Whether you’re trying to keep better track of your fitness goals, communicate with friends and family through images instead of texts, or stay on top of the latest news, there appear to be a plethora of apps ready to help you fulfill just about any need that you may have.
Apps have also forayed into delivering educational services, and that holds true for language lessons, including English. If you’d like to discover the best English learning app for kids, you’ve come to the right place.
With so many great English learning apps to choose from, we expect parents and teachers to feel bogged down as they struggle to pick the most intuitive and effective one for their kids and students. Apps for learning English come in different shapes and sizes, so to speak, and it’s important to understand their feature sets, strengths, and usability before adopting them as learning tools for young learners.
Related Reading: Best English Games to Help Kids Practice & Master the Language Quickly
Benefits of Fun Language Apps for Kids
It’s 2022, and we expect most kids to have access to a mobile device of some kind—a cellphone that they carry around to stay in touch with their family when they’re at school, a small tablet dedicated to aid their education, or a laptop to help them do their homework. Despite their potential to distract, mobile devices make the perfect study partners as they allow kids to access a wealth of learning resources, and this includes children’s apps for learning English.
Language learning apps on mobile devices are characterized by a range of qualities that make them great tools to aid language learning! Here are some of the reasons why language apps make excellent learning aides:
They Are Usually Immersive
Learning apps typically feature intuitive dashboards and menus that make them easy to navigate, while making use of catchy visuals and captivating audio effects. These features combine to create an experience that is immersive and memorable.
They Can Combine Learning with Fun
Unlike traditional classes at school or regular language lessons, learning apps typically deliver different kinds of games as practice, as well as a way to assess student learning! Sometimes, kids may even have a hard time distinguishing the learning and the fun.
They Are Flexible
Good learning apps allow students to learn at their own pace and at hours that are convenient to them. They allow students to match the nature of the learning content they consume to proficiency levels, learning styles, and other individual preferences.
Related Reading: Best Tips & Strategies to Teach English Language
15 Best English Language Learning Apps for Kids
These English language learning apps are perfect for kids across different learning stages to aid their English language learning.
1. SplashLearn
Splash Learns ELA Games for Kids is the perfect studying companion that promises kids an enjoyable and engaging approach to learning. Designed to help young learners improve their English, it offers a dedicated reading and writing section filled with educational games, worksheets, and even live videos!
Price: Try for Free Today!
Grades: Pre-kindergarten to Grade 5
Area of Focus: English Language development, Cognitive Development
Key Features: A user friendly dashboard makes it easy to navigate video lessons and games
What We Love: Offers an extensive catalog of worksheets for students to test their learning
Where to Find it: SplashLearn
2. LingoKids
If you’re looking for a good English learning app for kids, your search may end with LingoKids. This intuitive app uses a combination of songs, videos, and activities to deliver language lessons disguised as fun.
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Grades: Kindergarten
Area of Focus: Vocabulary, communication, reading and cognitive development
Key Features: Song and video-based lessons ensure intuitive learning
What We Love: A content partnership with Oxford University guarantees quality learning content
3. Learn English Speak Language – LuvLingua
If there was a top contender for the best English learning app, it just might be this one. Why, you ask? Suitable for both advanced and new learners, LuvLingua sets itself apart by being able to run offline without an internet connection.
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Grades: Kindergarten
Area of Focus: Pronunciation and vocabulary development
Key Features: Focuses on helping learners master their pronunciation
What We Love: Makes use of quizzes, games, and puzzles as learning tools
4. Mussila WordPlay
With a strong focus on reading and spelling, Mussila WordPlay is one of the best language learning apps for kids! Mussila WordPlay delivers inventive lessons in the format of colorful and creative games that are guaranteed to keep kids engaged!
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Grades: Kindergarten and elementary
Area of Focus: Reading, spelling, vocabulary, and speech development
Key Features: Features on speech development through unique reading lessons
What We Love: Employs a wide range of learning styles, from picture games to short stories
5. Endless Alphabet
If you often find yourself overwhelmed by optional in-app purchases and complicated menus, then worry not! Endless Alphabet does one thing, and it does it well—it allows kids to try out puzzles that spell a word, and show an image of the word they solve!
Price: $8.99
Grades: Kindergarten
Area of Focus: Spelling and vocabulary
Key Features: Drives engagement by rewarding kids with an image of the word they solve
What We Love: It has a one-time fee that lets you access all the words in the app
6. Speakia: Kids English Fun
Designed for kids that speak English as a second language, Speakia drives learning by encouraging kids to listen and speak as part of their language lessons. It offers a comprehensive approach by focusing on pronunciation, vocabulary, speaking, and sentence structure!
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Grades: Kindergarten and Elementary
Area of Focus: Pronunciation, vocabulary, speaking, sentence structure,
Key Features: Drives engagement by rewarding kids with an image of the word they solve
What We Love: It has a one-time fee that lets you access all the words in the app
7. Studycat: Active Language Learning for Kids
One of the best apps for learning English, Studycat offers themed lessons with exciting visuals and original music to keep kids hooked! The app is designed to provide natural language acquisition, which means that kids won’t realize they’re learning even as they go through different play-based activities!
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Grades: Kindergarten and Elementary
Area of Focus: Speaking, vocabulary, and pronunciation
Key Features: Use of speaking tutorials to encourage participation in activities
What We Love: The free version offers kids enough content to get started right away
8. Lingumi – Languages for Kids
Developed by an English teacher, Lingumi offers an array of language lessons disguised as games for new and younger learners! The app focuses on grammar, vocabulary, and expressions, and provides learners the freedom to decide what they want to focus on every time they sit down to learn!
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Grades: Kindergarten
Area of Focus: Speaking and communication
Key Features: Allows parents and supervisors to evaluate the progress of kids
What We Love: Offers an in-built usage monitor to ensure kids don’t use the app excessively
9. BOOKR Class – Learn English
A learning app that hosts a collection of games and animated books, BOOKR Class offers a little something different! From modern stories and literary classics to catchy songs, this app provides content that should help kids become more comfortable with an unfamiliar language.
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Grades: Kindergarten and Elementary
Area of Focus: Reading, listening, writing, and communication
Key Features: Stories and songs are delivered with eye-catching animations
What We Love: Use of audio-visual cues to make reading stories more engaging
10. Homer Reading
Another excellent app that focuses on early literacy, Homer Reading is designed to help kids improve their reading skills. Unlike other offerings, Homer Reading can be accessed across a variety of devices, including computers, and even comes with a web-based version.
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Grades: Kindergarten and Elementary
Area of Focus: Letters, words, phonetics, and reading
Key Features: Contains a large library of storybooks for learners to choose from
What We Love: Allows kids to create their drawings and voice recordings as part of the learning lessons
11. Reading Eggs
If you’re looking for an app to learn English that combines songs, rhymes, and alliteration to deliver musical fun as language lessons, then this is the best English learning app you’ll find! It features hundreds of activities, lessons, and games that target early literacy.
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Grades: Kindergarten and Elementary
Area of Focus: Early literacy, spelling, reading, and writing
Key Features: Lessons, activities, and games are highly instructional
What We Love: Focuses on sounds to deliver musical fun for non-native speakers
12. Letter School
An English language app targeted towards younger learners, Letter School is the perfect companion for observational learners! With a focus on handwriting, it delivers games and activities that make learning English more accessible for observational learners.
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Grades: Kindergarten and Elementary
Area of Focus: Handwriting, letter recognition, and writing
Key Features: A linear lesson design ensures that learners don’t get lost in complex menus and activity choices
What We Love: Suitable for all age groups that are interested in improving their English handwriting
13. Accomplish Reading
Designed to help learners improve their reading comprehension, Accomplish Reading is the perfect English learning app for intermediate and advanced learners. Featuring a simple format, it contains sentences of varying complexities that readers have to read before answering multiple-choice-based comprehension questions.
Price: Free
Grades: Elementary
Area of Focus: Reading comprehension
Key Features: Reading comprehension questions that follow sentences and passages come in a variety of forms
What We Love: The app features a timer during comprehension tests to keep learners on their toes
Where to Find it: iOS
14. Monkey Jr.
Combining touch, sight, and sound to deliver lessons containing 16,000 interactive videos and 48,000 videos, Monkey Jr. may just be the last learning app your kids need. Without any pop-ups and ads, this app lets kids learn on their own without parental supervision and concerns about distractions.
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Grades: Kindergarten and Primary
Area of Focus: Vocabulary, pronunciation, and sentence structure
Key Features: Lessons are topic-based and contain audio-visual cues for increased engagement
What We Love: Features a rich, never-ending collection of lessons, and activities
15. LingoDeer
For independent learners who enjoy learning on their own, LingoDeer emerges as the perfect companion. The app delivers a linear and structured curriculum for both advanced and intermediate learners to allow them to learn by themselves.
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Grades: Kindergarten and Primary
Area of Focus: Reading and writing
Key Features: An excellent collection of flashcards promotes vocabulary development
What We Love: Allows parents to track the progress of their kids
Related Reading: What is ELA and Its Importance For Kids
5 Free English Language Learning Apps for Kids
If you’re interested in English learning apps that offer complete functionality without any one-time payment or in-app purchases, then you’d be glad to know that there are some options you can consider.
1. Duolingo
One of the most popular language learning apps also happens to be one of the best English learning apps that kids can enjoy for free. Featuring game-like lessons that help learners master words, pronunciation, and grammar, Duolingo is worth checking out. It may be free, but its rich feature set will make you think otherwise.
Grades: Kindergarten and Primary
Area of Focus: Early language proficiency and vocabulary development
Key Features: Progress tracking allows kids to monitor their learning effectively and try learning-specific lesson suggestions
What We Love: Twenty minutes a day on Duolingo can help your kids stay on top of their language learning targets
2. English for Kids
Featuring one of the most colorful and intuitive learning dashboards, English for Kids will have you wondering how it could possibly be free. Even though it comes with ads, they don’t come in the way of vocabulary tools and topic-based language lessons.
Grades: Kindergarten and Primary
Area of Focus: Vocabulary development, reading, and speaking
Key Features: Progress tracking allows kids to monitor their learning effectively and try learning-specific lesson suggestions
What We Love: The app allows you to easily switch between British English and US English
Where to Find it: Android
3. Fun English
If your kids enjoy speaking as they learn, then Fun English may be the perfect app for them! It offers topic-based games, and unlike other apps, even has an option for multiplayer gaming, which should excite young learners that enjoy playing games online!
Grades: Kindergarten and Primary
Area of Focus: Speaking and pronunciation
Key Features: Contains a rich collection of free lessons that can be expanded for advanced learners through in-app purchases
What We Love: The app allows learners to pronounce and record words that the app will assess to let them know if their pronunciation needs improvement
Where to Find it: Educational App Store
4. BBC Learning English
This app offers something a little different. The BBC Learning English app delivers a collection of routinely updated short videos and podcasts for intermediate learners. It also allows learners to follow a “curriculum” that notifies them of new releases within that program.
Grades: Primary
Area of Focus: Speaking and communication
Key Features: Lessons are designed around different topics such as the news, functional dramas, and serial stories
What We Love: The videos and podcasts come with transcripts and learner notes as a learning aid
5. SAT Vocab by Mindsnacks
Full of interactive games in place of regular language lessons, Mindsnacks seeks to disguise language learning as fun playtime! Mindsnacks features colorful and intuitive dashboards and animations to keep younger learners excited and engaged!
Grades: Primary
Area of Focus: Vocabulary
Key Features: Comes with twelve interactive games that award learners with points and badges
What We Love: Allows parents to track the learning progress of their kids, and even offers languages such as French, Chinese, and Spanish
Where to Find it: iOS
Related Reading: Best Reading Websites For Kids
How to Choose the Best English Learning Apps for Kids
With so many great English learning apps for kids to choose from, it may be daunting to settle on the right one for your child. However, there are some things you should remember that can make your search easier.
Free First!
It makes sense to shuffle through all the free offerings first before you decide to try the apps that need to be purchased. Many of the apps that are listed here can be downloaded for free! Some of the paid apps also function as free downloads but may come with ads and in-app purchases.
Before making purchases, you can decide whether an app in its free form can meet the learning needs of your child. Others offer complete functionality only if you get the paid versions but still come with a wealth of features even if you settle for their free version.
We expect many of the free English learning apps to be adequate for newer and intermediate learners, even in their most basic form and without in-app purchases. As you see your child progress through a learning app, you can decide to upgrade with in-app purchases to aid their learning.
Learning Styles
While some kids may enjoy the bright animations and sound-driven interactive games disguised as learning lessons, others may prefer more simple approaches, such as flashcards, linear curriculums, or even one-on-one tutoring. Before purchasing any of the listed apps, it may help to determine your child’s learning style.
Parental Supervision
While some apps offer a way for parents to monitor the progress of their kids, others do not. If being able to access information about the progress your child is making is an important determinant in deciding on an appropriate app, then you may want to consider apps that offer that feature. Lingumi, LingoDeer, and SAT Vocab by Mindsnacks are three apps that offer this feature.
Related Reading: Effective Ways To Teach Visual Learners
Let’s Get Learning!
If you’ve settled on an app to aid your child’s English language learning, then what are you waiting for? Help your child install and set up the app on their learning device to get them started on their language learning journey, today!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are in-app purchases?
In-app purchases are purchases that you make within an application to unlock paid features. Many free applications don’t allow users to offer their best features without making in-app purchases. Some of the best free English learning apps also offer in-app purchases, but generally provide excellent usability and feature sets even within their free versions.
How long should my child spend on their English language learning every day?
This completely depends on your child and how long they can enjoy their language learning. For most kids, this should vary between 20 to 40 minutes. Their mileage for learning, however, should grow as they get accustomed to a new application and discover the learning awards, points, and badges they can earn.
