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Rocket Spanish Review

Rocket Spanish Review

The information in this Rocket Spanish Review is current and up-to-date as of October 21st, 2021.

Learning how to speak Spanish on your own can be challenging. With so many different language-learning programs to choose from, you can feel overwhelmed trying to decide which has the best learning method, the most content, and most importantly, the best price.

With over 500 million native speakers, Spanish is the world’s second most native spoken language, and as such can be extremely useful and rewarding to learn.

With so many online Spanish courses available, finding a good program to learn the language is key. Read on for our honest review of one such program, Rocket Spanish, of the Rocket Languages group.

Click here for a free trial of Rocket Spanish.

Rocket Spanish Review: Overview

Each Rocket Spanish course is made up of about eight modules. These modules feature both audio lessons and language and cultural lessons. At the end of the course is the Survival Kit and review. Survival Kit lessons include more specific situational lessons such as talking about nationalities and countries or learning all the different colors.

Rocket Spanish Review - Dashboard Screenshot

There are also reinforcement activities like flashcards, interactive games and voice-recording to help you drill the information into memory. Rocket encourages practicing to think in Spanish in order to become a fluent speaker. A few offerings from Rocket Spanish include:

  • Structured lessons that use less English as you advance
  • Practice speaking Spanish is a part of the lessons
  • Lots of review exercises and games
  • Progress tracking against other Spanish learners with the Leaderboard
  • Pay for courses all at once or as you go; no monthly subscription

Rocket Spanish: What We Like

Pro #1: Easy-to-use Program

Rocket Spanish feels easy, almost too easy, to use. In fact, you may find yourself wondering if you have truly found all the material. It is pretty straightforward on both the desktop and app versions. Accessing your lessons, learning tools, and generally finding your way around the program are no-brainers.

Pro #2: No Monthly Subscriptions

There are three courses available for Rocket Spanish for beginners to advanced learners. Instead of purchasing a monthly subscription, you simply pay for the courses you want. You can get discounts for buying two or all three courses at once. This is ideal for those who do not want to add to their monthly expenses.

Pro #3: Quality Material

The learning content covers relevant and important topics including some grammar, key vocabulary words, and cultural information. Each audio lesson is about 15-minutes long and requires you to participate. There are also a variety of reading, writing, and speaking activities to reinforce what you have just learned.

Pro #4: Comprehensive

The courses covered the very basics of Spanish right up to high intermediate level content. I won’t name names, but some similarly priced courses only offer up to lower-intermediate level.

Pro #5: Genuine native speakers

Rocket Spanish utilizes native speakers, which is essential for accent training. The flow of the dialogues was very natural but still clear for a learner – very realistic!

Rocket Spanish: What We Do NOT Like

Con #1: Lessons can be Monotonous

Learning a language isn’t always going to be fun, and we get that. However, the lessons seem to drag on. Likewise, the learning tools can feel repetitive after a few uses. Keeping motivated to study a foreign language is key to mastering it, and unfortunately this is a bit difficult with these lessons.

Con #2: Cultural and Language Lessons Lacking

The Language and Culture Lessons section is a great idea, but they are generally lacking in content or contain information that is already quite obvious. For example, one lesson was about Spanish-speaking areas and their food sources. It explained how many coastal nations dine on fish and other marine life, which seems like a no-brainer to figure out.

Con $# 3: Desktop interface

 
In our original review in 2014, we found the desktop interface a bit lacking. Indeed, even with updates, it’s not as sleek and modern as some other language learning software.
 

Rocket Spanish Features

Dashboard

Upon logging in, you will be taken to your dashboard. This is where you can view the leaderboard, access your lessons and reinforcement activities, and view your points which accumulate upon use.

Audio Lessons

Each audio lesson is about 15 minutes long, which can feel a bit too long for some. As the instructors are speaking, you will see what they are saying along the bottom of the screen. They speak slowly and allow ample time for you to practice, encouraging you to listen and pick out key words. They also cover the words’ exact meanings. These lessons can be downloaded, so you can listen to them whenever you have free time.

Rocket Spanish Review - Numbers Lesson

Interactive Reinforcement Tools

There are a variety of game-like tools to help you with learning. Aside from flashcards, you will find activities that give you practice reading, writing, listening and speaking Spanish. At the end of each lesson, you will find a quick quiz. Voice-recognition tools help you to hone in on your pronunciation skills, but are not always completely accurate.

Survival Kit

The Survival Kit is a handy set of quick lessons that cover very specific topics. These lessons can be ideal for those who will be traveling to Spanish-speaking areas soon and do not have time to complete the entire course. The beginner’s survival kit includes lessons on learning the numbers, shopping in the city, and body parts.

Who Should try Rocket Spanish

Language-learning is very specific to the student, so it is rare that one program will benefit all users. We feel Rocket Spanish is best suited for:

  • self-starting independent learners
  • those who want quick Spanish lessons for business or travel
  • those who would like a supplemental course to a college class

Who Should NOT try Rocket Spanish

Like those who would benefit from Rocket Spanish, some individuals may do better with other learning options. We feel Rocket Spanish is less-suited for:

  • those who thrive in a classroom environment
  • those who need tutoring or extra assistance
  • those on a limited budget

Rocket Spanish Alternatives

Rocket Spanish vs. SpanishPod101

SpanishPod101, by Innovative Language, is a monthly-subscription language learning program with four membership levels. It covers absolute beginners through advanced speakers with both audio and video lessons and an array of learning tools like flashcards. We would say the material is far more extensive than Rocket’s, but in order to access all the program offers you will have to pay a higher monthly premium.

Rocket Spanish vs. Pimsleur

Pimsleur Spanish is a monthly-subscription program which consists mostly of Spanish podcasts. It promises to get you speaking conversational Spanish in just 30 days with 30 minutes of daily lessons. The Pimsleur Method claims to be the most organic way to learn a new language because it is the same way you learned your native language — by listening and repeating.

Rocket Spanish vs. Glossika

Glossika is also a monthly-subscription program based on audio learning. In essence, you simply listen to the lessons and repeat what you hear. It offers personalized learning based on your preferences and interests and allows you to acquire grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation in a natural way.

Rocket Spanish vs. Spanish Uncovered

Spanish Uncovered by Olly Richards is a beginners Spanish course (they also have a version for intermediate) that focuses on learning via storytelling and cognates. The courses consist of unique stories told in audio, text and video lessons.

Rocket Spanish Cost

Level 1

If you just want to do the beginner’s course, you can sign up for Level 1 for $149.95. This one-time fee includes instant lifetime access to:

  • 134 hours of lessons
  • 2666 voice-recognition phrases
  • 33 language and culture lessons

Click here to save $50 on Level 1 and pay only $99.95

Levels 1 & 2

If you plan to go further into learning to speak Spanish, you can purchase Levels 1 & 2 for $299.90. Pay once and you have lifetime access to:

  • 244 hours of lessons
  • 5807 voice-recognition phrases
  • 56 language and culture lessons

Click here to save $50 on Levels 1 & 2 and pay only $249.90

Levels 1, 2 & 3

If you plan to become fluent in Spanish, the best deal is purchasing Levels 1, 2 & 3 for $449.85. With lifetime access to all three levels, you get:

  • 370 hours of lessons
  • 10,004 voice-recognition phrases
  • 87 language and culture lessons

Click here to save a huge $189.95 on Levels 1, 2 & 3 and pay only $259.90

**Enter Coupon Code ROCKETDEAL at checkout.

Rocket Spanish Coupon Applied Screenshot

Rocket Spanish Review: Final Thoughts

Overall, Rocket Spanish offers a relatively comprehensive course with a variety of extra, interactive learning tools. The lessons can be a bit boring at times, and the exercises are slightly repetitive. However, there are discounts available, making the price point quite a bit lower than similar comprehensive programs. Ideally, we think Rocket Spanish would make a good supplemental program for a university course, or a hobbyist learner.

Click here for a free trial of Rocket Spanish.