Using an app alongside language lessons: how to combine the two

Edulingua4u · 2026-10-19

Your child has Spanish or another language at school, or perhaps goes to classes at a language school. Once or twice a week they spend 45 minutes with the language, and then don’t touch it again until the next lesson. It’s a very common picture — and one of the main reasons progress is often slower than parents would like. A well-chosen app can fill that gap, as long as you treat it as a complement, not a replacement.

Why isn’t one lesson a week enough?

Because memory needs repetition. Much of what a child learns on Monday will have faded by the following Monday if they don’t come back to it even once in between. The teacher then has to start by going over old material, and there’s less time left for anything new.

Short reviews between lessons turn this around: your child arrives at the lesson with what they’ve already consolidated, and can move on.

What does an app do well?

There are a few things an app does really well:

• reviews at the right moment — it brings back the words your child finds difficult before they have time to forget them;
• getting used to the sound of the language — native-voice audio that your child can listen to as many times as they like;
• instant feedback — your child knows straight away whether an answer is right;
• flexibility — a few minutes after school, on a Saturday morning or on a journey;
• independence — your child practises at their own pace, without the stress of answering in front of the whole class.

How do you combine an app with lessons?

A few tried-and-tested rules:

1. Short and regular. Several short sessions a week are better than one long one on a Sunday evening.
2. Between lessons. A review a day or two after the lesson, and another just before the next one, does the most good.
3. Don’t pile on too much. If your child already has plenty of homework, the app should be a pleasant change, not one more obligation.
4. Talk to the teacher. It’s worth mentioning that your child practises at home — the teacher may suggest what to focus on.
5. Ask what they’ve learned. A quick chat over dinner (“What’s dog in Spanish?”) does more to fix words in the memory than an extra exercise.

School, language school and app: who does what?

What works best is a division of roles, in which each one does what it does best:

• the lesson at school or at a language school — new material, the teacher’s explanations, conversation and group work;
• the app — short reviews between lessons, getting used to pronunciation and consolidating words;
• home — a parent’s interest, a regular time for learning and chances to use the language for real: a song, a cartoon, a few sentences at the table.

A good app isn’t there to take the teacher’s place, but to fill the days between one lesson and the next. Talking with other people, mistakes and laughter included, is still the best way to find your voice in a language — and that happens in lessons and in everyday life.

When these three pieces complement each other, your child is in contact with the language not once a week but almost every day — and that continuity is what makes the biggest difference.

How can you tell if it’s working?

You don’t need to wait for a school report. After a few weeks of regular review, the first signs usually show:

• your child uses new words on their own, without being reminded;
• in class they understand instructions faster and put their hand up more readily;
• the teacher notices they remember material from previous lessons;
• they feel less stressed when they have to say something in the new language.

If you don’t see these signs, it’s worth talking to your child and to the teacher: perhaps the sessions are too long, too infrequent or don’t fit what’s happening in class.

What should you look for when choosing an app for your child?

• Structure rather than random games. A good app guides your child step by step: from words to sentences, from listening to speaking.
• Native voices. Your child should hear what the language really sounds like.
• Instructions in your child’s language. A younger learner who is still learning to read has to understand what to do.
• No ads. Ads are distracting and tempt children to click.
• As little of your child’s data as possible. Check what the app asks for. A child’s account doesn’t need an email address or a phone number.
• Short sessions with a clear end. An app shouldn’t keep nudging your child towards “just one more round”.

What about screen time?

It’s an important question. A short stretch of purposeful learning is something completely different from aimlessly scrolling through videos. It helps when a session has a clear beginning and end, and when, at first, a parent sits alongside and practises with the child. Over time your child will manage on their own, and you’ll know what they’re doing and how long it takes.

How do we do it in La Pandilla · Inicio?

La Pandilla · Inicio is a Spanish course for children aged 7 to 9 who are starting from scratch. It guides them step by step — module by module and unit by unit — through short sessions with four stages: discover, practise, use and a final challenge. If your child already learns Spanish at school or in after-school classes and knows the basics, write to us and we’ll advise you on where to start.

What if your child doesn’t go to Spanish lessons? They can start at home too, from scratch and even if nobody in the family speaks Spanish: that’s what the course is designed for.

Every word and every sentence has its audio, with native voices; the instructions can be heard in your child’s own language, and whatever is hard comes back until it sticks. There are no ads, and you create your child’s account from your own: a username and a password are all it takes, with no email address or phone number. One subscription covers the whole family, and you can try Unit 1 free — with no card and no time limit.

La Pandilla · Inicio

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