How to test a language learning app

Shipped untested, a language learning app keeps a child learner's pronunciation recordings on the speech server after a parent asks for deletion, and leaves a listening or drag-to-match exercise that a learner using a screen reader cannot finish. 7 tests are mandatory here, each tied to a risk in the map below. After the release smoke check, start the risk tests with end-to-end functional tests: deleting a child profile must remove its voice recordings, and a cancelled subscription must stay cancelled past the next renewal date.

7 mandatory testsfirst: end-to-end functional tests

What counts as a language learning app

A language learning app here is an iOS, Android and web app with lessons, streaks, speaking exercises scored by speech recognition and subscriptions with free trials or family plans, used by adults and children. It covers the age gate and parent consent, voice recording and deletion, the paywall and trial terms, lesson accessibility and microphone behaviour across devices. Live tutoring marketplaces and school course platforms are out of scope.

Adjacent product types not covered here

kids app: A kids app is built only for children and bundles third-party SDKs, so ad SDK certification and parental gates lead instead of voice recordings from speaking drills and adult trial renewals.
subscription box service: Subscription commerce ships physical boxes on a recurring order, so a cancellation maze, cancellations not applied before the next box and gift links that expose delivery addresses lead instead of store paywall terms and speech recordings.
mobile game: A mobile game sells currency and loot boxes and runs live events, so accidental purchases and launch load replace speech scoring and trial-to-yearly renewals.

Risk map

4 risks attached to language learning app with evidence. Sorted by severity.
Risk		Grade	Note	Evidence
Money leaves or fails to arrive money-loss	money	secondary by design analysis	A learner's free trial rolls into a yearly plan with no in-app cancel path, or a family plan seat keeps billing after the owner removed that member.	ev-0001 ev-0265 ev-0266
Accessibility complaint or lawsuit accessibility-liability	legal	primary	A listening exercise has no transcript, or a drag-to-match word exercise cannot be finished with a screen reader, so a learner with a disability cannot complete a lesson.	ev-0016 ev-0017
Fine or enforcement by a regulator regulatory-penalty	legal	primary	Pronunciation drills record a child learner's voice, and the clips stay on the speech server after a parent asks for them to be deleted, or the app collects a child profile's personal information before a parent consents.	ev-0024 ev-0267
App rejected or removed by a store store-rejection	distribution	secondary by design analysis	The paywall that appears after a lesson unlocks premium lessons outside in-app purchase, or the trial screen hides the renewal price, and review rejects the build.	ev-0001 ev-0265

Mandatory tests (7)

Step 1: release smoke tests
Why:store-rejection
Done when: On the release build, a new learner picks a language, completes the first lesson including one speaking exercise, and sees the paywall with price and renewal terms.
Tool class: mobile automation. Who usually runs it: QA engineer.
Step 2: end-to-end functional tests
Why:money-loss regulatory-penalty
Done when: A parent deletes a child profile and its voice recordings are gone from the account export, and a cancelled subscription stays cancelled after the next renewal date.
Tool class: mobile automation. Who usually runs it: QA engineer.
Step 3: payment and money-flow testing
Why:money-loss store-rejection
Done when: In the store sandbox, a trial converts, renews, is cancelled in the app and is restored on a second device, and each step shows the right plan with one charge or none.
Tool class: mobile automation. Who usually runs it: QA engineer.
Step 4: compliance checks
Why:store-rejection regulatory-penalty
Done when: A reviewer confirms the paywall states price, billing period and cancel steps, and the age gate routes users under the COPPA age to a parent consent step before any voice recording.
Tool class: test management. Who usually runs it: product manager.
Step 5: accessibility testing
Why:accessibility-liability
Done when: A screen reader user completes a listening, matching and typing exercise, and every audio prompt has a text alternative.
Tool class: accessibility checker. Who usually runs it: accessibility specialist.
Step 6: analytics and event tracking tests
Why:regulatory-penalty
Done when: A network capture during a lesson on a child profile shows no advertising identifier and no voice clip sent to any advertising or analytics domain.
Tool class: proxy. Who usually runs it: QA engineer.
Step 7: device and browser compatibility
Why:store-rejection
Done when: Microphone permission, speech scoring and audio playback work on each supported phone model and OS version, including with Bluetooth headphones, and the paywall shows price and renewal terms on each model.
Tool class: device cloud. Who usually runs it: QA engineer.

Recommended and optional tests

performance and load testingrecommended
Becomes mandatory when speech scoring slows at peak usage.
security scanningrecommended
Becomes mandatory when the app stores learner data beyond progress and voice clips.
localization testingrecommended
Becomes mandatory when a new interface language ships.
offline and poor-network testingrecommended
Becomes mandatory when learners report lost streaks after offline study.
unit testsoptional
May help where streak complaints appear after travel.
regression suiteoptional
May help once OS updates break audio between releases.
exploratory testingoptional
May help if streak or trial abuse appears in support tickets.
usability testingoptional
May help where onboarding drop-off is high.

Not needed and why

contract tests
Not needed: one team owns the apps and API. Becomes recommended when schools or partners use the API.
penetration testing
Not needed: learners cannot view other learners' profiles or recordings. Becomes recommended when classroom or social features ship.
resilience and failure testing
Not needed: a speech outage blocks only speaking exercises, which can be skipped. Becomes recommended when speech is required to finish a lesson.

Order of work

First release

release smoke tests: On the release build, pick a language as a new learner, finish the first lesson including one speaking exercise and check the paywall shows price and renewal terms.
end-to-end functional tests: Delete a test child profile as a parent and confirm its voice recordings are gone from the account export, then cancel a subscription and confirm it stays cancelled after the next renewal date.
payment and money-flow testing: In the store sandbox, convert a trial, renew it, cancel it in the app and restore it on a second device, checking the plan and charge at each step.
compliance checks: Confirm the paywall states price, billing period and cancel steps, and that the age gate sends children under the COPPA age to parent consent before any voice recording.
accessibility testing: Complete a listening, a matching and a typing exercise with a screen reader and confirm every audio prompt has a text alternative.
analytics and event tracking tests: Capture network traffic during a lesson on a child profile and confirm no advertising identifier or voice clip reaches an advertising or analytics domain.
device and browser compatibility: Check microphone permission, speech scoring and audio playback on each supported phone model and OS version, including with Bluetooth headphones, and confirm the paywall shows price and renewal terms on each model.

Ongoing cadence

release smoke tests: On every build before store submission.
payment and money-flow testing: After each change to trial length, plans, family seats or the paywall.
analytics and event tracking tests: When a third-party SDK is added or updated.
accessibility testing: When a new exercise type ships.
device and browser compatibility: When a new OS version ships or the speech recognition provider changes its model.
localization testing: When a new interface language ships.

Tools

Listed alphabetically inside each test type, filtered to the tests above and to the platforms of language learning app (ios, android, web). Not recommendations.

release smoke tests

Firebase Test LabRuns app tests on hosted devices. iosandroidfreemium
TestRailTest case and run management. webiosandroidapicommercial
XrayTest management inside Jira. webiosandroidapicommercial

end-to-end functional tests

AppiumCross-platform mobile UI automation over WebDriver. iosandroidopen-source
ApplitoolsVisual comparison of screens across builds. webiosandroidcommercial
BrowserStackCloud of real devices and browsers. webiosandroidcommercial
CypressBrowser-based end-to-end testing with a visual runner. webfreemium
DetoxGray-box end-to-end testing for React Native apps. iosandroidopen-source
EspressoAndroid UI testing framework from Google. androidopen-source
LambdaTestCloud browser and device grid. webiosandroidcommercial
MaestroMobile UI flows written in YAML. iosandroidfreemium
PercyVisual review of UI changes. webcommercial
PlaywrightBrowser automation for Chromium, Firefox and WebKit. webopen-source
PromptfooEvaluation and regression tests for LLM prompts and outputs. apiwebopen-source
Sauce LabsCloud test infrastructure for web and mobile. webiosandroidcommercial
SeleniumWebDriver-based browser automation. webopen-source
XCTestApple's framework for unit and UI tests. iosopen-source

payment and money-flow testing

Adyen test environmentTest cards and scenarios for Adyen integrations. webapiiosandroidcommercial
Stripe test modeTest cards and scenarios for Stripe integrations. webapiiosandroidfreemium

accessibility testing

Accessibility ScannerGoogle's on-device accessibility checker for Android. androidopen-source
axe-coreAccessibility rules engine for automated checks. webopen-source
LighthouseAudits for accessibility and performance in Chrome. webopen-source
Pa11yCommand-line accessibility testing. webopen-source

analytics and event tracking tests

AvoTracking plan and event validation. webiosandroidfreemium
Segment ProtocolsTracking plan validation for Segment events. webiosandroidcommercial

device and browser compatibility

AppiumCross-platform mobile UI automation over WebDriver. iosandroidopen-source
ApplitoolsVisual comparison of screens across builds. webiosandroidcommercial
BrowserStackCloud of real devices and browsers. webiosandroidcommercial
Firebase Test LabRuns app tests on hosted devices. iosandroidfreemium
LambdaTestCloud browser and device grid. webiosandroidcommercial
PercyVisual review of UI changes. webcommercial
PlaywrightBrowser automation for Chromium, Firefox and WebKit. webopen-source
Sauce LabsCloud test infrastructure for web and mobile. webiosandroidcommercial
SeleniumWebDriver-based browser automation. webopen-source

performance and load testing

ArtilleryLoad testing with YAML scenarios. apiwebfreemium
GatlingLoad testing with Scala, Java or Kotlin scenarios. apiwebfreemium
JMeterLoad testing tool from the Apache Foundation. apiwebopen-source
k6Load testing scripted in JavaScript. apiwebopen-source
LighthouseAudits for accessibility and performance in Chrome. webopen-source
LocustLoad testing scripted in Python. apiwebopen-source

security scanning

Burp SuiteProxy and scanner for web application security testing. webapifreemium
mitmproxyInteractive HTTPS proxy. iosandroidwebapiopen-source
MobSFStatic and dynamic analysis for mobile binaries. iosandroidopen-source
OWASP ZAPDynamic application security scanner. webapiopen-source
SemgrepStatic analysis with custom rules. apiwebiosandroidfreemium
SnykDependency and code vulnerability scanning. apiwebiosandroidfreemium

localization testing

Lokalise QATranslation management with in-context review. webiosandroidcommercial
Pseudolocalization (Android, iOS)Built-in pseudolocales to find truncation and hard-coded strings. iosandroidopen-source

offline and poor-network testing

Charles ProxyHTTP proxy for inspecting and throttling traffic. iosandroidwebcommercial
mitmproxyInteractive HTTPS proxy. iosandroidwebapiopen-source
Network Link ConditionerApple tool for simulating poor network conditions. iosopen-source

What to send to the person who will test

Send the checklist and the brief below. The printable checklist for language learning app has the same 7 items with checkboxes.

Download the checklist Markdown CSV Brief (Markdown)

Acceptance criteria wording

A release of the language learning app is accepted when a new learner can finish the first lesson with a speaking exercise and sees a paywall with price, billing period and cancel steps. A trial converts, renews, cancels in the app and restores on a second device with one charge or none at each step, and a deleted child profile leaves no voice recordings in the account export. A screen reader user completes listening, matching and typing exercises, with a text alternative for every audio prompt.

Brief

# Test brief: language learning app

Product type: language learning app. Lessons, streaks, speech recognition and subscriptions.
Risk map and evidence: https://howtotestaproduct.com/how-to-test/language-learning-app/
Printable checklist: https://howtotestaproduct.com/checklists/language-learning-app/

Run these 7 mandatory tests in this order. A test is done only when its done condition is true on the build you will release.

1. release smoke tests (risks: store-rejection). Tool class: mobile automation. Usually run by: QA engineer.
Done when: On the release build, a new learner picks a language, completes the first lesson including one speaking exercise, and sees the paywall with price and renewal terms.
2. end-to-end functional tests (risks: money-loss, regulatory-penalty). Tool class: mobile automation. Usually run by: QA engineer.
Done when: A parent deletes a child profile and its voice recordings are gone from the account export, and a cancelled subscription stays cancelled after the next renewal date.
3. payment and money-flow testing (risks: money-loss, store-rejection). Tool class: mobile automation. Usually run by: QA engineer.
Done when: In the store sandbox, a trial converts, renews, is cancelled in the app and is restored on a second device, and each step shows the right plan with one charge or none.
4. compliance checks (risks: store-rejection, regulatory-penalty). Tool class: test management. Usually run by: product manager.
Done when: A reviewer confirms the paywall states price, billing period and cancel steps, and the age gate routes users under the COPPA age to a parent consent step before any voice recording.
5. accessibility testing (risks: accessibility-liability). Tool class: accessibility checker. Usually run by: accessibility specialist.
Done when: A screen reader user completes a listening, matching and typing exercise, and every audio prompt has a text alternative.
6. analytics and event tracking tests (risks: regulatory-penalty). Tool class: proxy. Usually run by: QA engineer.
Done when: A network capture during a lesson on a child profile shows no advertising identifier and no voice clip sent to any advertising or analytics domain.
7. device and browser compatibility (risks: store-rejection). Tool class: device cloud. Usually run by: QA engineer.
Done when: Microphone permission, speech scoring and audio playback work on each supported phone model and OS version, including with Bluetooth headphones, and the paywall shows price and renewal terms on each model.

Acceptance criteria wording:
A release of the language learning app is accepted when a new learner can finish the first lesson with a speaking exercise and sees a paywall with price, billing period and cancel steps. A trial converts, renews, cancels in the app and restores on a second device with one charge or none at each step, and a deleted child profile leaves no voice recordings in the account export. A screen reader user completes listening, matching and typing exercises, with a text alternative for every audio prompt.

Report back for each test: pass or fail against its done condition, the build or version tested, and the proof (screenshot, log line or report file).

Licence: CC BY 4.0.

For founders: what to forward and what to ask back. For product managers: turning this page into tickets.

Questions about testing a language learning app

What testing does a language learning app need?

7 tests are mandatory, each tied to one of the 4 risks in the map: child voice recordings kept after a deletion request, lessons a learner with a disability cannot finish, trials that roll into yearly plans without an in-app cancel path and paywalls that fail store review. Performance, security scanning, localization and offline tests are recommended, each with the event that makes it mandatory.

What gets a language learning app rejected by an app store?

The map marks store rejection as a by design analysis risk: a paywall that unlocks premium lessons outside in-app purchase, or a trial screen that hides the renewal price, is rejected. Compliance checks confirm the paywall states price, billing period and cancel steps, and payment tests run the trial, renewal, cancel and restore path in the store sandbox.

What is the minimum testing for a language learning app at MVP stage?

The minimum is the 7 mandatory tests, because their conditions hold from the first release: the app sells subscriptions or trials, speaking exercises record audio, children can learn and lessons include audio and drag-based exercises. Unit, regression, exploratory and usability tests are optional. Contract, penetration and resilience tests are not needed until the conditions on the page change.

Which tests in a vendor test plan for a language learning app are not needed?

Contract tests are not needed while one team owns the apps and API, until schools or partners use the API. Penetration testing is not needed while learners cannot view other learners' profiles or recordings, until classroom or social features ship. Resilience testing is not needed while a speech outage only blocks skippable speaking exercises, until speech is required to finish a lesson.

Evidence

ev-0001store-guidelineprimary
App Review Guidelines, Apple
Apple reviews every iOS, iPadOS and macOS App Store submission against these guidelines, including crashes and bugs at review, privacy disclosures, in-app purchase rules and extra rules for medical, financial and kids apps, and apps with user-generated content must let users report offensive content and block abusive users (guideline 1.2), and apps offering loot boxes or similar mechanisms must disclose the odds of each item type before purchase (guideline 3.1.1).
published undated · verified 2026-10-07
ev-0265store-guidelineprimary
Create and manage subscriptions (Play Console Help), Google
You must also include in your app(s) access to an easy-to-use, online method to cancel the subscription.
Supports store-rejection and money-loss for a language learning app sold by subscription on Google Play: the page requires explicit offer terms, billing frequency and an in-app cancel method for every subscription.
published undated · verified 2026-10-07
ev-0266regulatorprimary
Negative Option Rule, Federal Trade Commission
Supports money-loss for a language learning app whose plans renew automatically: the FTC rule page states its aim of stopping recurring charges consumers did not intend and removing obstacles to cancelling them.
published undated · verified 2026-10-07
ev-0016standardprimary
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, W3C
WCAG 2.2 is the W3C standard that accessibility law and procurement rules reference; level AA is the usual target.
published undated · verified 2026-10-07
ev-0017regulatorprimary
Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA, U.S. Department of Justice
The Department of Justice states that the ADA applies to the websites of businesses open to the public and of state and local governments.
published undated · verified 2026-10-07
ev-0024regulatorprimary
Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA), U.S. Federal Trade Commission
COPPA requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13 on sites and apps directed to children or with actual knowledge.
published undated · verified 2026-10-07
ev-0267court-or-fineprimary
FTC and DOJ Charge Amazon with Violating Children’s Privacy Law by Keeping Kids’ Alexa Voice Recordings Forever and Undermining Parents’ Deletion Requests, Federal Trade Commission
Supports regulatory-penalty for a language learning app with child learners and for a kids app: the FTC charged retention of children's voice recordings and failure to honour parents' deletion requests under COPPA, which applies to speech exercises that record a child.
published 2023-05-31 · verified 2026-10-07

Disclaimer

This page lists tests and risks for a product category, not for your product. Risks are attached only with the evidence shown in the Evidence section. Tools are listed alphabetically and are not recommendations. Nothing here is legal, regulatory or security advice; where a regulator or a store sets a requirement, their page is linked and takes precedence.

How to test a language learning app

01Direct answer

02What counts as a language learning app

Adjacent product types not covered here

03Risk map

04Mandatory tests (7)

Step 1: release smoke tests

Step 2: end-to-end functional tests

Step 3: payment and money-flow testing

Step 4: compliance checks

Step 5: accessibility testing

Step 6: analytics and event tracking tests

Step 7: device and browser compatibility

05Recommended and optional tests

06Not needed and why

07Order of work