The 2012 Release of Rocket Languages!

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Jason

After listening to our community (that’s you!) we’ve embarked on a massive upgrade of our language learning products. We’ve added more features, changed the layout, and put together better navigation to make your learning experience even better! So, what’s new? Lots of things…

  • The home page for each language now has a Dashboard structure, so you can see your activity at a glance. You can also navigate to any lesson in your course from this page.
  • Plus we’ve added a rating system called “My Level”, which lets you determine how well you know a lesson, so you know whether you should revisit it or move on. Look for the My Level tab on each lesson. Where there’s enough audio associated with the lesson you can test your comprehension of all the words and phrases in that lesson and get an overall lesson rating. Or, if you’re short on time, you can just click the My Level icon at the top right of every lesson to manually rate the lesson over-all.
  • Another significant change is the addition of more material to the voice comparison feature, Rocket Record. Look for the “Practice” tabs in every Interactive Audio Lesson.

There are many more things that have changed to inspire your language learning experience too. So, if you are already a member, have a good look around and let us know what you think via the feedback icon at the top of each lesson, or by going through the Help and Support link at the top of the page.

If you are new to Rocket Languages then take one of our free trials to get a taste of the full experience!

All the best with your language learning

Jason Oxenham
CEO
Rocket Languages

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Rocket Record: Voice Comparison tool for language learning

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Jason

Hi everyone

A few months ago our Rocket Italian course was reviewed in PC Mag (read the full review here http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2381636,00.asp). It was a great honor to receive the Editors Choice award from a company as respected as PC Mag. The Editors Choice award is given out to the best product in the category that they are reviewing, in our case language learning products.

While receiving the Editors Choice award was fantastic, the review also highlighted a few things that we needed to improve to make the course even better for language learners. Here are the major issues and what we have done to improve them;

1. Lack of Voice-recognition technology

Our Product Development and IT teams met about this straightaway and formed a plan to make a user-friendly voice recognition/comparison tool that would really help language learners get to grips with the accents and the rhythm of a language.  Within a month or so we had a prototype up and running on Rocket French, and now I am delighted to say that we have added this feature (Rocket Record) to all of our language products. The feedback from current members has been tremendous and its proving a very useful tool for a lot of people, particularly those new to a language when it can be hardest to make sense of a spoken sentence in the foreign language. A big thanks to the Product Dev and IT teams for making such a great learning tool.

What’s next?
Right now the Product Development team is in the process of adding more audio to the courses so that Rocket Record can be used in more situations. There are already around a thousand audio tracks per course but soon there will be several thousand. This will give the learner a huge resource to use. What’s more is that we will be adding Rocket Record functionality to the free resources on our site. We have already done this with most of our French and Spanish resources. Try Rocket Record for yourself here;

http://www.rocketlanguages.com/french/learn/when-in-french-where-in-french/

http://www.rocketlanguages.com/spanish/learn/weather-in-spanish/

2. Horrendous online store:)

Ouch! Unfortunately as we use a 3rd party (ClickBank) to process our orders we have limited control over the things we can do. In saying that we have reviewed the system and recommended changes to them. We are hopeful that some significant changes will be made before the end of the year.

3. Horrendous free trial sign up:)

Ouch! Ouch! We have made changes here to let people have a clearer understanding of what is in the 6 day free trial. It is also on the cards that we will make this trial a 24/7 lifetime “lite” membership so that people can use the functionality whenever they like. If you want to experience a Rocket Languages course then you can sign up from these links;

Spanish http://www.rocketlanguages.com/spanish/
Korean http://www.rocketlanguages.com/korean/
Japanese http://www.rocketlanguages.com/japanese/
Italian http://www.rocketlanguages.com/italian/
Hindi http://www.rocketlanguages.com/hindi/
German http://www.rocketlanguages.com/german/
French http://www.rocketlanguages.com/french/
Chinese (Mandarin) http://www.rocketlanguages.com/chinese/
Arabic http://www.rocketlanguages.com/arabic/

4. Throwbacks to its workbook days!

This was an interesting observation. When Rocket Languages first started out 7 years ago the main way of delivering content on the internet was via audio files (MP3s) and PDFs. As technology and customer expectations have moved on the required quality of the delivery mechanism has increased with it. To that end we have spent a lot of time and effort increasing the interactivity between the user and the course, adding in things like Progress Tracking, Interactive Quizzes, Motivational Articles, My Vocab vocabulary builder, etc.

Unfortunately when we transferred our PDFs into the new content management system some references werent changed as they should have been and did come across as “workbook” like! Now we have reviewed our courses and enhanced the text so that it fits with the year 2011!

Got any comments on how you are finding and using the course? Leave a comment for me and I will respond asap!

All the best with your language learning

Jason Oxenham
CEO
Rocket Languages Ltd
Libros Media Ltd

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Online Marketer – Christchurch

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Jason

Hi all

We are looking for another superstar to join our team! Details below…

Online Marketer – Christchurch based role

If online marketing is your thing and you’ve been looking for a role to get your teeth into then this is your lucky day!

Libros Media is an American focused online publisher specializing in e-learning.

Our main site, www.rocketlanguages.com, is ranked well within the world’s top 10,000 most visited sites, and has a subscriber base nearing 1 million users!

If you’re passionate about language learning and online marketing, and looking for a golden opportunity to learn everything there is to know about marketing on the net, then this could be the role for you.

You’ll be able to learn from some of the best online marketers in New Zealand, and indeed the world, while enjoying seeing your actions turn into tangible results.

So, what skills, interests and passions do you need? If you:

  • Have a passion for online marketing and all things online
  • Have a passion for e-learning, preferably languages
  • Have a background in marketing through a degree and/or relevant experience
  • Know your affiliates from your adwords Have a knowledge of the US online market or a desire to learn more
  • Have an excellent phone manner
  • Enjoy writing compelling marketing material
  • Are committed and diligent in your work
  • Are willing to learn

…And you’re looking for a challenge, then we could be just right for you!

What other skills would be useful (but not necessary)?

  • Commercial savvy
  • Project management skills
  • Awesome time management skills
  • The ability to spot opportunity

Team this with the art of good planning and processes and you’ll be the ideal fit for our fantastic team!

You’ll need to be a devoted team player, and understand that your success is tied to the success of the team. As a company we seek people looking to really make a difference and not just have a job. You will need to want to go the extra mile in everything you do.

This is a fast paced environment and provides oodles of opportunity for personal advancement. We are the best at what we do, and you will have the opportunity to learn from the best in business.

Interested? Here’s what you need to do…

1. Send a cover letter and CV as a PDF
2. Go to http://www.rocketlanguages.com/french/ and sign up for the free trial. Tell us 3-5 things about the process and/or pages that you would change to increase conversions, and/or user experience.
3. Write 300-400 words on the future of online marketing

Email to jason @ librosmedia.com

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Back On Track!

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Jason

Hi all

Just letting everybody know that everything is back up and running as it should be. The new office is great and now that we are set up we are cranking back into Product Development. Our latest release under the Rocket Languages brand will be Rocket Eigo (English for Japanese speakers). It is timetabled for release at the end of July.

Keep an eye out here for upcoming product releases and enhancements to current products.

All the best with your language learning!

Jason

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Another day another quake (or two!)

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Jason

Hi there

Just a quick update regarding the latest earthquakes on the 13th of June.

After settling into our new office for a few weeks, and it seeming like everything was back on track, incuding the final fit out of our new recording studio. Then… kapow, 5.7 and 6.3 earthquakes hit within a couple of hours of each other.

The office seemed to bend and flex all over the place for far too long. Luckily no staff or their families were hurt in these quakes. Our new suburb didnt fare quite so well with liquefaction rising up out of the ground and destroying the roads and low-lying office blocks.

Thankfully our office didnt sustain any liquefaction damage and seems in a pretty good state, pending engineers reports.

So, there may be delays with customer support, particularly the phone line. Please bear with us as we try our best to get back on track (again!)

All the best

Jason

 

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Earthquake update

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Jason

Thankfully all staff and their immediate families came through the earthquake unharmed. Unfortunately the damage to homes and property will take a long time to fix. The damage is so widespread it could take years for things to get back on track.

A big thank you to all Libros Media staff for helping getting us up and running again. You have been magnificent under trying circumstances.

To all customers, there may be delays in customer support and our phone line is still not operational, but other than that everything else is working as it should and at 100% capacity.

Currently we are working out of temporary office space and our websites will be updated as soon as we find a more permanent residence for the office. I would also like to thank some local suppliers who have helped get us on our feet after the quake;

Global PC at Tower Junction and Smiths City at Northwood have been awesome, giving us heavily discounted electronics and PCs. De France Plastic from Auckland have supplied us with free cases so we can replenish our shipped stock (which was all destroyed in the old office), so a big thanks to them as well.

For those that are interested here is some amateur footage taken right after the quake. It starts right outside our offices.

Link to video

All the best

Jason

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Christchurch Earthquake Feb 22nd 2011

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Jason

Hi all

Last Tuesday (Feb 22nd) Christchurch was hit by a massive 6.3 earthquake. This earthquake was very shallow and very close to the CBD where our offices are/were situated. The resulting damage to our offices and the devastated CBD means that it will be a while before we can sort out a new location for the office.

The main thing is that we were extremely fortunate that none of the 14 staff on-site at the time of the earthquake were injured. Unfortunately several people in the CBD were killed or seriously injured, and all of our thoughts go out to them and their families.

In the short term all customer support can only be done via email (phone systems are NOT operational). Please use the contact form on the respective product site, e.g. rocketlanguages.com, kingdomofpets.com, weddingspeech4u.com, to get product support or make an inquiry. There may be delays in answering emails but we will try our best, please bear with us.

The logistics involved in setting up a new office are horrendous, particularly as we couldn’t take anything with us from the old office. Also half of the city has been seriously knocked around, so transport is problematic for staff or anyone for that matter. In saying that we hope to have limited facilities up and running next week.

Also, please note that all websites are functioning as they should be, the earthquake has had no effect on their performance as our servers are based in California. So purchasing our products, using members areas, newsletters and email outs are all functioning. The only thing not working is the phone line (and of course product development and improvement work).

All the best; kia kaha

Jason Oxenham
CEO

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Christchurch Earthquake update!

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Jason

Hi all

On Boxing day our Christchurch office in New Zealand was hit by a major after-shock that rated 4.9 on the Richter scale. As far as the Christchurch office goes, this shock was actually more powerful than the September 4th 7.1 quake as the 4.9 quake was centered close to the CBD where our office is, and was very shallow.

At this stage the CBD has been cordoned off, so there is no access to the office to assess the level of damage. Or at least no access without a registered structural engineer. I am hoping that later on today I will be able to provide a more thorough update.

For anyone wanting customer support please bear with us as we are trying to get our technical support crew online. There will be delays while we sort out how to handle customer support in the best way.

All the best

Jason

*Further update!*

The cordon will be lifted at 6am tomorrow morning.

*Update 21st Jan 2011*

The good news is that we are fully back up and running. The various aftershocks have kept the everyone on edge but there has been no further damage to the building. The building has been approved as safe by a registered structural engineer and various remedial works are underway.

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Determining your Learning Style

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Jason

Tuning in to how you learn can do wonders. I’d like to help you figure out what’s best for you and what you should focus on so that you can get the most out of your language-learning experience.  By doing this you’ll be able to reach your goal of speaking a language quickly and easily.

All learning involves your senses.  The three main ones that you’ll use are: seeing, hearing, and doing.  It makes sense then that generally we talk about three basic types of learners.  They are visual, auditory and kinesthetic.  These may seem straightforward, but let’s go through them to see just where you fit in.

  • Visual learners learn best by seeing.
  • Auditory learners learn best by hearing.
  • Kinesthetic learners learn best by doing.

You might not know what type of learner you are, so take a look at these questions:

  • Do you keep a to-do list? Are you a good speller and read graphs well?  Do you read everything and need a map to find your way around?  If so, you tend to learn visually.
  • Have you ever made up a song or rhyme to remember something? Prefer listening to a story rather than reading it?  Do you ditch the map and just ask for directions?  You could be an auditory learner.
  • Do you like to exercise and get moving? Tend to figure out problems on your own and like to do experiments?  Can’t sit still?  If you said yes, you’re most likely a kinesthetic learner.

You may find that you fit into more than just one category.  That’s perfectly normal.  Nobody is exclusively one type.

Learning a language involves all three of these senses, so no matter which type of learner you are, there’s hope! With the Rocket Languages courses you get all three.  If you’re an auditory learner, you should focus on listening to the spoken language.  For those who learn through visual aids, read the scripts in the native language as you go to soak it up. As for those of you who like to participate, make sure you’re speaking the language yourself out loud.

Do what you do best and the rest will come. By putting together the visual, oral, and practicing parts of the course, you’ll be well on your way towards your ultimate goal – communicating in a new language!

冰冻三尺，非一日之寒
A single day of sub-zero temperature is not enough to create three feet of ice.
Moral: Great things cannot be accomplished in a short period of time.

All the best with your language learning

Jason

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The story behind Rocket Languages

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Jason

I’m Jason Oxenham, co-founder of Libros Media.  I’d like to tell you the story about how our New Zealand-based company got started.  It began as two Kiwi guys just wanting to do something different…

Back in 2004, my good friend and co-founder of Libros Media, Mark Ling was frustrated with trying to learn Spanish.  He had gone through several different courses, but no matter what he tried or how he tried it, nothing was working.  What was out there at the time just didn’t cut it and he didn’t know where to turn.  He wanted something that worked, was easily-accessible, and fun.  But it was nowhere to be found.

In New Zealand we have what we call ‘Kiwi ingenuity’ – when there’s a problem and a solution can’t be found, we pool our resources and solve it ourselves!   Mark and I put our heads together and that’s exactly what we did.

Our first step was answering the question that others hadn’t seemed to do – what’s the best way to learn a language?

We spent a year doing research and consulting with linguists and native speakers of foreign languages to answer this question.  After much deliberation, one thing became very clear: the best way to learn a new language is to converse with native speakers.  We know that not everyone can travel to a foreign country to live in a community and speak the language on a daily basis.  But if those types of scenarios could be re-created, it would be a great way to learn a language.

Thus, with linguists and native speakers by our sides, our first course – Rocket Spanish – was born.  This was the first course of its kind.  We made a user-friendly, innovative online course that was educational as well as being entertaining and fun, which made learning a language enjoyable.  And we focused on what was most important to people: being able to converse confidently and fluently in situations they were likely to encounter every day.

After lots of hard work, we had created that ‘something different’ we were trying for.  Here we are, eleven languages later, and I’d say we’ve done pretty well.   Who says Kiwis can’t fly?  Give them a rocket and they’ll go anywhere!!

I think this Chinese proverb just about sums it up.

我听见 我忘记; 我看见 我记住; 我做 我了解。
This literally means: I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand.
The moral: You can only understand something by trying it yourself.

All the best for your language learning!

Jason

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