Rocket French might not get the fanfare of more popular language apps like Duolingo and Rosetta Stone, but don’t let that fool you. After using this program for three months, I have to admit that I was very impressed.
Rocket Languages
- Free Trial
- Money Back Guarantee
Pros
- Extremely deep French language curriculum
- Great program for auditory learners with focus on audio lessons
- In-depth verbal practice exercises
- Detailed grammar lessons are useful and digestible
- Excellent speech recognition technology (powered by Google)
- Flexible learning framework because of the audio lessons
Cons
- Lessons are a little long (~one hour)
- Not an ideal program for visual learners (limited images and graphics)
- No community feel among users
How The Rocket French Program Works
I’ve used and reviewed a bunch of different French language apps at this point, and I would say that Rocket French is pretty different than most. For one thing, Rocket’s lessons are much more in-depth and comprehensive than lessons from other apps.
For example, if you consider the standard lessons from the three most popular apps on the plant (Babbel, Duolingo and Rosetta Stone), the lessons are very short and fast-moving. It has sort of become the standard.
However, the Rocket French lessons are not like that at all. They are much more focused on learning to speak and understand spoken French. In other words, they focus on the verbal aspects of the language.
Rocket mainly teaches via audio lessons. Let me explain. At the heart of every Rocket lesson is an interactive audio exercise where an English-speaking moderator guides you through a mock conversation between fluent French speakers.
These audio exercises take around 20 to 30 minutes to complete each, and the moderator is always stopping to explain things to you, such as what words mean, how they’re being used in terms of grammar, and literal vs actual translations into English.
Moreover, the moderator frequently asks you questions, or prompts you to repeat phrases to keep you engaged. Plus, it’s not just audio lessons.
After each audio exercise, you work through a dedicated grammar and culture lesson, as well as some other drills that focus on writing and reading. This is to cover all your bases—not just listening and speaking.
To be honest, Rocket French does lean more heavily on listening and speaking than other French apps I’ve reviewed as the audio exercises are the backbone of each lesson, but overall, it’s pretty comprehensive coverage.
Rocket French Price
That is how the Rocket course works from a high-level. Before we dive right into what I think of this app and compare it against others, let’s quickly talk about the cost of Rocket since they use a different pricing structure than most apps.
The biggest issue with Rocket French is that there are no cheap monthly subscription options like you get with Busuu, Babbel or Rosetta Stone. Rocket only offers one-time purchase, lifetime access plans. And at first glance, they’re not cheap.
Looking at their website, each package costs a few hundred dollars. But here’s the thing—you’ll never pay that full price.
Rocket is always running sales, and you can find their full French course (with levels 1, 2 and 3) for $180.
Although that might even sound expensive, it’s not too bad for a lifetime subscription. For reference, the lifetime packages from Babbel and Pimsleur cost around $300 and $450, respectively. Thus, in reality, it’s not actually that bad.
The Benefits of Using Rocket French
Now that I’ve covered how the Rocket French program works and what it costs, let’s get to the major positives and negatives that I found with this program as I used it. Let’s start with the pros.
Perfect For Auditory Learners
As you may be able to guess, I believe the Rocket French program is perfect for auditory learners, as its curriculum is centered around audio exercises.
If you learn best by absorbing and remembering information through listening, and you have a strong ability to understand and recall spoken content, then this course is likely a great fit for you.
This program provides much more exposure to spoken French than other apps I’ve tested, and I appreciate that the audio exercises include prompts to actively participate in conversations, rather than just passively listening.
Bottom line, I think this program is ideal for auditory learners and those who want to focus on spoken French.
Ultra Deep Curriculum Compared To Other Apps
The next advantage I discovered was how comprehensive the Rocket French grammar instruction is. Most other apps, like Duolingo and Rosetta Stone, barely touch on grammar, while Rocket provides dedicated and detailed grammar lessons, which get way into the weeds on French grammar rules.
The nice thing, however, is that they’re not super boring like textbook or classroom instruction. The lessons are interactive, which increases engagement, and they also offer cultural insights, which help you better understand French expressions and slang known used by locals.
Basically, Rocket goes above and beyond in providing both grammar and cultural understanding, and I really like that.
The Ultimate Flexibility In Learning
I really like how flexible the Rocket program is. Because a significant portion of the Rocket curriculum is audio-based, it gives you a ton of flexibility as to when, where and how you choose to do your lessons.
Unlike a lot of other popular language learning apps, such as Duolingo, Busuu and Rosetta Stone, you don’t need to constantly focus on a screen.
Instead, during the audio lessons, you can kill two birds with one stone and do your laundry or walk the dog. Also, the audio lessons make Rocket a great choice for commuters.
In short, the flexibility of how and when you can do Rocket French lessons is a big perk.
Lots of Opportunity To Practice Speaking
In addition to the audio lessons, I also like that Rocket provides a ton of opportunity to actually speak French. Surprisingly, a lot of other apps don’t do this.
Most other apps will just have you repeat a few phrases in each lesson without context. Rocket goes deeper though by having you role play mock conversations. Let me explain.
After each audio exercise, you have the option to replay the conversation, but rather than just listening, you step into the shoes of one of the fluent speakers. In this way, you get actual conversational practice that requires you to think on your feet and speak aloud, just like you would in real life situations.
This is an extremely valuable part of the language acquisition process in my opinion, and honestly, it’s one of the key differentiators between Rocket from other French courses I’ve used.
Survival Kits
Finally, the last thing worth noting is Rocket’s survival kits. These are special lessons that Rocket layers into their program.
They focus on need-to-know essentials and words you 100% need to have in your vocabulary to get by in France. This includes things like the days and months, counting, ordering at restaurants, different food and drinks, life in Paris, etc.
In short, it’s stuff that is difficult for them to work into standard lessons, but stuff you still need to know to get by. For some reason, I really like these quick-hit lessons and they add a lot of value for polishing up your French.
The Drawbacks of Using Rocket French
Those are the positives I found with Rocket French. Now let’s get to the negatives.
Lessons Are Long
The first negative I can see with this program is the flip side of one of my positives. While I really like how in-depth and comprehensive the Rocket lessons are, they’re also very lengthy.
The lessons from Babbel and Duolingo are much more cursory than Rocket’s, but they’re also very manageable. They only take 5 or 10 minutes each. With Rocket, however, the lessons are pretty lengthy.
Each full lesson takes around an hour or so to complete with the interactive audio exercise, various practice drills that follow the audio portion, and the grammar instruction.
You can always pause and come back to a lesson (I did this pretty frequently), but it’s also less than ideal. You need to take a pretty honest look at your schedule and learning goals.
If you’re only planning to dedicate a few minutes per day towards learning French, or you’re going to break up your learning into multiple shorter segments throughout each day, then perhaps an app like Babbel or Rosetta Stone would be a better fit with their short lesson format.
Bad For Visual Learners
I don’t think Rocket French is a great fit for visual learners. The curriculum of this French program is almost entirely audio and text-based.
There is absolutely no video, and very few images. Thus, if you’re a visual learner, rather than an auditory learner, I’m not sure Rocket is going to be the best fit for your learning style.
If this is the case, I’d suggest you check out either Lingopie or Rosetta Stone. Learning style is a big deal when it comes to language apps, so make sure to take this into consideration.
No Community Among Users
One other thing missing from this program that I really like with other apps is a community feel. Some other programs like Memrise, Duolingo, and Busuu have a really strong community feel among users.
You compete in leagues, share exercises for review, and connect to stay motivated. Well, that’s not Rocket French at all if that’s what you’re looking for.
Rocket Languages has a leaderboard to see how much progress you’re making compared to others, but that’s about it. Therefore, if this is something that’s important to you, keep that in mind.
Final Thoughts & Verdict On Rocket
Having used and thoroughly tested out this program for a few months now, I do think Rocket is a good app to learn French. In fact, it’s one of my favorites.
I do have a few minor complaints, such as the lack of visuals and community feel, but overall, this is definitely one of the most comprehensive and well-designed courses I’ve tried.
They more or less offer everything you could ask for in a language program: exposure to fluent French speakers through audio exercises; tons of speaking practice in the form of mock conversations; and thorough grammar instruction.
There is just a lot to like here, and I found the app to be super effective. So bottom line, if you’re serious about learning French, I have no hesitation recommending Rocket Languages. They get my stamp of approval.
In my opinion, Rocket French is one of the top three French language apps available. With in-depth audio lessons, fun practice drills, and detailed grammar instruction, it is a great program.
There are only a handful of language learning apps that offer French audio lessons, but among them, Rocket is likely my favorite. Pimsleur has good audio lessons as well, but Rocket’s offer deeper insight into grammar and more opportunity to practice speaking aloud.
There are no monthly subscription plans with Rocket French. Rocket only offers one-time purchase, lifetime access plans. However, while they appear expensive on their website, you’ll never pay that full price. Rocket is always running sales, and you can find their full French course (with levels 1, 2 and 3) for $180.
