Rocket French Review: What You Need to Know (Pros & Cons)
Kelsey Wetherbee
Published on May 26, 2022
Useful for learning beginner French, but not for advanced levels
Rocket French is one of the 13 language courses developed by Rocket Languages. During the 15-40 minute lessons, you train all skills related to language learning, such as reading, writing, listening, and speaking. There are 3 levels available, and if you complete all of them will get you to an intermediate level, but not advanced.
PROS
- Easy to follow lesson plan
- Culture topics integrated into the lessons
- Activities to practice all skills to learn a new language
CONS
- Too much English used in advanced levels
- Repetitive activities
- Not enough grammar practice
Table of Contents
Rocket French Overview Rocket French Price Rocket French Review: How It Can (or Can’t) Help You- Challenge 1: Beginning a New Language
- Challenge 2: Learning & Remembering New Words
- Challenge 3: Understanding & Speaking to Native Speakers
- Challenge 4: Making Language Learning a Routine
- Rocket French vs Mondly
- Rocket French vs Pimsleur
- Rocket French vs MosaLingua
- Rocket French vs FrenchPod101
Rocket French Overview
As one of the most spoken languages in the world, French is a valuable language to learn. Rocket French could be your first step to speaking with a native French speaker in Paris. This review looks at Rocket French to see if it is a good option to learn French.
Rocket French is one of the courses offered by Rocket Languages. It is both an online platform and mobile app that teaches you language and culture. The lessons use an effective style. You listen to a conversation between two French native speakers, and then they break down what you heard to teach different vocabulary and grammar points. There are also many practice exercises to help you remember what you learned.
Rocket French is best for beginners and low intermediate learners. When you are just starting French, it’s beneficial to have more English explanations, and Rocket French makes sure you won’t get lost or overwhelmed in your first few lessons. But even after completing all 3 levels available, you probably won’t be at an advanced level and will need other resources to continue your French learning journey.
Rocket French Price
Rocket French charges by the level and you get lifetime access to the course. There isn’t a discount for buying more levels at once. Level 1 costs $149.95. If you by levels 1 & 2 together it costs $299.90. All 3 levels cost $449.85
Most language apps have a subscription on a monthly basis, so paying the price for the entire level can seem quite high. Because of this, Rocket offers a 6-month payment plan. There is also a 60-day guarantee and Rocket will refund your money if you aren’t happy with the course.
Other apps that charge by the level are Pimsleur and Fluenz. If paying monthly is better for your budget, you can try an app like FrenchPod101 or Lingodeer. For every language, there are always a few free apps available, and for French, the best free apps are Duolingo and Clozemaster.
Rocket French Free Trial
Before you buy, you can access a free 7-day trial to Rocket French. You don’t have to enter any credit card information to start the trial. I thought the trial was very limited because you only have access to the first few lessons of each level.
Rocket French Discount
Rocket Languages always offers discount for their language courses. Once you sign up for the trial, you are offered various discounts and coupons to motivate you to buy the entire level of Rocket. There is no need to pay full price because there are many discounts available.
Rocket French Review: How It Can (or Can’t) Help You
Getting started on Rocket French is very easy. You have to enter your name and email address, but nothing else. No credit card information is required. Once you enter the site, you go to the Dashboard. This shows you the lessons that are available and you can also track your progress. The platform and app are very user friendly so you won’t have any problem finding the first lesson that you should start with.
Getting started on the app is very easy, but learning a language can be difficult. There are some common challenges that most learners face. Let’s take a look to see how Rocket French overcomes these difficulties.
Challenge 1: Beginning a New Language
Rocket French is a wonderful app for people who are just starting to learn French. The first few lessons are very easy and made me feel comfortable as a French beginner. Because a lot of the explanations are in English, I wasn’t lost and could easily follow the topics we learned about in the lessons.
Challenge 2: Learning & Remembering New Words
Rocket French is very focused on helping you learn vocabulary. With each lesson, you are introduced to various words and phrases. With each practice activity, you solidify your knowledge of these phrases. First you listen to the phrases, then write, then speak. There are other apps out there that better for only learning vocabulary such as Drops or Memrise, but Rocket French does a decent job of incorporating vocabulary into their lessons.
Challenge 3: Understanding & Speaking to Native Speakers
Unless you are using a platform like HelloTalk or Preply, it’s difficult to practice speaking. Rocket does a good job of helping to bridge the gap between learning on an app and speaking with an actual person. In every lesson, you listen to native speakers, which can help train your ear. Rocket also has dialogues so you can pretend that you’re having a conversation with someone in France. While it’s not as useful as speaking with a real person, it’s a good alternative to help you start speaking the language.
Challenge 4: Making Language Learning a Routine
It’s important to establish a routine when learning a language to make sure you are consistent. Rocket French has a few features that will keep you motivated, but not many. Rocket French does have some gaming features such as leaderboards, points, and streaks. In the end, it’s up to every learner to develop a routine that works well for them.
Rocket French Review: Overall Learning Experience
I enjoyed learning with Rocket French. I have a low-intermediate level, but felt that I could easily follow the lessons and was advancing quickly. If I was more advanced, I don’t think that Rocket would help me very much. The lessons, even for the advanced levels, use a lot of English and aren’t that challenging.
I do like the format of the lessons. You listen to an audio and then practice what you learned by doing different writing, speaking, and listening exercises. It’s a little repetitive, but frequent exposure to the same content is what helps most people remember.
I also really liked the cultural aspect that’s incorporated into the lessons. Culture is such a big part of learning the language, so I’m always glad to learn more about different countries and see how it affects the language. Not all apps include culture in their lessons. The apps that use short lessons are focused on translation and don’t bother with culture.
Rocket French Review: Areas of Improvement
Rocket French is a useful way to learn the language, but there are still some areas that could be improved. My main complaint is that Rocket French is not good for upper-intermediate and advanced users. At most, the last level of the course will get you to an upper-intermediate level, but not more than that.
There also aren’t enough ways to practice grammar. Many apps try to teach grammar in context of the lessons, but for adults, I believe that teaching grammar and then drilling it is one of the best ways to learn and memorize these important topics. Rocket French only has a few multiple choice quiz questions, and that’s it. There aren’t enough dirlls/practices to help learn the conjugations of verbs and other nuances of French.
Finally, the practive activities can get a little repetitive. Each lesson has between 20-60 words and phrases that you are supposed to learn. First, you practice with flashcards, and then hear the word and write it, and finally, you take a quiz. In the end, all the activities are using the same words and phrases.
Rocket French Review: Alternatives & Competitors
Rocket French is a good app, but maybe it’s not right for you. There are many other alternatives out there. Paying for the entire level of Rocket French is expensive, but there are cheaper alternatives such as Mondly and Memrise. One of the most similar apps is FrenchPod101. I like learning vocabulary with MosaLingua or Drops. For apps that practice all areas of French, Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone have well-established programs. If you want to take classes with a tutor, LingoCulture is a good choice.
Rocket French vs Mondly
Mondly is another app that is good for beginners. It uses AI technology and algorithms to create a personalized experience. It has short, quick lessons so you can complete multiple lessons every day. Mondly is cheaper on a monthly basis and is one of the least expensive apps available. Although I do like Mondly, I think Rocket French is better for having a better understanding of the language. If you are interested in Mondly, you can read more about it in this review.
Rocket French vs Pimsleur
Pimsleur and Rocket French are comparable because they both feature a conversation/dialogue between native speakers in each lesson. Pimsleur has a much stronger focus on pronunciation and helps you focus on learning how to speak correctly. Rocket is good because it focuses more on conversation and cultural topics. Pimsleur offers a monthly subscription which makes it cheaper, but I think that Rocket French is the better choice. If you are interested in Pimsleur, you can read more about it here.
Rocket French vs MosaLingua
MosaLingua and Rocket French have different types of lessons. MosaLingua offers quick, 5-minute lessons that mostly focus on vocabulary and translation. Rocket’s lessons are more in-depth and provide explanations and cultural context. MosaLingua’s monthly subscription is one of the cheapest options availble. If you are a casual learner or just trying out the language, MosaLingua is good, but to have a deeper understanding of French, Rocket is a better choice. You can read more about MosaLingua in this review.
Rocket French vs FrenchPod101
FrenchPod101 is very similar to Rocket French because they both use audio lessons and English explanations to teach French. The main difference is the cost of a subscription. While it seems expensive to buy the levels of Rocket French upfront, in the end, FrenchPod101 might be more expensive if you have to pay for many months. Since they are so similar and have free trials, check them both out and then decide! You can also read more at this FrenchPod101 review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rocket French is an online platform and mobile app that helps you learn French. Most lessons are audio-based and include additional practice activities to help reinforce what you learned. The lessons are 15-40 minutes each.
In my opinion, you won’t become fluent with Rocket French. It is a very good app for beginners, and carefully walks new learners through the French language. But there is not much content that will benefit a French learner at an advanced level.
You buy Rocket French by the level. Level 1 costs $149.95. If you by levels 1 & 2 together it costs $299.90. All 3 levels cost $449.85.
That depends on your learning style. Rocket French is better for serious learners who want to understand all the details of the language and culture. Duolingo is better for casual learners who are happy to learn some useful words and phrases or prepare for an upcoming trip.
About This Rocket French Review
This is an independent Rocket French review, and the company has not sponsored this article. To write this review, I used the free trial to the app and used it for a few hours to thoroughly test its content and features. I also found additional information on the Rocket Languages website to verify my findings.
