Rocket Spanish consists of a series of sound files that you listen to and practice with. It also comes with a variety of ebooks, in PDF form, which you can use on your computer. You get illustrated language lessons, software games to build your vocabulary, and more. There is also access to a forum on using the program where you can ask questions or join in the discussions.

Tips on Using Rocket Spanish

You can do everything at your computer, or you can put the sound files on an ipod or other mp3 player and use them at many different times. This is what I have done, and I find it very useful. For example, I walk a lot for exercise and I can put my mp3 player in my pocket, headphones on my head, and listen while I walk.

You can also listen while you are doing housework or at many other times. Once I was listening while taking the bus back from Guadalajara to the town near Lake Chapala, where I lived for several years. It’s only about an hour trip but somehow I got into a zone between being awake and being asleep, and the sounds of the dialogue went deep into me!

The grammar lessons and other PDF files are easy to do and can be done in the evening without a lot of alertness required!

Very Economical

The program can be downloaded at a very good price. I don’t put it here on the website because sometimes the Rocket Spanish people have specials, but you can find it here on their informative webpage. They offer the program both as a download which you can buy and immediately download and also, for a good bit more money, you can get it on a set of CDs which they will ship just about anywhere in the world.

The downloads are a very good deal, and even the CDs are not bad compared to other major  programs.

My Revisit

You can read my Rocket Spanish review here, which goes into more detail about the program.  I have not found anything of its type that I like as well. With the economy in its current condition, I think this is a very good choice. Note: if you are really strapped for funds, I suggest you explore some of the free websites first. Here is a link to a group of articles I have done about how to learn Spanish online for free. (I haven’t found any of the free places that I like as well as Rocket, but you might.)

Another reason I have become even more a fan of Rocket Spanish is something I mentioned under my tips. It is easy to work into your life. Since returning to the US from Mexico last year, I am certainly struck with how busy everyone seems to be here! Carrying around the sound files is a great way to learn some Spanish fast.

Rocket Spanish Revisited is a post from: Learn Spanish Rapidly: The Blog.

It happens that some of the various websites that promote Rocket Spanish online are pretty minimal. They are just built to get you to click through to Rocket Spanish, because then they will make a commission if you buy it. (I make a commission too, if you click through from here. As I explain on the About Us page of this site, as a former librarian I am pretty tough minded in evaluating programs. I do not think my opinions are for sale for a few bucks. The way I see it, the income from my websites enables me to write what I want to.)

So you may run across some websites that don’t really back up what they say. Then, as a reaction to that, I have seen several times on language forums where other people throw the baby out with the bath water: as a reaction to the promotional type of sites, some people jump to negative conclusions about Rocket Spanish itself.

But I have also seen forum comments where someone says they used it and liked it AND they are not selling it.

My own impression of Rocket Spanish, based on listening to some but not all of the lessons and examining the PDF files closely, is quite positive. I think a lot of work went into creating the structure and content of the course and into designing the presentation to be interesting.

The fact is, most people who set out on their own to learn another language tend to drop the project after a while. I’ve mentioned this before. So in my mind, a program that is designed to make learning Spanish more enjoyable, and that builds appropriate repetition, is a good program. And that’s why Rocket Spanish is one of my favorite programs.

Of course, you will make up your own mind as to what is best for you. See my comparison chart for learning Spanish or just take a look at the Rocket Spanish website itself.

Rocket Spanish: What Do People Think of It? is a post from: Learn Spanish Rapidly: The Blog.

The Rocket Spanish lessons are chatty.

Here’s what I mean: Amy Waterman, the American who dialogues with Mauricio Evlampieff, the native Spanish-speaker, will explain various aspects of a lesson. For example, you might have listened to a dialogue between them, and then she would talk about variations on a phrase or explain the meaning of a particular word more.

I like how this is done, but it did surprise me a little when I first started listening to the Rocket Spanish lessons. I guess I was expecting something more cut and dried, more traditional.

But then that’s a big part of why I like both Rocket Spanish and the multimedia program Fluenz Spanish. As relatively new creations, they focus more on making the language lessons enjoyable.

I for one think that’s a good idea. It’s enough of a challenge to create the habit of working on your Spanish – fitting it into your life just about every day – and things that are enjoyable are way more likely to become habits than things that aren’t.

See my comparison chart for the 5 main Spanish language programs I review.

One Thing You Should Know About Rocket Spanish is a post from: Learn Spanish Rapidly: The Blog.

Anyway, I thought it might be helpful to spell out what the two different ways are that you can get Rocket Spanish.

There is a noticeable price difference, though either way the program is one of the most economical ways to learn conversational Spanish along with a good bit of grammar, reading, and writing.

Their prices may change, and I think they sometimes may have specials, so I won’t list prices here. For the whole scoop on the program and prices,  just go to the Rocket Spanish website.

[1] INSTANT DOWNLOAD

The less expensive format is available for you to download right after you pay for it. A nice thing about that is that you can have the program so fast.  It comes as sound files and ebooks. You can listen to the sound files in the members area of the Rocket Spanish website, or you can download them. They are mp3 files, suitable for playing on an iPod or other device or on your computer. The Rocket Spanish site also offers to mail you the files on CD for an additional handling fee.

[2] HARDCOPY SET

This costs more but is more convenient if you would prefer to play the program on a regular CD player that doesn’t play mp3 files. The sound quality is said to be somewhat better, since the files aren’t compressed. (I have only listened to the downloadable ones and I thought they were fine.)

My Recommendation

It really depends on what you want to do. If you decide you’d like to use a regular CD player you already have, you might want the more expensive version.

On the other hand, if you wanted the less expensive version to play on a CD player that doesn’t play mp3s, I know that there is software you can download that would enable you to transfer the mp3 files to whatever format the CD players need… but I haven’t done this myself. This would take having some pretty good computer skills.
Or another choice would be to get the less expensive version of Rocket Spanish and to also buy yourself an iPod or other mp3 player. Here’s an Amazon link to the Apple iPod classic. You might spend a little more to get this and the downloaded Rocket Spanish than to  get the Rocket Spanish physical package, but then you’d have an iPod too!

Rocket Spanish Comes Downloadable or on CDs is a post from: Learn Spanish Rapidly: The Blog.

Which one would be best for you? It depends on what you need at this time. In a nutshell, I think Rocket Spanish is better just before a vacation trip where you will be speaking Spanish, and either is a good start for longer term Spanish learning. Rocket is way less expensive.

I’ll describe them both, but first I would like to set the stage by saying that I have listened to many of the basic Rocket Spanish lessons and some of the Pimsleur ones. I have also had long conversations with two of my friends who used Pimsleur. I actually like both programs a lot, but see different uses for them.

What is Pimsleur Spanish?

Using an approach called the Pimsleur Method, this course is a set of CDs which are arranged in three sets of 30 half-hour lessons, so there are 90 lessons in all. They give you a good grounding in thinking in basic Spanish, and are said to be really good for pronunciation. They are short on vocabulary, but this is on purpose, as the words you learn, you know really well due to repetition. The vocabulary is based on what a traveler to a Spanish-speaking country would want to know, but it does use some more old-fashioned and more formal phrases than are current in Latin America today. Not incidentally, it is expensive.

What is Rocket Spanish?

Rocket Spanish is a downloadable course of MP3 files (also available as a physical product for people who would rather  not download). It is designed specifically for people planning to go to a Spanish-speaking country, who want to be able to converse there. It comes with more add-on material than Pimsleur, so you can see the lessons you have been studying and learn some basic grammar. The dialogues take place between Mauricio, a Chilean, and Amy, an American who speaks Spanish. There are 31 lessons, and there is a second series which I haven’t seen yet.

Which is for you?

If you are planning a trip sometime soon to a Spanish-speaking country, I think Rocket Spanish is likely to do a better job of preparing you for the trip. (Assuming, of course, that you make a habit of listening to it!) It also has the benefits of being immediately downloadable and way less expensive.

If your long-term goal is to learn to speak Spanish, Pimsleur is a strong contender. The methodology behind the programs was well worked out initially and has stood the test of time. But Rocket Spanish would be a good start too. So in this case, it could come down to budget and to personal taste.

Rocket Spanish offers a free course by email, with sample lessons you can try. You can sign up for it from the sidebar of any page of this site: it says 6 Day on the image of the course. You can learn a bit of basic Spanish just from this.

To find out more, these links take you to my reviews of each program, with links to the purchasing options:

Pimsleur review

review of Rocket Spanish

Basic Spanish Lessons on Audio: Pimsleur Spanish vs. Rocket Spanish is a post from: Learn Spanish Rapidly: The Blog.

Here are the PDFs you get with Rocket Spanish. Maybe you get more now or I missed some… I have changed computers twice since I downloaded it!

That reference librarian background of mine does come out… I simply had to list how many pages each item has!

• The Conversation Course, 119 pages
• Instruction Manual, 11 pages
• MegaCards for Beginners, 28 pages
• Megacards Advanced Series, 20 pages
• Rocket Spanish Beginners Grammar, 218 pages
• Rocket Spanish Advanced Grammar, 162 pages
• Rocket Vocabulary Supplement, 50 pages.

Here is what each one does. You can print out the entire files or selected pages.

[1] The Conversation Course: I knew this had supplemental material for the audio lessons, from when I got the program a while back, but just now looking at it again, I am very impressed with what is here.

First – there’s a neat feature where you can click on a word that’s in the vocabulary box and hear it pronounced. Very useful for getting the right pronunciation! Also, there is a lot of explanation of context and politeness. Being polite is very important in Spanish-speaking cultures!

This screenshot shows both features (though I am not advanced enough in my computer skills to actually make the Spanish words clickable!)

[2] The Instruction Manual: gives you guidelines for how to make the best of the course. It’s also available as an mp3 file.

[3] The Megacards for Beginners: Basic vocabulary cards you can print out and cut apart.

[4] The Megacards, Advanced series: more of the same. Suggestions for how to play the MegaCard “game” are included with both sets. It’s vocabulary drill with some flair.

[5] Rocket Spanish Beginners Grammar: Tied in with the lessons, this is the most enjoyable grammar book I’ve seen. I like that it explains exceptions a lot too. Here is an example screenshot:

Now I never claim to have great grammar – I’ve learned much of my Spanish just by conversing and reading – but I was surprised that I picked up several things in the basic grammar book!

[6] Rocket Spanish Advanced Grammar: More of the same, divided because the books are pretty big. I think it would be a good idea for me to go through this one!

[7] Rocket Vocabulary Supplement: Each section contains vocabulary, but it doesn’t stop there. Next is a story written using the new words, followed by questions you can answer.

The more I browsed through these books, the more I liked the Rocket Spanish course – and I was already a fan! Click the link to go to the Rocket Spanish homepage.

Rocket Spanish Comes with a Lot of Written Material is a post from: Learn Spanish Rapidly: The Blog.

The other day I rode the bus from where I live, by Mexico’s Lake Chapala, into one of the shopping areas of Guadalajara.

With waiting times, it was almost an hour and a half each way. I took along my mp3 player, and listened to six lessons in that time. Well, on the way home in the late afternoon, I did doze a bit, but I don’t think I missed much!

I wanted to know several things:

• How thoroughly would Rocket Spanish prepare someone for a trip to a Spanish-speaking country?

• Would it be good for business travelers as well as tourists?

• What vocabulary did they start out with?

• Did the program give give clear explanations?

• Would it be suitable for teenagers or older children as well as adults?

After six or the thirty-one lessons, I have a good sense of the program. Maybe that is why the Rocket Spanish people give away a mini-series of these lessons free, so you can have a good sense of their product and if it would suit you.

Rocket Spanish consists of mp3 files you can listen to, with additional PDF files that are useful but not essential to the lessons. So it can be an on-the-go sort of program, as I discovered on the bus. They tell you right off that their purpose is to help you learn to understand spoken Spanish AND to be able to speak some yourself. There are lots of helpful tips to help you get the gist of a conversation in Spanish without necessarily catching it all. I liked this approach. Even now, I miss plenty when the Mexicans go fast!

Each lesson has a dialogue between Mauricio, a Chilean, and Amy, an American. Then they go through it bit by bit and explain not just the dialogue, but related words that come up.

There is lots of pronunciation practice, where Mauricio says a word or phrase and you repeat it. That’s to be expected, and it’s very useful. Amy points out subtleties, like how the Spanish word no is pronounced a little differently than ours.

By the end of six lessons, you have learned some common greetings and conversation, how to tell people you need things – from help to a cup of coffee – and the ever-important politeness words like thank you and please. You get started with numbers and telling time.

I thought they had introduced quite a good amount of vocabulary, including several basic verbs and a bit about the difference between the two verbs in Spanish for "to be" – ser and estar. They teach this by example, which is really the only way to master it in my mind.

Each lesson has a short review of some of the words you have learned previously, which is important for getting those words into long-term memory. I also liked how the program asks you questions which you then need to answer by putting together the words you have learned in slightly different ways. No mp3 file is the same as actually chatting in Spanish, but this does evoke it.

To find out more about Rocket Spanish:

• Read my review,

• Go right to their website… it’s chatty, informative, and enthusiastic…

• Or sign up for their free e-course in learning Spanish, from the left sidebar.

Rocket Spanish: Review of the First Six Lessons is a post from: Learn Spanish Rapidly: The Blog.