of the mobile app is incredibly simple, clean and easy to use.
I actually prefer it to the desktop version since it removes a lot of the clutter and unnecessary features, making it easier to access the French audio directly. As I said above, I actually prefer it because it has a simpler, cleaner interface and gives you exactly what you need to study French. Learn more on Google Play or the Apple Store. Babbel , Rocket Languages provides these tools to keep you motivated. This is one of the best points about Rocket French.
This means you can easily put the dialogue material on portable listening devices e. Thankfully, you can still download the audio. I always say that if you pay for something, you should be able to access wherever and whenever you want. They also have an additional French Travelogue addon which is designed for people planning a quick trip to France or a French-speaking country.
Like most online subscriptions for language courses, Rocket offers a no-risk trial period on their courses. Ultimately, it depends on your own individual needs and learning style as to what kind of French course or program you sign up for. I could recommend a few to you but they might not suit you. Glossika French is incredible but some people get frustrated by its unique method and style. Personally, I would avoid well-marketed apps like Babbel and Duolingo. Rocket French is a little pricey compared to some other products but trust me — you will get years of use out of it.
Thank you very much for the review. I did find Michel Thomas a little annoying with the 2 students in the session while Assimil has been a good help but in some ways it gives me a cookie cutter feeling. Thus, am looking at a more rounded resource for self-studying. If you add all this time together, then you're well over your threshold of hours. I hope that helps. Something that I would add is that the amount of time it takes to become truly proficient in a language is subjective based on several factors.
The first one is what language you are learning and the relationship to your primary spoken language. For example, if your base language is English, then it will be a lot easier to learn one of the "core four" languages Spanish, French, Italian, German then it would be to learn another language since all five of these languages English as well are part of the "Romance" languages and share a lot of words and grammer.
Meanwhile, if you are learning an Asian language such as Mandarin Chinese or Japanese, then it would be a lot more difficult because the language system is completely different. You have to learn an entire new alphabet first before you can really do anything. Conversely, if you are starting off with an Asian language, then it will be much easier to learn a language in that field since they are connected A lot of the Chinese characters show up in the Japanese and Korean alphabets.
And then there is just like everyone else said in that it depends on what other mediums you are utilizing concurrently with Rocket as well as the amount of time you put into your studies.
Plus, your experience at learning languages. I honestly think I'm a bit slow at this and it's going to take me a lot longer than the average Joe until I'm able to think in my language. Dan-H24 April 2, My experience echoes that of my friend Esteven. I just returned from 18 days in Cuba with a group of photographers, one of whom was named Steve, and it became a running joke among us to pronounce his name like the Cubans do Anyway, I have been studying Spanish for four years.
I study every day, without fail. I have no idea how many hundreds of hours I have devoted to learning Spanish, but it is up there.
I am not yet fluent, at least by my definition.
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