Cambly Kids Review (2022)
Cambly Kids Review (2022)
Cambly Kids is one of the best ways to get your child speaking practice online. However, I would say it is only a good platform, not a great one. In my mind, it does not overcome the inherent issues with online tutoring and it can be expensive. However, it does give people a way to get their children chatting with a native English speaker which could be invaluable for some parents.
Learn about other ways to improve your English with our favorite English learning apps.
What is Cambly Kids?
Cambly Kids is an offshoot of Cambly. In Cambly Kids, children get one-on-one classes with a native English speaker while learning from a set curriculum. The primary focus of Cambly Kids is improving your child’s English speaking skills.
Classes work on building vocabulary and using this vocabulary in sentences. Tutors help children through this process by playing games, doing listen-say drills, and having conversations.
I previously wrote an article reviewing Cambly, a program that solely focuses on practicing English conversation. If you would like to learn more about this, you can look at our Cambly Review.
Cambly Kids at a glance
Features
- 1-on-1 classes with a native English speaker
- 30-minute classes with games and activities to help keep your child entertained
Pros
- A great opportunity to have your child practice spoken English
- Tutors are native English speakers
- All you need is a computer with a mic and a webcam
- Lessons try their best to keep things entertaining
- The curriculum is designed for children learning English as a second language
Cons
- Teachers are not necessarily certified
- Quality of teaching will vary widely depending on the tutor you choose
- Not cheap
- Not good for beginners
How Much Does it Cost?
The list below shows a breakdown of the costs for Cambly Kids. Each Cambly Kids class is 30-minutes long, and each plan offers you a choice of how many days a week you want your child to have a class. So, under the 2 Days a Week section, your child would be getting two 30-minute classes a week on different days of your choosing.
We have broken down the costs per class and how much you are paying for an hour of tutoring based on their pricing. For this breakdown, we assumed that a month was 4 weeks long. So, by our calculations, a month of 3 days a week classes would equate to 12 classes a month. In actual fact, it is more complicated than this, but this should give you a good idea of the costs of Cambly Kids on any of their plans.
2 Days a Week
Month – $86/month ($10.75 a class) ($21.50 an hour)*
Quarter – $77/month ($9.62 a class) ($19.24 an hour)*
Year – $65/month ($8.12 a class) ($16.24 an hour)*
3 Days a Week
Month – $119/month ($9.91 a class) ($19.83 an hour)*
Quarter – $107/month ($8.91 a class) ($17.83 an hour)*
Year – $89/month ($7.41 a class) ($14.83 an hour)*
5 Days a Week
Month – $169/month ($8.45 a class) ($16.90 an hour)*
Quarter – $152/month ($7.60 a class) ($15.20 an hour)*
Year – $127/month ($6.35 a class) ($12.70 an hour)*
7 Days a Week
Month – $229/month ($8.17 a class) ($16.35 an hour)*
Quarter – $206/month ($7.35 a class) ($14.71 an hour)*
Year – $172/month ($6.14 a class) ($12.28 an hour)*
*(assuming 4 weeks a month)
Free Trial
Cambly Kids is not offering a free trial lesson as of right now. However, you can pay $10 for a one-time lesson.
Cambly offers a free 5-minute call. Though, it is not the same as Cambly Kids.
Can I cancel?
Cambly Kids can be canceled whenever, and you will only pay for the months that you have used. So if you buy a year of classes and quit after the first week of the 2nd month, you would be paying for two months based on the monthly purchase rate.
Can I help your website out by trying Cambly?
Yes, you can. If you find this content helpful and want to give Cambly a try, then you can use my ambassador code “Learners” during signup. It won’t cost you anything extra and I could get a small commission of $30 from Cambly for sending you their way.
Who are the Teachers?
Teachers on Cambly Kids are native speakers who require documentation and a video introduction to prove that they are citizens of English-speaking countries like the UK, US, or Canada.
Teachers on Cambly Kids do not need to have any teaching certifications. They also do not need a university degree at all. Some other platforms require at least a TEFL, but Cambly Kids does not require anything. This, to me, is problematic as teaching English as a second language can be very hard.
Your child may not be getting the best teaching as many of these teachers may have no experience beyond being native English speakers. This means they may not be able to answer questions on grammar or explain why grammar rules are the way they are.
What does a Cambly lesson look like?
It is always nice to see what a lesson is going to look like before you sign up. Cambly Kids has a short video that you should check out as it gives you a sense of their classes and their teaching philosophy.
Better, though, are full videos of actual lessons posted on YouTube by real Cambly Kids tutors. The two videos below can show you what a real lesson on Cambly Kids looks and feels like.
Who can Cambly Kids help?
Cambly Kids can help children who already have a basic level of English or higher, and who need to speak with native speakers more to improve. This is especially useful in areas where there are not many native English speakers.
It can also help children whose parents are going to be available to help them review what they are learning. Cambly Kids can help teach and review the lessons that they are teaching, but they are not going to be able to put in the full-time work required to get your child fluent.
Ideally, Cambly Kids is for upper-beginner to intermediate level children who already get English teaching in a school or from their parents. Therefore, Cambly Kids can supplement what they are already learning by helping them become more fluent and confident in their spoken English.
Who won’t succeed on Cambly Kids?
If your child does not speak any English, Cambly Kids is not the best way to proceed. These teachers (probably) do not speak your language. It can be very difficult to teach a child who has no English to a point where they can make basic sentences.
If your child has no English, I would recommend teaching them yourself or finding a tutor locally in your area who speaks English at a high level. A good place to find these kinds of people are at local universities in the English, Education, or Translation departments.
Another group of kids who may have issues with Cambly Kids is young, active children. Thirty minutes is a long time to sit in front of a computer practicing English. If your child needs to be moving to learn, then maybe you should wait until they are older before trying Cambly Kids.
Would I recommend Cambly Kids?
Cambly Kids can be an important part of your child’s English education as speaking skills are arguably the most important part of learning a language. Speaking is also an often-overlooked skill in schools as it is difficult to teach when children are in large groups. So Cambly Kids can help fill that gap as a supplement to other education.
I believe that face-to-face tutoring is more effective than over the internet, but if you live in an area that does not have native English speakers, this may be the next best thing. As well, unless you live in China, few other alternatives exist that do what Cambly Kids does.
That being said, Cambly Kids is not cheap, and it is not a full answer to your child’s English education. Depending on your situation, it may be better to look for qualified local tutors who are native speakers.
At the end of the day, if you have read all of this and you think your child could benefit from Cambly Kids, then I would suggest you give it a try. You can always cancel if you aren’t happy with the results.
Another thing to remember is that there is always just regular Cambly. If your child is older and just needs conversation practice, then maybe Cambly would be a better fit for them. To read more about Cambly, take a look at my Cambly Review.
How do I make my child’s time on Cambly Kids worthwhile?
I would suggest that you try out a couple of tutors until you find one that seems to want to be there and who is going to help your child grow. Not all tutors on Cambly Kids are created equal, so you will want to make sure that your tutor is the right one for your child.
Also, make sure to be an active parent in your child’s English education. Take notes on what they learn and actively practice it in the days and weeks following the lesson.
Finally, make sure that what your child is learning is at their level. The lessons should be difficult but not impossible. You also don’t want them wasting their time on easy stuff that they already know.
Final Thoughts
Cambly Kids is a great opportunity for a lot of children. It brings native-English speaking tutors into your home with a good curriculum to teach your child. It is not perfect, and it is not cheap, but it can be a very effective way to help your child improve their English.
If you would like to talk more about Cambly Kids, Cambly, or ideas on how to get your child fluent in English, just send us a message. Click on the picture below this paragraph or comment on this post, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
