Rocket Languages

What do you like best?

I was impressed that my local public library system granted me a free subscription and free access to the Rocket Languages courses of my choice.

The quizzes that they offer on the vocabulary you learned in that lesson are helpful. Anything that turns language learning into a game is a win for me. The fact that they offer an iOS app was very helpful as some of their web site features were glitchy when accessed on a tablet. The app has a nice layout and is easy to use. Also, it was specifically for iPad so it filled the entire screen. The narrator in the audio lesson was encouraging. It is helpful to be praised in the frustrating early stages of language acquisition. There are photos from Russia sprinkled throughout the Russian lessons. It brings the culture to life and is a good reminder why you are learning the language. I like that you can choose different types of lessons from within your module. You can choose an audio lesson, some quizzes, and some reading lessons or play sounds from the pronunciation guide. I get easily bored with learning. But the multiple components help switch things up and I can pick what I feel like doing.

What do you dislike?

The audio lessons are a bit unbalanced. The lessons in section 1 escalate quickly from being too easy to too hard. A typical lesson in section 1 starts with repeating easy words and then jumps into full sentences. The native speakers would speak an entire sentence. Then the narrator would ask you to repeat the entire sentence. Most of which was new vocabulary. Even though I already knew a bit of Russian from using four other Russian language courses, this was too hard. This might be because I'm not an auditory learner. I can repeat one or two unknown words at a time. I got frustrated and discouraged in each lesson because it was going too fast. As a result, I gave up on Russian Rocket Languages after completing about 10% of the module material. Although I appreciated that the audio lessons feature two native language speakers, the way they are introduced at the beginning of each and every lesson is a bit cringy.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

See if your local public library system provides free access to subscriptions

What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

In my opinion, this product is best used on an individual basis as there are not any collaborative features or ways to interact with other users. Perhaps future iterations will include interactive components