Rocket Spanish

Lets face it, language programs can be a bit hit or miss. Most of us have downloaded or even just read the odd course, even if it’s just before going off on our summer holidays. Most of these courses give us the bare minimum to enable us to get around the resort and make a fool of ourselves with the locals. Of course, there are some very good Spanish language courses aimed at turning you into a fully-fledged native Spanish speaker, but, until now, these have been very expensive – sometimes costing $1000’s. The sad fact is that, the vast majority of these courses are all, unfortunately, full of hype and they rarely fulfill their promises. That was why, when I got my hands on a copy of Rocket Spanish I wasn’t really all that excited – but at least it wasn’t one that was going to cost me an arm and a leg so I decided to at least give it a go.

Who Is Rocket Spanish Aimed At?

Rocket Spanish is a remarkably powerful program, but just who is it aimed at? Well, I was surprised to discover that it actually aims to take complete beginners to an A2 standard – in other words this course is the equivalent of 2 years of full Spanish language schooling. By the end of the course you will definitely be able to hold meaningful conversations with native Spanish speakers and you will have a good grasp of the language. This really makes it ideal for both beginners and those wanting to brush up on their skills. More advanced speakers will already know a lot of what’s covered in the course.

We all have our own reasons for wanting to learn a new language. Some of us just need to brush up on some basic language skills to get by during a vacation, but many people will want to become very proficient in their chosen language, perhaps to secure a new job or fit into their new community if they have relocated to a different country. Whatever the reasons, though, we all have one thing in common – we want to pick up our new language skills quickly, cheaply and simply – and that’s where Rocket Spanish really excels… as you will see in my full Rocket Spanish review below

So, without further ado, lets take a look at Rocket Spanish.

How does the Rocket Spanish Program Work?

The first thing to note about Rocket Spanish is that it a very well-constructed program. Everything is set out in simple, workable modules that build on each other. If you are a beginner then this is especially important because the last thing you want to do is be swamped with a torrent of information. It’s also refreshing to note that Rocket Spanish doesn’t use so much of the technical jargon that’s found in other equivalent courses. The focus here is definitely on getting to speak the language without the need to go into the deep mechanics of the grammar and sentence syntax – although the information is there if you want to learn it. The program itself is split into 32 separate lessons each of about 25 minutes duration meaning that you get a lot for your money – almost a full 12 hours of native Spanish speaking in fact! The best thing about the 25 minutes segments is that you don’t lose your concentration. The lessons are long enough to be useful but short enough to remain interesting – it’s a powerful approach, and one that worked very well for me.

Where Rocket Spanish really scores though, at least in my opinion, is the software application that it ship with. This program takes care of the 4 main aspects of learning any language

And it makes learning them fun and stimulating. This is an especially good way to get the kids interested in learning a foreign language.

If you can run some simple software and press play on your MP3 player then you can use Rocket Spanish. As I mentioned in the lead in you get a lot for you money with Rocket Spanish. You get immediate access to 32 interactive audio lessons. These take the form of question/answer and short conversational snippets and work really well. To back up your understanding of any language, its often a good idea to see the words as they are being spoken and be able to relate them to sentence structures and to appreciate the context in which they are being used and this is where the complementary software package comes in. The software really makes leaning Spanish fun and interactive. You get 3 MegaSpanish games , MegaVocab which takes care of vocabulary, MegaAudio which helps with pronunciation and MegaVerbs). There are also several fun interactive quizzes and tests and whats even better is that you get lifetime access to the updates area where you can download any updates or additions to the program free of charge.

Almost uniquely for a product in this price range, you also get a load of video to help your studies. The videos are well produced and really help you to visualise the circumstances that you might find yourself in and how the language relates to them. This is one of the most powerful aspects of the course – just check out the sample below:

 

Can I Get A Free Trial Or Discount?

You bet you can. In fact you can sign up for Rocket Spanish right now and get a free, unlimited 6 day trial – just fill out the quick form below to get started. It’s worth remembering that Rocket Spanish is also one of the best priced products of its kind out there right now. To get the same kind of functionality you need to spend hundreds of dollars on other packages, and in some cases several thousand.

If you have access to an MP3 player and want to get started right away, then you can download the complete course for just $99.00 Of course, some people prefer to listen to this kind of thing in the bath, in the care or even while working out in the gym. If that’s the case, then you can buy the full package on CD – that’s 20 CD’s in total for just $299.95, although it’s worth pointing out that the content is exactly the same so there really is a chance to save a small fortune here by just investing in a cheap MP3 player and getting the downloadable version.

What About Support And Backup?

As with all of the Rocket products, I can safely say that the support is second to none. As well as the aforementioned free updates to the software you actually get 24 hour support via the forums and excellent e-mail support from their team of highly skilled language tutors. The forums are a big favorite of mine, because not only can you find people to help you but you can also get in touch with real native Spanish speakers and start to put your skills to the test. It’s like a sandbox for the Spanish language, and I have used it extensively. Top marks in this section.

Any Bad Points Then?

Well, not that many but I still feel that Rocket Spanish is a bit on the pricey side. Given that you can now download a number of free courses, albeit that they are nowhere near as comprehensive and effective as Rocket Spanish, the landscape is changing and people are starting to look around for more bargains. At just under $100 its hardly an impulse buy but, hopefully after reading this review you will have convinced yourself that Rocket Spanish is well worth the financial outlay.

The Verdict

Its hard to fault this product. The presentation and support are simply superb and the subject matter is comprehensive, accurate and very well thought out. If you don’t become a confident native Spanish speaker after using this course then maybe its time to think about learning another language. The only slight gripe is the price but, again, when comparing Rocket Spanish to its rivals, it favours very well in this area as well. Highly recommended if your are serious about teaching yourself or your family Spanish.

Tags : maurice evlampiev,rocet spanish,rocket spanish review