Rocket Spanish Review – Is it Worth Buying?

rocket-spanish-trialIt is incredibly easy to get started with Rocket Spanish, and you don’t have to provide anything more than your name and email address.  I was expecting a whole “signup” process and a big form (because that’s what I’m used to with free trials), but not so with Rocket Spanish.  This was a couple clicks, set a password, and done!  It was entirely painless and a great start. Please continue reading for full Rocket Spanish Review and sneak peek into the members area

Once inside, it felt like there may be a lot going on, but right in the middle in big colorful letters was a “Start Here” guide, which I clicked to begin.  Leading you through the features of the site is definitely a perk for a first-time user, and there are 10 check boxes that light up as you explore the trial features.

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As I completed the first Spanish lesson, I was pleased at the presentation of the main lesson screen.  You could expand and collapse features where you’d expect to be able to, so it wasn’t too lengthy on the page at any given time.  The audio characters were a nice touch to keep the learning engaging, with relevant tips and practice among the dialog.  One thing I particularly liked was the ability to record myself and hear it in relation to the native Chilean speaker, Mauricio.  I could even see the sound-wave patterns.

Because I spent a fair bit of time in each of the featured tour sections, it wasn’t undue effort to return to the dashboard and proceed on with the tour/trial, however it was a bit frustrating that there wasn’t a direct link.

There is particularly rich content around advanced and personalized methods to learn Spanish.  In this case, I enjoyed reading about all the different language learning tools at my disposal, and spent some time picking out my own style from the “language learning types.”  I could see, however, a future upgrade to the navigability proving very useful, so you won’t have to wade through quite so much text.  Maybe even some personality or language acquisition tests to help steer you in the right direction.

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Another fun feature is the built-in progress meter and game function, where you can test your skills against the clock, or simply quiz yourself after hearing a brief audio dialog.  You have a quick glance at how close you are to a given milestone, and I in particular find satisfaction in completing modules.  The games were easy to learn, and the quizzes were thankfully not trivial.

My session was interrupted by my daughter awakening from a nap, and when I returned and reopened my browser, I was right back at the same place – really nice that Rocket Languages did not make me try to navigate back to where I was.

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As a bonus, but also a necessity in my view, there is an entire section devoted to learning cultural norms and ways of conducting yourself in Spanish-speaking countries.  This is immensely valuable, as often times you find yourself “knowing” the language, but still speak it awkwardly because you have no context for how it fits into people’s daily lives.  With this feature, you’re at least sure to keep from major gaffes, and you’ll probably learn tidbits that you’d never know otherwise.

All in all, I think this is a varied and comprehensive introduction to learning Spanish, and I’d recommend giving it a try if you’re at all curious.  You might even get a special price if you buy early during your trial!

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