I love that Rocket and Pimsleur’s audio lessons prompt you to use vocabulary and respond to native speakers in the context of simulated conversations. I’m a big fan of both and believe they are more effective than the lessons from other language learning companies like Rosetta Stone and Duolingo. I will break down how the Pimsleur programs works in greater detail below, but the main thing you need to know is that the audio lessons from each company are VERY similar.īot companies make guided audio lessons the central component of their course and focus on learning via listening and speaking. Without a doubt, the greatest similarity between these two companies is their interactive audio lessons. Now that you have an idea of how the Rocket Languages program works, let’s get into our evaluation of Rocket, especially as they compare to Pimsleur. Strengths Of The Rocket Languages Program These include variations of flashcards, speaking drills, writing drills, and quizzes, among other exercise types. You’ll read a quick paragraph explanation containing grammar rules and cultural insights, review a few examples to ensure you understand, and then jump immediately into another.įinally, to round out each lesson (audio and language), you review what you just learned through several short, reinforcement exercises. The Rocket Languages program focuses on audio lessonsįollowing these audio lessons, you then work through the language & culture lessons, which are sort of like compressed digital textbooks (available for all Rocket languages, including German, French, Italian, and Japanese).
Thus, you can really think of these interactive audio lessons as guided conversations. Then you’ll dive into the actual conversation where you listen to native speakers converse.Įvery few sentences, the moderator will stop to explain what you just heard, provide some helpful tips and explanations, and most importantly, ask you questions to have you engage and participate in the conversation. The moderator will start by explaining what the purpose of the lesson is, the reasoning behind it, and the context for the conversation you’re about to hear. In the interactive audio lessons, a moderator speaking in English walks you through a conversation in your target language step-by-step. This will help paint a fuller picture for our thoughts on Rocket, as well as comparing Rocket to Pimsleur below.įrom a high level, Rocket Languages splits their program into two different types of lessons: (1) interactive audio lessons and (2) language & culture lessons. Let’s kick this comparison off by talking about the structure and format of Rocket Language’s lessons. Claim Discount What The Rocket Languages Lessons Are Like