Rocket French is a French online program by Libros Media Ltd. Like all Rocket Languages programs, it teaches using an immersion method so that you can learn French in the shortest amount of time possible. I could not find a decent Rocket French review online, so I contacted the company to get a review copy to let you know what I think.
This is going to be a full review, so feel free to click here if you’d like to visit the Rocket French Official Website.
The program progresses as a variety of dialogues between two characters, Paul and Marie-Claire. Paul is British, while Marie-Claire is French. They walk you through several scenarios like basic greetings and introductions, shopping, eating in restaurants, asking directions, buying wine and many other situations you might find yourself in while on vacation in a French-speaking country.
I used this program to teach my husband and daughter French. He had been trying for years, but she was always reluctant to speak and get comfortable with the language. Like many people, despite the fact that it has won a few awards I was skeptical about the quality of this online French program compared to more familiar programs (Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur etc), but I have to say that overall I was pleasantly surprised by what I found as well as with the results my family experienced. Let me break it down for you.
The Bad Points
- This program moves really fast. There is definitely repetition and words and phrases are broken down into bite-sized chunks, but just be aware that it’s up to you to go back and review the section again, if you want more practice. If you like a method that only covers one basic concept in each level, then this program isn’t for you.
- This might seem petty, but the banter between the characters is corny as hell! I mean really bad! I’m not sure why they tried to include these little jokes along the way, but I found them quite distracting in the beginning. It was a little like watching the Sitch from Jersey Shore try to do comedy on the Donald Trump Roast. I have to say though, that these jokes seemed to make the program more memorable for my family. So who knows, maybe that’s why they included them.
The Good Points
- Rocket French follows a coherent course structure. As mentioned above, you are brought through a wide variety of real-life situations. Each one builds upon the previous one so there is a decent amount of review yet you also cover a lot of ground. Enough to feel confident that you can manage in many different settings.
- The course uses various methods to teach French. For example, there are the basic audio lessons, but they also include vocabulary builders, quizzes, games, culture lessons and a few other tools to help you build up a good base of vocabulary and grammar. Each person has a different way of learning (auditory, visual or kinesthetic). With so many tools, students are bound to find a tool that will help them retain the language.
- Lessons are delivered online, but can also be downloaded to mp3s, so you can take them with you.
- They have a forum and hotline you can use to answer any questions you have along the way. We didn’t use it, so I cannot attest to their efficiency, but it’s good to know you have this option.
- This is a very affordable course. You can purchase the course on CD which would run you about $300, but the option that most ev
eryone chooses is the online version which is only $99. - It comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee. The course should take about 10 weeks to go through anyway, so you can actually study the bulk of the course before deciding whether or not you want your money back.
Who Is The Rocket French Course For?
Rocket French is for people who want to learn the maximum amount of French in the shortest time possible and feel confident in their abilities. Don’t think this is going to make you completely fluent in French. No product can do that. But you will be confident in what you have learned and not be ashamed to speak. You will also see why I consider French the easiest language to learn.
This is exactly what my husband and daughter experienced. Where they used to get hung up on accents and sounding dumb, now they move forward and get their point across. In fact, my daughter started taking a bilingual French class on Mondays and her teacher just recommended that she move into the all French class next September (all the other kids are staying in the bilingual class). She still makes some mistakes, but the confidence is definitely there and the only change we made was adding this course. I think you’ll also be pleasantly surprised with this learn French online program.
I hope this review has been helpful to you.
Cheers!
Nadine