Innovative Language Learning Apps For Busy Parents and Kids

If you want to help your child master a new language but you’d prefer to skip the hassle of in-person classes, a language learning app can be a great solution. These apps provide a flexible yet effective way to introduce kids to new languages from the comfort of their own homes. 

There are programs tailored to every age and learning style, and many offer an impressive selection of languages—far more than are offered in most schools. But with new language learning apps cropping up every day, finding the perfect match for your child can be a daunting task, to say the least. 

To help you navigate, we’ve curated a guide to some of the best language learning apps, breaking them down according to your child’s specific needs and interests.

Best Language Learning Apps By Approach

While all language learning apps for kids have the same end goal: Help your child master a new language, the way they get them to that goal can look very different. The best option for your child really boils down to their preferred learning style. Here’s a look at some of the top language learning apps according to their approach:

Immersion

Immersive language learning apps tap into your child’s innate ability to learn a language—they encourage children to use visual and conceptual clues to decipher the meaning of words, an approach that closely mirrors the way they learned their native languages. Unlike translation-based lessons or rote memorization, this immersive approach is designed to cultivate intuitive understanding and promote long-term retention.

Rosetta Stone has long been the gold standard of immersive language learning apps for adults, and their kids’ program is just as impressive. The app includes a selection of more than 25 languages for kids from kindergarten through twelfth grade, and the curriculum is one of the most comprehensive available. The immersive approach ensures your child gets maximum exposure to their chosen language through audio by native speakers plus written words and images. And the app’s proprietary TruAccent speech-recognition technology helps kids perfect their pronunciation along the way. We especially love that parents have access to important information like the lessons their child completed, their scores, and the time they spent practicing.

DinoLingo is another leading language learning app for kids that takes an immersive approach. The curriculum is not quite as comprehensive as Rosetta Stone’s, but it includes programs for 50 languages.

Gamification

For kids who learn best when they’re having fun, it’s hard to beat Mondly Kids. Designed to make learning so enjoyable and interactive, kids forget they are actually learning, Mondly Kids offers programs for more than 30 languages, and is designed for children in preschool and beyond. The app includes gamified lessons with kid-friendly pictures and sounds, plus a focus on age-appropriate topics like animals, nature, food, family and sports. Mondly Kids also enables parents to track their little learner’s progress thanks to a special statistics section that provides insight into his or her language mastery.

Online Tutoring

Kids who respond well to one on one instruction may do best with online language tutoring sessions. Preply is a great option for these children. The app connects learners with teachers and tutors who can provide remote instruction in real-time, adjusting their lessons to the individual child. Learners (or their parents) can apply a variety of filters to find the right instructor, including price per session, availability, speaker type—native versus non-native, and more.

Language-Specific Recommendations 

Every language has its own nuances and challenges. Here’s a look at some of the best apps according to the language of interest:

Best Japanese Language Learning App

Of all the languages, Japanese tends to be one of the most challenging for English speakers to master due to its complex grammatical structure and unique writing system. For that reason, the best Japanese language learning app offers a comprehensive curriculum, lessons that build over time, and a variety of tools and resources to reinforce skills. Rosetta Stone checks all those boxes, providing learners of every age a comprehensive curriculum and an immersive learning experience that includes real-life scenarios, interactive activities and audio from native speakers. It provides plenty of opportunities for your child to practice speaking key words and phrases, and its speech recognition technology ensures your child perfects the pronunciation.

Another good option for kids interested in learning Japanese is Preply. Preply connects learners with online Japanese tutors and teachers who provide one on one private lessons, enabling them to tailor the pace and content of the lessons to your child. This is especially helpful for more challenging languages like Japanese. Parents love that they can filter the tutors by native speakers versus non-native, availability, price per session and more.

Best Spanish Language Learning App

Since Spanish is mostly phonetic and straightforward in its pronunciation—and since many words are quite similar to English, it is one of the easier languages for native English speakers to master. Because of this, the best Spanish language learning app for your child truly is the one that best matches his or her learning style. 

Many kids respond well to apps like Mondly Kids, FabuLingua and DinoLingo, which focus on making learning fun. They offer interactive games and engaging activities designed to help your child enjoy the process of mastering a new language.

Best French Language Learning App

At its core, French has a lot in common with English, which makes it one of the easier languages for English speakers to learn. That said, some people have trouble understanding and mastering the French accent. For this reason, a program that includes either speech recognition technology, like Rosetta Stone, or live interactions with a teacher or tutor who can correct mispronunciations, like Outschool or Preply, is best.

Best Korean Language Learning App

The Korean language involves a unique writing system and sentence structure, which can make it challenging for an English-speaking child—or adult—to learn. 

A comprehensive program like Rosetta Stone, which provides lessons on every aspect of the language, can be a great fit for little learners trying to learn Korean. On the flip side, if your child is easily frustrated or overwhelmed, a program like Mondly, which keeps language lessons fun-focused, can keep him or her motivated to keep learning when the process feels overwhelming.

Best Offline Language Learning Apps

This is yet another instance in which Rosetta Stone shines: When an Internet connection isn't available (or you’d prefer to keep your child off of it), you can easily download lessons for offline practice. You can also access Mondly Kids lessons offline, but to do so, you have to first download them using an Internet connection. DinoLingo offers some of its tools offline, including flashcards and worksheets, but not the entire language learning program.

Conclusion

Language learning apps for kids can help even your littlest learner master a new language without all the hassle of in-person classes. Rosetta Stone and Mondly Kids are especially excellent options, offering an expansive selection of languages and highly effective kid-friendly approaches for children of all ages and learning styles.