Contents
When the company I worked for, selected me for an onsite opportunity for a client in Spain, I was excited.
This would be my first time outside my home country, and the thought of spending a full year in a foreign country was frightening as much as it was exciting.
With just three months to go, I decided I needed to work on getting acquainted with the Spanish language, as I had to deal with Spanish bosses, colleagues, and several natives on an everyday basis.
Knowledge of the language was a must-have, and it worried me that I had very little time on my hands.
For me, learning Spanish was not the only thing that mattered. I wanted to learn the way of life with the local community, to be able to use Spanish with the natives like a native, and learn the fine cultural nuances of the language. I wanted my Spanish to flow freely, without having to pause and fidget for the right word to say.
I was determined to find a course that suited me, but I had very little time to give to my Spanish lessons. Being a full-time worker was hard, and the only time that I had on my hands was the weekends. I decided to look for an online course to match my pace of learning.
And the search began
I asked friends, family, and colleagues to refer me to good courses in Spanish. There were a few suggestions, but when I tried their trial versions, I did not feel very happy about the way of instruction in those courses. I wanted something that connected with me as a non-speaker, not something that pushed complex grammar rules in my face, and made learning seem like a dry, dull chore.
How I came across the Rocket Spanish program
While I checked trial versions of various other programs, this one program called “Rocket Spanish” caught my eye. I was quite impressed to learn that PC Mag had recognized the learning software to be one of the best in the area. This was of course not the only feather in its cap.
The program had been recognized by a lot of customers and corporations, and everyone seemed to have a very good experience with it.
I decided to sign up for the trial version, and believe me; I have never been so delighted to use a software product before. The interface was so easy to use, and audio lesson number one was extremely simple to understand.
The audio focuses on repeat and reinforces concepts, which help difficult words stick to your brain and never leave you when you need them. The first audio course was a role play, where I as the learner, was required to repeat the words and phrases used a number of times. The simple explanation and stress on pronunciation made it much easier for me to learn words correctly the first time through.
Signing up for Rocket Spanish
I immediately signed up for the “The Works” program. It has been one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.
Though the original price was $449.85, I was lucky to get the course at an early-bird sale for nearly half the price – $249.90. The payment process was easy and before I knew it, I had the entire set of course materials before me.
What I was offered
I was amazed at how comprehensive this course was. The author has gone through great detail in order to cover the finer nuances of learning the language. It is not just the language he focuses on; he takes care to enable a flow, to set the perfect tone for the Spanish speaker. The course attempts well at instilling a sense of Spanish culture as the lessons proceed.
When the course arrived, it had:
- 98 exciting Spanish audio lessons
- 87 Spanish language and culture lessons
- A combination of three survival kits – The Premium Survival Kit, The Premium Plus Survival Kit, and the Platinum Survival Kit
- 185 Flashcard sets
- Advanced techniques to learn Spanish
Apart from all this, I had tools:
- To monitor the progress being made
- Voice Recognition Phrases
- To build my vocabulary using My vocab builder
- To access the leader board
The course looked so inviting, that I decided to delve deep into the wonderful world of the Rocket Spanish course right away.
My experience with Rocket Spanish
Since I worked full-time, I decided to make good use of my one-hour commute to the office every day. So, for the next three months, I made it a point to listen and work on these audio lessons on my way to work and on the way back home.
I first thought it would be tiring to relentlessly use up my mental energy each day this way, but I was wrong.
This course gave my mind a well-deserved break. I began to enjoy my commute every day, speaking little words in Spanish, repeating phrases after Mauricio and Amy. They were my best partners in this beautiful, Spanish learning ride.
Before I knew it, I was talking and laughing with them, participating in role plays and feeling proud of myself as I uttered complex phrases without difficulty.
Each part of this course was brilliant, in its own way.
The Interactive audio lessons
This section consists of 22 modules, each depicting everyday life scenarios. Each module contains a number of interactive voice lessons.
Each interactive voice/audio lesson consists of:
- A conversation between the speakers
- A detailed lesson explaining the conversation between the speakers
- Separate role play audios by each of the speakers
- A conversation transcript in English for each line in the conversation
- A voice recognition tool to assess how accurate your way of saying the phrase/word is
- Extra vocabulary that may be used in such a conversation
- Tests at the end of each audio lesson
There are tests conducted at the end of each lesson.
A Hear it! Say it! Test:
Here, a phrase is played to which you must say an appropriate phrase in response. The system grades you based on the accuracy of the response.
A Write It! Test:
Here, a phrase is played, and you will have to write the phrase in the space provided.
The system grades you based on the accuracy of the written phrase.
A Know It! Test:
An English phrase is presented to you. You will have to say the Spanish equivalent of the phrase provided.
The system records your response and grades you based on the accuracy of the response.
A Quiz:
An audio conversation is played, and questions are asked based on this conversation.
A Play It! Test:
This allows you to practice role-play as different characters in the conversation.
There are four levels with increasing levels of difficulty. In the first level, the phrases are shown on the screen to practice. But as the levels increase in difficulty, these phrases are expected to be spoken from memory.
The Language and Cultural lessons
There are 22 modules under this section, each containing a number of similar voice lessons as explained above.
These lessons focus on cultural aspects, accents, and the way of life of Spaniards through a series of interactive everyday audio conversation lessons.
The Survival Kit
The Survival Kit contains words and phrases most used in day-to-day life conversations. It covers important words with respect to body parts, days of the week, numbers, and a lot more other important words needed in everyday conversation.
This section is rightly named The Survival Kit. It indeed is!
FlashCards
There is an option to include flashcards as a part of our learning experience by adding important phrases and words whenever we encounter them.
This definitely helps reinforce whatever has already been learned. Flashcards provide a quick and easy way for recollection of learned words and phrases.
Moreover, visual cues can help the learner grasp and learn things much more quickly.
Extra features that make me happy
- The course claims to have 24/7 forum and email support, so I can turn to them for help if needed.
- Lifetime access to all the lessons on the product
- Free updates to the product
- All lessons are downloadable
- 60-day money-back guarantee for dissatisfied customers (not that you will need it)
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Well-designed product
- Great lessons
- Downloadable content
- Easy to use
- Promotes quick learning
Cons:
- At $449.85, it seems a little expensive, but if you catch the occasional early bird offer, you can grab it for $249.90. A steal at half the price!
My adventures in Spain
I spent a whole year in Spain, relishing every single moment of Spanish culture. The culture here is so beautiful; I couldn’t help not falling in love.
I could communicate amazingly well with not only my colleagues and bosses there but also with natives, who really appreciated my efforts in learning their language.
I built many great friendships along the way, which would have been impossible had I not learned this amazing language.
Once here, I truly understood the power a language could have in breaking barriers and truly connecting with the hearts of people.
The company I was working for back home was proud of me for having built such a great connection with the client over a period of just a few months.
I am grateful for the wonderful and timely help that Rocket Spanish provided me, and I invite you all to experience the same.
I don’t write a lot of reviews, but when a product works for me, I make sure I spread the word.
Writing this review is the least I could do to help make sure this reaches as many people as possible. In a world where a lot of fake products are constantly overshadowing potentially good ones, genuine reviews like these really help people like me make better decisions.
If you are in need of a quick and easy way to learn Spanish, I fully recommend you to buy this course.
I wish you the best in the journey of learning this beautiful language.
Esto es legitimo! In just a few months, I can say I’m more knowledgeable in the spanish languange than I was years ago when I enrolled in one! Not only does this offer you to learn at home, but you have the ability to choose your time frames (whenever you want to study).
Wow, this thing is amazing! Absolutely no fluff and minimum of time. And now I’m ready for my holidays in Spain 🙂
I have just received a scholarship to study in Spain. I am told that the requirements are for me to learn and understand Spanish. On the internet searching for the best tool, I came across this post. I am now on my second month and the Spanish is coming out well.
Thank you for sharing this Spanish course. It finally helped me in securing a place in a top university in Spain. I’m glad I ran into this blog. Thanks.
If you are a student flying to Spain or have recently been hired by a Spanish company, then this course is a must for you.
Great piece of writing, i’m really impressed by the writing style and information shared in this review. As a spanish learner i love it because it helps me in making my way more clear. Thank a lot.
You know these lessons are worth your time when you could already understand and converse with your Spanish friend. It greatly impressed them too and I couldn’t believe how easy it is to understand.
My girlfriend wants to learn Spanish, it was a new years resolution for her, and so we started looking on the internet for online courses. Just found your blog and it sounds great. I think we are definitely going to try it!
Rocket Spanish is an online Spanish course by Rocket Languages. It’s the biggest selling course in the Rocket Languages lineup — particularly popular for folks wanting casual, conversational Latin American Spanish.
The idea behind Rocket Spanish is that it supposedly focuses on the most useful grammar and vocabulary first, rather than bogging you down with stuff you don’t need to begin with.
Learn enough on what you want to know. Who thought that i could learn spanish in a matter of few weeks. I never expected this.
Ask almost any language learner and, even if they haven’t had personal experience with this program, they’ve at least heard of Rocket Languages.
Easy to follow along. It includes clear instructions for pronunciation, repetition, and other tips for beginners. It uses different colors: green, yellow, and red, along with percentages to help you identify just how difficult the pronunciation was for you.