With plenty of learn Spanish language courses on the market it is often hard to work out what to go for and what really suits your learning style. This article will compare Rocket Spanish to Rosetta Stone Spanish. Hopefully, you will then be able to make a better decision about whether one of these courses is for you.

The first thing to say is that Rosetta stone is predominantly a software program. It is one of the better learn Spanish software programs in fact but if you don’t have time to sit at a computer or prefer to learn  in another way then it might not be for you. They do have an audio companion guide now – (CD’s you can load on your ipod and play whenever you feel like it).

Rocket Spanish also requires you to spend a fair amount of time at a computer. For instance the three games (which are similar in style to Rosetta Stone) have to be played from a PC or Mac computer.

If you want to use the feedback features of Rocket Spanish then you also need to be logged onto their website.

Rosetta Stone uses their unique ‘Dynamic Immersion’ technique to teach you Spanish. Basically this involves no conscious thinking on your part. You are immersed in the Spanish speaking world and pick up words through practice and repetition.

It does this by saying a word or sentence (or showing a word or sentence) and showing you 4 pictures. One corresponds to the word or sentence. You have to guess which one. You go through a series of questions – 20-25 per lesson/module. If you get a high mark on the lesson you can go to the next lesson.

This is the same method that you used to learn your native tongue – seeing a picture and relating a word or sentence to it. You don’t have to consciously learn what the word means. It simply sticks with enough repetition of the picture/word combination. This can even be done with complicated sentences. And is how we learn a language as a child.

Rosetta Stone also has a program that can analyze your pronunciation and a headset comes supplied nowadays.

Rocket Spanish is more traditional in that it is predominantly an audio course with additional reading material that teaches the grammar of the language and introduces vocabulary. There is a Rosetta Stone style series on games that use the same picture/word association teaching that is used with Rosetta Stone but it is not as comprehensive.

It also has plenty of multiple choice testing that is good to give a student feedback on how he/she is doing.

Rocket Spanish is more responsive to students as it has a forum and the program seems to have changed in style over the past few years, indicating that they are listening to their students about how to improve the program.

Rocket Spanish can be downloaded from the internet for $99. Rosetta Stone Spanish level 1 can be purchased for around $200 (depending on where you buy it online). However, you need to get the other 2 levels to complete the set so it is considerably more expensive than Rocket Spanish.

Rosetta Stone Review

Plus points –

Easy teaching style, no need to memorize or write things down – learn language like a baby does.

Can improve pronunciation

Negative points -

Expensive, if you decide to get all the levels

Require plenty of repetition and practice if you want to remember what you learn. Better still, use what you learn immediately by talking to a Spanish speaking person and it should stick.

Check out Rosetta Stone Spanish here

Rocket Spanish Review

Plus points –

Get a little bit of everything – comprehensive audio course, three Rosetta Stone style games and a decent grammar/vocabulary written guide with audio components.

Good price point – cheaper than most learn Spanish courses

Responsive to students needs and questions – fairly active forum where you can ask questions. Send out follow up lessons via email address.

Negative points -

No pronunciation teaching, you have to repeat the words after they are spoken in the audio so no real feedback.

Check out Rocket Spanish here