Which French apps for kids have speaking practice?

Dinolingo (a speech-recognition feature since June 2026), Duolingo (speech recognition) and Lumi Kids (a spoken conversation with an AI owl) ask children to speak French. Studycat states that its VoicePlay speech recognition is "on the way" for French, and MUZZY BBC has a recording studio where children hear themselves, without automatic feedback.

Do French apps for kids use French from France or from Canada?

Lumi Kids uses French from France. Most other providers don't say on the pages we checked, so play a sample of the voice if your family speaks Canadian French or your child's school teaches it. The words a young child learns first are almost all the same; the accent is what differs.

My child starts French in Year 3. Which kind of app fits?

A 7-year-old can handle short lessons and the first written words. Pick an app whose stated ages include 7 and beyond, and one that plays every word aloud, because French spelling misleads beginners. Ask the class teacher which topics come first and look for the same words in the app.

Should my child read French in the app from the start?

For a young beginner, hearing comes first. French has silent letters and sounds that English spelling doesn't prepare a child for: trois is TRWAH, lit is LEE. Let your child know a word by ear before seeing it; Lumi Kids, for example, adds reading and spelling from age 7.

Are there French apps for kids without ads?

Yes. Dinolingo, Fluency Kids, Gus on the Go, Languakids, Little Pim, MUZZY BBC, Studio4Kids, Studycat, ZingyBear and Lumi Kids state no ads. LangsForKids shows ads, Duolingo's free tier shows ads, and Unuhi does not say.

Which French apps work for a 10- to 12-year-old?

Look at the stated upper age: Dinolingo lists up to 12 (App Store) or 14 (website), Fluency Kids about 4–12 and Lumi Kids 4–12. Duolingo has no stated age but expects reading, so it can suit a confident reader with a parent nearby.

Best French Apps for Kids: Listening, Speaking and Ages

The right French app for a child plays every word aloud before it shows how the word is written, because French spelling and sound part ways early. Under 7, choose audio-led videos and games that need no reading; at 7–9, add short lessons and stories with narration; for older kids, a structured course or conversation practice.

How we compared

Every fact in the comparison comes from the provider's own website or store listing. For each app we looked at:

Ages as stated. French apps for kids cluster at 2–9. Few name an age above 9, so the upper end matters if your child is older.
Speaking practice, by language. An app can listen with speech recognition in one language and not yet in another. Studycat is the clear case: its speech recognition works in English and Spanish, but for French it is "on the way". We record speaking per language, not per brand.
Reading needed. In French this question carries more weight than usual. Les amis is said lay-zah-MEE, with a sound carried over from one word to the next; chat ends in a silent t. A child who meets French through text first tends to say what they see.
Format. Games, videos, lessons, stories or a voice tutor.
Pricing model, without prices.
Ads and offline use, mentioned in the notes where the provider states them.
Accent. French from France and Canadian French share almost all first words but sound different. Few providers say which they use, so we note it where they do.

Apps for children learning French: what each provider states
App	Product	Ages (as stated)	Format	Speaking practice	Reading needed	Pricing model	Platforms	Sources
Dinolingo	Dinolingo French	2–14	Lessons	Speech recognition	No	Subscription	iPhone/iPad, Android, Web	[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Duolingo	Duolingo French course	Not stated	Lessons	Speech recognition	Yes	Free part + paid	iPhone/iPad, Android, Web	[7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
Fluency Kids	Fluency Kids French	4–12	Reading	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Android	[12] [13]
Gus on the Go	Gus on the Go: French	0–5	Games	Not stated	No	One-time purchase	iPhone/iPad, Android	[14] [15] [16] [17] [18]
LangsForKids	French For Kids	Not stated	Lessons	Not stated	Not stated	Free part + paid	Android	[19]
Languakids	Languakids - French for Kids	3+	Lessons	Not stated	Not stated	Subscription	iPhone/iPad, Android	[20]
Little Pim	Little Pim French	0–6	Videos	No	No	Subscription	iPhone/iPad, Android, Web	[21] [22] [23] [24]
Lumi Kids (our app)		4–12	AI voice tutor	Conversation with AI	No	Free part + paid	iPhone/iPad, Android	[25] [26]
MUZZY BBC	MUZZY French	Not stated	Videos	Not stated	No	Subscription	iPhone/iPad, Web	[27] [28] [29] [30]
Studio4Kids	French4Kids	3–8	Games	Not stated	Not stated	Free part + paid	iPhone/iPad, Android	[31]
Studycat	Studycat French	2–8	Games	No	No	Free part + paid	iPhone/iPad, Android	[32] [33] [34] [35] [36]
Unuhi	Unuhi bilingual books (French)	3–8+	Reading	Not stated	Not stated	Free part + paid	iPhone/iPad, Android	[37] [38] [39]
ZingyBear for Kids apps	French for Kids: Learn & Play	3–9	Lessons	Not stated	No	Free part + paid	iPhone/iPad	[40]

Facts as each provider states them on its own site or store listing, checked on October 27, 2026. No prices (they differ by country and change), no ratings. Lumi Kids is our app.

Sources

The source numbers in each row point to the provider pages listed under the table.

MUZZY BBC

MUZZY French is a course built on animated BBC films, "Muzzy in Gondoland" and "Muzzy Comes Back", with vocabulary videos, songs, online games and printables; the site calls it "designed for children of all ages". An online recording studio lets your child hear their own French, though no automatic feedback is stated. You pay by subscription and need an internet connection; it runs on iPhone, iPad and the web.

Little Pim

Little Pim French is for the youngest, ages 0–6: short 5-minute episodes with 360+ words and phrases, nothing to read and no speaking task. The subscription includes all 12 Little Pim languages and works on TV devices such as Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku as well as phones and tablets.

Gus on the Go

Gus on the Go: French is a single purchase with about 90 words, no ads and no in-app purchases, made for ages 0–5. Because it needs no reading, it is an easy way to find out whether a preschooler enjoys the sound of French before you commit to a subscription.

Studycat

Studycat French (ages 2–8) is a game app taught fully in French, with no ads and offline play; the free version covers a limited set of topics. Speech recognition is not yet live for French, so in this language it is a listening and tapping app for now.

Studio4Kids

French4Kids (ages 3–8) teaches French letter sounds, tracing and first words. The first three levels are free, the rest is a one-time purchase, and there are no ads. It suits a child who is beginning to connect French sounds with letters, which is worth doing carefully in a language with so many silent ones.

ZingyBear for Kids apps

"French for Kids: Learn & Play" (ages 3–9) is ZingyBear's French app for iPhone and iPad: native French audio paired with English, plus math, science and culture topics. It needs no reading, works offline and has no ads.

Unuhi

Unuhi puts French and English side by side in picture books and flashcards (any pair of about 20 languages), and French is among the languages it narrates with native audio. That matters for French: your child hears the real sound while seeing the spelling. Ages 3–8+, free part plus paid, offline.

Fluency Kids

Fluency Kids French is an Android app of narrated, illustrated short stories and nursery rhymes, highlighting each word as it is read. Its privacy policy says approximately ages 4–12, no accounts and no ads; its pricing model is not stated.

Languakids

Languakids - French for Kids (3+) is a separate French app with a structured path through everyday vocabulary, dialogues, listening and simple grammar for preschool and elementary ages. A subscription, ad-free, and usable offline.

Dinolingo

Dinolingo French sits inside a subscription that includes 50 languages and up to six children, using videos, games, songs, books and worksheets without translation. Its speech-recognition speaking feature launched in June 2026. Ages are 2–12 on the App Store and 2–14 on the website and Google Play, one of the wider ranges in this table.

Lumi Kids (our app)

Lumi Kids is our app, so read this with that in mind. Your child (4–12) hears French from France, plays with the words and then answers Lumi, an AI owl, out loud; Lumi explains in English, so a pre-reader can follow, and reading and spelling in French are added from age 7. Older children aged 10–12 get their own talk topics. Two of the four levels and 60 seconds of live talk are free; Lumi Plus, a monthly or yearly subscription that renews automatically, opens the last two levels and adds 10 minutes of live talk a week. No ads; iPhone, iPad and Android.

Duolingo

Duolingo's French course belongs to a general app for all ages, not a kids' app, and it expects the learner to read. Accounts for under-13s are "Child User" accounts with a username instead of an email and restricted social features. It uses speech recognition; ads appear in the free tier (non-personalized for under-16s) and go away with Super Duolingo.

LangsForKids

French For Kids by LangsForKids is an Android-only picture-vocabulary app: the alphabet, numbers, colors, animals, family. It mixes free and paid content and shows ads.

Which app at which age

Ages 4–6: build the ear. French at this age is a sound game. Short videos and word games without text (Little Pim, Gus on the Go, Studycat, ZingyBear) fill the ear with nasal vowels and the French r, and old songs help too: Frère Jacques has a tune your child already knows. If the app has a speaking step, let your child copy freely; a 5-year-old's bonjour does not need to be perfect.

Ages 7–9: speak, then meet the spelling. This is when a child can take on short lessons and stories (Languakids, Unuhi, Fluency Kids, MUZZY BBC) and begin to see how French is written. Keep the audio on while they read, so the silent letters stay silent. An app with speaking practice keeps French from becoming only a reading subject.

Ages 10–12: longer sentences, real topics. Most French apps for kids end around 8 or 9. Choose one whose stated ages reach your child (Dinolingo, Fluency Kids, Lumi Kids), or a general course such as Duolingo for a reader, and combine it with a class, a pen pal or French-speaking relatives.

French at school in the US and the UK

In England, a foreign language is a statutory subject at key stage 2, ages 7–11 (GOV.UK, national curriculum framework; checked October 27, 2026), and French continues to be the most widely taught language at primary level (ALL summary of Language Trends England 2025, July 2025; checked October 27, 2026). A French app before Year 3 can make the first lessons feel familiar. Our overview of languages in UK primary schools explains what children learn from Year 3 to Year 6.

In the US, French is the second most taught school language: 12% of public schools offered it in January 2024, rising to 20% of schools in the Northeast, but only about 1% of elementary schools did. French is also the partner language in 10% of public schools with dual-language programs (ACTFL report on NCES data, March 2026; checked October 27, 2026). In Pew Research Center's March 2026 survey, 13% of US adults called it extremely or very important for schools to offer French (Pew Research Center; checked October 27, 2026). For most American children, French before middle school therefore starts at home.

What an app cannot do is read a French picture book with your child, answer "why is that letter silent?", or replace a teacher and French-speaking friends. If French is a family language, our guide to raising a bilingual child has ideas for keeping it in daily life.

Free, freemium or subscription?

For French, three of the table's five pricing models appear. A one-time purchase (Gus on the Go) is paid once and never renews. Free part + paid (Duolingo, LangsForKids, Studio4Kids, Studycat, Unuhi, ZingyBear and Lumi Kids) opens some content without paying; the rest comes as a one-time unlock or a subscription, depending on the app. A subscription (Dinolingo, Languakids, Little Pim, MUZZY BBC) renews each month or year until you stop it. Fluency Kids is silent on pricing.

Before paying, use the free part for several short sessions and listen: is your child repeating French words afterwards, or only tapping? Note what the paywall locks. If you start a trial, write down the end date. To cancel later, iPhone and iPad users go to Settings, their name, then Subscriptions; on Android, the Google Play Store app has Subscriptions under Payments & subscriptions in the profile menu. Removing the app from the device leaves the subscription running.

For the 64 first French words with Lumi's audio and a say-it guide, see French for kids. The languages for kids hub links the comparison for every other language.