We see you, busy moms and dads. In between washing dishes, folding laundry, picking up toys, going to soccer practice, taking the kids to school or teaching them from home, it can be really difficult to establish a constant routine to teach them Spanish and sometimes you need a little help from an outside source. While nothing replaces the personal touch and encouragement that comes from you teaching your child, apps are a great way to help children practice their Spanish in a fun way, especially if you don’t speak Spanish yourself. Here are the best kid-friendly (and safe) apps that we have found to help your child learn Spanish:
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Gus on the Go
Cost: $3.99
Recommended Age: 2-5
Created by two parents who were looking to support their children’s multilingualism, Gus on the Go disguises lessons as ‘interactive game levels’ so your child is tricked into learning by earning trophies and advancing through the ‘game.’ Each vocabulary lesson offers new words and also reinforces words learned during past lessons.
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Pili Pop Español
Cost: $4.99/month
Recommended age: 5-10
This is the app to choose if your focus is pronunciation. Choose from a variety of pronunciation exercises or themes that are all designed to encourage children to want to play. Kids are encouraged to repeat the vocabulary word into the microphone and listen to see how closely their pronunciation lines up with the official pronunciation.
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Duolingo for Kids
Cost: Free version. Premium is $14.95 / month.
Recommended age: 6-12
The app follows a game-like format, with users completing tasks and earning rewards as they progress. All content is age-appropriate material that is monitored by experts and parents have the full control to monitor their child’s progress and set learning goals for them. There is also a chat feature where children can communicate with friends who are learning the same language in the app.
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Spanish School Bus
Cost: Free trial with Paid version is $4.99 to access all 300 words and 60 levels.
Recommended age: ages 6-8.
This app utilizes the Montessori method, which emphasizes a child’s natural interests and abilities with hands-on learning to develop real-world skills. Rather than quizzes and tests, the app encourages children to play games as they listen to vocabulary words and put them into practice in a natural way.
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Lingo Pie Kids
Cost: Free trial, then $12/month or $71.88/year.
Recommended age: 5-13
Watching TV has never been more educational and interactive! After your child chooses a show from the kid-friendly catalog, both English and Spanish subtitles will pop up on the bottom of the screen. They can pause the show at any time and click on the words on the subtitles to save and review them as a quiz at the end of the episode.
Apps are great supplemental help to make learning Spanish fun, but they don’t care about your child and know them by name. Want a qualified native speaker to teach your child Spanish? Sign up for Cultural Bytes One-on-One classes today.
