Our Story

talkie

Monolingualism [is] the illiteracy of the 21st century.*

*Gregg Roberts, Jamie Leite, Ofelia Wade

The UK has been facing a language deficit for quite some time now.

The majority of state schools allocate a mere 2 to 3 hours to language learning a week. Divide that by four key skills and all the other aspects that make up an MFL lesson, it is no wonder that speaking is often a neglected skill.

Being able to express themselves fully in the target language is perceived by many students as too difficult. We now have plenty of online tools to support vocabulary drilling yet there is still a huge gap between students learning vocabulary and having a full on 1-1 conversation in their target language.

Something must be done.

Introducing Talkie

Hi! I’m April. Former MFL teacher exploring tech. Frustrated by the lack of time and tools to get students to practise this important skill, I came up with Talkie.

We’re on a mission to empower every student to speak in a foreign language from day one.

We believe that you learn to do something by doing it and that mastery takes regular practice. We want to incite a habit in speaking and provide a safe space for nurturing this skill.

This could mean just two minutes a day, or ten, just one sentence or a bunch of them, whatever works for the learner.

Our mantra – wise words by my NQT mentor – is little but often. Get those words out and let those neurons fire and wire together.

For teachers

Reduce workload whilst getting your students to speak more often

Reduce after-school interventions and better prepare students for 1-1 practice

Reduce student anxiety in speaking

1-1 feedback giving made efficient

Monitor your students’ progress in speaking

For students

Safe space to practise speaking and apply skills you learnt in the classroom

Boost in confidence and engagement

Opportunities to learn authentic expressions

For parents

Improve your child’s confidence in speaking a foreign language

Listen to your child’s progress as often as you’d like through their portfolio

We've just begun...

Our aim is to create the go-to speaking app for schools in the UK and further afield. We want to introduce other languages along with more creative solutions, not only to develop oral fluency amongst students, but to make the user experience and, ultimately, the language learning journey better.

Want to be part of shaping the app? Join us!