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Their First Words

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Home language in, English out

The best English app for toddlers who speak another language at home (2026)

The child who hears Korean at breakfast and English at daycare is not behind; they are building two. The guidance is to keep the home language strong while English grows, and the right apps do both jobs or at least don’t fight the first. Here are six, ours included with its limits.

By the parents who make Their First Words · October 2026 · 7 min read

The illustration on the “High five!” phrase card

We make Their First Words, so this is our own comparison — written by the two parents who build it, not by a reviewer. The facts about every other app were checked on October 2, 2026 against their store listings and websites, and the sources are listed at the end. Prices are US prices and change. Where another app is the better choice for your family, this page says so.

The short answer

If you only read this part.

  • The bridge, from the first year: Their First Words — the same card in your home language and in English, with native voices in both, $9.99 once; free to start. Seven home languages.
  • Free English for a three-year-old and up: Khan Academy Kids (a whole curriculum) and PBS KIDS Games (play, with 50+ games in Spanish too).
  • English modeled slowly, on video, together: Ms. Rachel, free on YouTube.
  • An English-learning games library, if a subscription is fine: Lingokids.
  • English reading, later: Duolingo ABC, free.

The picks at a glance

Who each one is for.

AppBest forPriceWorks on
Their First WordsTheir First WordsoursThe same card in your language and in English, from the first year$9.99 once for everything; no subscriptioniPhone, iPad, Android
Khan Academy KidsKhan Academy KidsA free English preschool curriculum, from about threeFree — no ads, no subscriptions, no in-app purchasesiPhone, iPad (iOS 13+), Android, Amazon Fire
Ms. Rachel (Songs for Littles)Ms. Rachel (Songs for Littles)English modeled slowly, on video, watched togetherFree on YouTube (with YouTube’s ads unless you pay for Premium); also on NetflixAny screen with YouTube or Netflix
PBS KIDS GamesPBS KIDS GamesFree play in English, with 50+ games in SpanishFree — no in-app purchasesiPhone, iPad, Android
LingokidsLingokidsAn English-learning games library, if a subscription is fineSubscription (Lingokids Plus): about $14.99 a month or $71.99–$89.99 a year on the App Store, depending on the plan offered; 7-day free trialiPhone, iPad, Mac (M1+), Android
Duolingo ABCDuolingo ABCEnglish reading, when the words are in placeFree — no ads, no in-app purchasesiPhone, iPad (iOS 13+), Android

Prices are US store prices on the day they were checked (October 2, 2026); the store is the authority for today’s price.

How we chose

The yardstick, out loud.

  • It does not ask you to drop the home language. Head Start’s guidance is that supporting the home language builds the foundation for English and for all later learning.1
  • Native English voices a child will actually hear at daycare, and native home-language voices for you.
  • Right for the age: parent-held under three, child-led play after.3
  • The daycare words — more, help, all done, my turn — not only colors and animals.
  • Honest pricing, and what is free.

We rank by fit for the family in the title, not by who made the app. Their First Words is on this list because it belongs here for some of these families and not for others, and the page says which.

The picks

One at a time, honestly.

1 of 6

Their First Wordsours

Best for: The same card in your language and in English, from the first year

Price $9.99 once for everything; no subscriptionWorks on iPhone, iPad, AndroidAges 0–5, in three parent-chosen stages (phrases are not split by stage)Languages English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Korean and Russian on every card (the app’s own screens are in English)

Every one of 1,000+ words and 500+ phrases is on one card in English and in Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Korean or Russian, each said by a female and a male native voice. You name the picture in your language at home; the same picture says it in English for daycare, and your child meets one world with two names. The phrases are the ones a teacher will hear first: More, please, Help me, All done, It’s my turn, Do you want to play?, I’m sorry. You tap, hear the native voice, and say it yourself.4

75 words and 35 phrases are free in every language with no account; $9.99 once opens everything, offline. The English page is written for exactly this family.

Worth knowing: We make it. Seven home languages, not every language; the app’s own menus are in English only; and it is a prop for you, not a course a child follows alone.

2 of 6

Khan Academy Kids

Best for: A free English preschool curriculum, from about three

Price Free — no ads, no subscriptions, no in-app purchasesWorks on iPhone, iPad (iOS 13+), Android, Amazon FireAges 2–8, as the maker statesLanguages English, with a section of books translated into Spanish

Thousands of games, books and videos in English for ages 2 to 8 — letters, reading, math, feelings — free, ad-free, from a nonprofit, with a shelf of books in Spanish. For a three-year-old who needs more hours of English than you can give, this is the free answer, and it is a good one.

Worth knowing: English-only and child-led; it needs an adult account and will not teach your home language.

3 of 6

Ms. Rachel (Songs for Littles)

Best for: English modeled slowly, on video, watched together

Price Free on YouTube (with YouTube’s ads unless you pay for Premium); also on NetflixWorks on Any screen with YouTube or NetflixAges Babies and toddlers, as the channel presents themLanguages English

Free videos in which a former music teacher says first words, signs and songs slowly, with pauses for the child to answer — the closest video gets to a daycare teacher talking to one child. On YouTube with YouTube’s ads, or on Netflix.

Worth knowing: English only, and the screen guidance applies: not before eighteen months, then together and briefly.3

4 of 6

PBS KIDS Games

Best for: Free play in English, with 50+ games in Spanish

Price Free — no in-app purchasesWorks on iPhone, iPad, AndroidAges 2–8, as the maker statesLanguages English, with 50+ games playable in Spanish

Hundreds of games with PBS characters, free with no purchases, for ages 2 to 8, offline for games you download. For a Spanish-speaking home the 50+ games playable in Spanish mean the same characters in both languages.

Worth knowing: Play first, learning second, and only English and Spanish.

5 of 6

Lingokids

Best for: An English-learning games library, if a subscription is fine

Price Subscription (Lingokids Plus): about $14.99 a month or $71.99–$89.99 a year on the App Store, depending on the plan offered; 7-day free trialWorks on iPhone, iPad, Mac (M1+), AndroidAges 2–8, as the maker statesLanguages Primarily English learning; the app’s screens in seventeen languages, and some content in Spanish, Portuguese, French and German

Thousands of games, songs and shows built around learning English, sold abroad as exactly that, with licensed characters and a parent dashboard; ten games a day are free, the rest is about $15 a month or $72–$90 a year.

Worth knowing: Child-led, English-first, and a subscription. It teaches the daycare language, not yours.

6 of 6

Duolingo ABC

Best for: English reading, when the words are in place

Price Free — no ads, no in-app purchasesWorks on iPhone, iPad (iOS 13+), AndroidAges Apple’s “Made for Ages 0–5” band; the maker markets it for ages 3–8Languages English reading only

Free phonics, sight words and short stories in English, with no ads or purchases, offline. For later: a child who has the spoken words can start on the letters here.

Worth knowing: English only, and its listing showed no update since August 2023 when we checked.

In fairness

Where Their First Words falls short for this family.

  • Seven home languages. A Tagalog-, Vietnamese-, Arabic- or Mandarin-speaking home gets English cards and nothing in their own language.
  • English menus. The grandparent who does the daycare pickup needs you to set it up.
  • Not a course. It will not teach English on its own; a child who needs hours of English a week needs Khan Kids or Lingokids as well.

What to do

This week.

  1. Tell the daycare which words your child already uses at home, in which language, so a teacher hears agua or 물 as a word and not as silence.
  2. Pick the five daycare phrases — more, help, all done, my turn, potty — and say each in both languages this week, at home, with the same card.
  3. Keep the home language at home. It is the foundation for English, not the competition, and dropping it costs the child both.1, 2
  4. Install the free English set and let the child hear the native English voice on a card you then say in your own language.
  5. For a three-year-old who needs more English hours, add Khan Academy Kids and let it be the English; you be the home language.

Questions

What parents ask.

Should we switch to English at home so daycare is easier?

No. Head Start’s guidance is that children benefit most from words, stories and conversation in the language they are most comfortable in, and that a strong home language is the foundation for English.1 ASHA adds that two languages do not confuse a child or cause delay.2

My child mixes the two. Is that a problem?

No; mixing is normal and sorts itself out. Our bilingual toddler guide has the research on code-mixing and on counting words across both languages.

Which app teaches English best?

For hours of English a child plays alone, Khan Academy Kids (free) or Lingokids (subscription). For the first words in both languages, held by you, ours. They are different jobs.

What if our language isn’t one of the seven?

Use the English cards, say the home-language word yourself, and consider Little Pim or Dinolingo for a language we don’t have; our bilingual guide compares them.

Head to head: Their First Words vs Khan Academy Kids · Their First Words vs Lingokids.

What this is based on

Sources

  1. Head Start (Office of Head Start, ECLKC), Home language support — supporting the home language builds the foundation for learning English and for all later learning. headstart.gov
  2. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Learning more than one language — using more than one language does not confuse children or cause delays; a true disorder shows up in all the languages a child uses. asha.org
  3. American Academy of Pediatrics (2026). Helping kids thrive in a digital world: the AAP policy explained — infants under 18 months learn best from real-world interaction; watch and play alongside your child; favor conversation over designs that prolong engagement; video chat with family is relationship time. healthychildren.org
  4. Kuhl, P. K., Tsao, F.-M. & Liu, H.-M. (2003). Foreign-language experience in infancy: effects of short-term exposure and social interaction on phonetic learning. PNAS, 100(15), 9096–9101. pnas.org
  5. Apple App Store, Khan Academy Kids — free, no ads, ages 2–8, 5,000+ activities, offline downloads, privacy label. apps.apple.com
  6. Khan Academy Kids, official page — subjects, standards, teacher tools. khanacademy.org/kids
  7. Khan Academy Kids, Privacy policy — account requirement, what is collected, no advertising. khanacademy.org
  8. Khan Academy support — the app is English-only; Spanish books in the Library. support.khanacademy.org
  9. Ms. Rachel, official site. msrachel.com
  10. Apple App Store, PBS KIDS Games — free, no in-app purchases, ages 2–8, download games to play offline. apps.apple.com
  11. PBS KIDS, PBS KIDS Games app page. pbskids.org
  12. Apple App Store, Lingokids: Games & Shows — in-app purchase prices, ages, Basic tier, offline play, profiles, privacy label. apps.apple.com
  13. Lingokids, Privacy policy (updated September 18, 2026) — kidSAFE certification, what is collected about a child. lingokids.com
  14. Lingokids, press release (February 26, 2026) — content partners and the AI-assisted production program. lingokids.com/press
  15. Lingokids help center, Lingokids Basic (Free Version) and Can I use Lingokids offline? help.lingokids.com
  16. Apple App Store, Learn to Read – Duolingo ABC — free, no ads, English reading, offline, last update shown as August 2023. apps.apple.com
  17. Their First Words, FAQ — price, free set, languages, offline use, accounts. theirfirstwords.org/faq

Facts about other apps were checked on October 2, 2026 against the sources above. Store prices are US prices on that day; they change, and the store is the authority for today’s price.

More guides

Other families.

Simple Words, Special Moments

Start with one word.

75 words and 35 phrases are free, forever, with both voices. One $9.99 purchase opens the rest of the 1,000+ words and 500+ phrases, in all eight languages at once. No subscription, nothing renews.

Download on the App Store — Their First Words Get it on Google Play — Their First Words
No ads, ever Private by design Works offline No account needed Up to 4 children