Learning Chinese is not easy. But you know what is even tougher? Picking an app to learn. There are so many programs available today. In this article, we review Rocket Chinese. We heard great things about Rocket Languages’ Mandarin course, so we decided to buy it and use it for 90 days. Find our full thoughts and analysis below.
To help you navigate this detailed review, we have included jump-to links above for your convenience.
In the video above, John from the Test Prep Insight team discusses the pros and cons of using Rocket Languages to learn Chinese. For more detail, continue reading our full, written review below.
Let’s start this post by covering how the Rocket Chinese program works and what the lessons are like. The Rocket Chinese course is divided up into three overarching levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced.
Within each of these levels, there are eight or nine learning modules. These modules then break down further into a number of lessons, with perhaps 15-20 per module. However, the interesting thing with Rocket Languages is that they actually have multiple types of lessons.
With companies like Duolingo, you generally get just one form of lesson, which you work over and over. However, with Rocket, they actually split your learning out into different types of lessons, which is unique.
First, there are the primary interactive audio lessons. There are usually four or five of these per module. Then there are the “language & culture lessons.” There are also about four or five of these lesson types per module.
Let’s talk about each of those lesson types, starting with the interactive audio lessons. In my opinion, these are the most valuable part of the Rocket Chinese program. These lessons are based around a conversation in Mandarin.
An English speaking moderator will walk you through a mock conversation between fluent Chinese speakers. As the conversation proceeds, the moderator will stop to explain what you just heard (word-by-word), discuss vocabulary and pronunciation tips, and give you a chance to practice your Chinese out loud. It’s basically a short conversation in Chinese that they dissect and use as a teaching point.
After the audio lesson, you then work a series of digital exercises and drills which are meant to reinforce what you just learned. These include flashcards, pronunciation practice, listening drills, and speed quizzes.
Plus, if you want, you can re-enact the mock conversation from the audio lesson by playing the role of one of the Chinese speakers. That’s essentially it as far as the interactive audio lessons go.
Then there are the “language & culture” lessons. In short, these lessons dive into detailed grammar information that would ruin the flow of the audio lessons if taught during the audio portion, but which you need to know.
The audio lessons focus more on your core learning and developing your ear for Chinese, as well as how to pronounce words. The “language &culture” lessons focus more on specific grammar and sentence structures. This includes points like how you can change the meaning of a sentence by adding or replacing a Chinese character.
Plus, these lesson types always include some interesting cultural notes as well, which is cool.
Honestly, that’s sort of it from a high level. Beyond these core lesson types, there really is not too much to the Rocket program apart from some expert tips and a few “survival kits.”
Alright, before we get right into the pros and cons of Rocket Chinese, let’s quickly discuss Rocket’s plans and pricing as they do things a little differently from most other language learning companies in terms of cost.
Rather than the traditional monthly subscription model, Rocket languages only sells lifetime plans. This means you purchase the course once and get access forever.
Because of this, Rocket Chinese is typically a little bit more expensive than your typical monthly subscription to Duolingo or Rosetta Stone, which costs $8 to $15 per month.
For example, the Level 1 Rocket Chinese package for beginners costs around $150. The Rocket Chinese Level 1 and 2 intermediate bundle costs $300. Finally, the Rocket Chinese Level 1, 2 and 3 advanced bundle costs around $450.
However, I think it’s important to note here that you’ll almost never pay full price with Rocket Languages, as they’re almost always running some sort of deal or special promotion. I usually see their courses discounted by 50% to 60% off, making the price much more reasonable, so be sure to check for coupon codes before buying.
Now that we’ve discussed how the Rocket Languages Chinese program works, and how much it costs, let’s get to the pros and cons of this course as I see them. Let’s begin with the positives.
To me, the clearest highlight of the Rocket program is their interactive audio lessons. These audio lessons are incredibly effective, and they’re what differentiate Rocket from other apps.
For these audio exercises, you have to be actively involved in following the conversation, think critically, and speak aloud when prompted. In my experience, when you have to listen, think critically, and respond quickly like this, it’s really effective for making the language stick. That might sound tough, but it’s very effective for learning Chinese.
The next strength I have noted for Rocket is how they actually make grammar instruction a priority. Chinese grammar is radically different from English, and it needs to be made a priority for you to truly become fluent.
The reality is that a lot of other apps aren’t great at teaching grammar. When you use programs like Duolingo, they might sprinkle grammar points in here and there, but it’s very light. Rocket Chinese, on the other hand, covers grammar in multiple ways. First, in the audio lessons, the moderator frequently stops to explain the most important grammar principles.
Then, the main share of the grammar instruction is delivered through the company’s “language & culture” lessons (the in-depth grammar lessons noted above). To be honest, Rocket’s grammar instruction might not be as fun or easy as it is with other apps, but in my opinion, it’s much more informative and effective.
I also like how Rocket Languages backs up its audio lessons with reinforcement drills. Sometimes when you’re done with an audio lesson, you realize you just learned a lot in a half hour. It goes fast and it’s all kind of swirling around in your head.
The reinforcement drills do a really nice job of helping to organize that newly learned material in your brain. For me personally, having these drills and exercises immediately follow the audio lesson was great for solidifying what I just learned in the audio portion. It’s kind of like class followed by homework, and this structure makes the material stick.
The final positive to note here is Rocket’s speech recognition technology. I won’t spend too much time on this topic as just about every app offers this, but I think Rocket’s speech software is pretty good.
Some other apps have either really junky software, or it’s overly sensitive, and it just doesn’t add much value. However, Rocket’s tech is actually pretty solid. It’s based on Google’s Web Speech API, which a lot of people consider to be one of the best speech tools out there. Plus, it gives you a grade from 1-to-100 each time, which I thought was helpful.
Next, let’s switch over to the things I don’t like about Rocket Chinese.
The first drawback I need to note is that Rocket Chinese might not be the best option for visual learners. The lessons lean heavily on audio and text, and if you’re a pure visual learner (or don’t want audio lessons), this will be an issue.
Some other programs, like Rosetta Stone, place a big emphasis on imagery and have a ton of visuals throughout their program. However, Rocket Chinese is more about developing your “ear” for Chinese and thinking critically in the context of spoken conversation. Thus, for purely visual learners or those who really need imagery to help learn new material, Rocket might not be ideal.
Though I really like Rocket’s audio lessons, they are pretty lengthy. These aren’t Duolingo lessons which take three minutes to finish, and you can do a half dozen in a sitting without even knowing it. To complete a full Rocket lesson (both the audio portion and reinforcement drills), it takes close to an hour end-to-end.
Of course, you can always pause a lesson in the middle and return to it later if you don’t have the time, but if you want to complete full lessons in one sitting, then Rocket might not be a great fit. If you’re looking for shorter 10- or 15-minute lessons to better fit your schedule, maybe check Rosetta Stone or Mondly.
The Rocket Chinese program overall just doesn’t have as much of a community feel to it as other language apps out there. There is a leaderboard where you can see how you compare with other Rocket users, as well as a forum where you can chat with others, but by and large, this is more of a self-study app.
This is in contrast with other language apps out there which focus on turning their user base into a community of sorts, like reddit. For example, Busuu actually has users provide feedback on each others’ speaking exercises, and Duolingo has a pretty unique community feel with its gamified language learning experience.
Thus, if interacting with other learners through your app directly is important to you, Rocket isn’t great about this aspect.
After using Rocket Chinese, I really like this app. Chinese is a very tough language to learn, and if you’re serious about learning more than just a few phrases or words for a trip or to impress some in-laws, I think Rocket is more effective than almost all of the other apps I’ve reviewed.
Again, if you just want some quick, 10-minute nightly lessons because you want to learn a few phrases before a trip, then I actually think other apps apps might be a better fit (and cheaper). However, if you’re looking to reach an intermediate to advanced level of fluency and hold conversations, then I think Rocket Chinese is one of the better options on the market as far as Chinese language programs go. The lessons are a little lengthy and intense, but the flip side of this is that they’re effective and actually work.
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After purchasing, using and reviewing Rocket Chinese, I found it to be a highly effective app. I’ve used a bunch of apps at this point, and Rocket Chinese is definitely one of the better ones. Their interactive audio lessons are fantastic.
Rocket Languages teaches Mandarin. They do sometimes call out differences among dialects and compare Mandarin to Cantonese and Hakka in the “language & culture” lessons, but the focus is on Mandarin.
The level 1 Rocket package for beginners costs around $150, the level 1 and 2 intermediate bundle costs $300, and their advanced bundle with all 3 levels costs around $450. However, you can almost always find the Rocket Chinese course on sale for at least 50% or 60% off. Check here for discounts.