Let's Spikl!
SPiKL is a play on words that mean Speak Languages. SPiKL takes an unconventional approach to language exchange sites because it is a platform that encourages people to connect in-person - facilitating real life social interaction - something that is increasingly lacking in today's social media saturated world.
SPiKL is an effort to overcome the problems faced with public language exchange sites and further improve integration between home and international students in the university community.
Why spikl?
This is what SPiKL provides:
Zero time-zone difference
One hour time-zone difference affects you more than you know it. It affects how much time you can spend speaking to your language partner and finding a common time to meet gets confusing and difficult when time-difference is a factor.
Flexibility and convenience
SPiKL gives people the chance to meet when and where they want to. Since there is no set syllabus and no classroom, you have control over what works best for you in terms of time, learning progress and distance.
Security and common ground
By having a face-to-face meet up at a café or on campus, there is some sense of security as every user has to be a verified university member. SPiKL connects people primarily based on language, then on other factors such as interests and proficiency. SPiKL tries to match people as best as possible to make language learning fun and conducive.
Casual learning environment
A language exchange is a brilliant way to learn the lingo as the locals would use it.
Is spikl for you?
SPiKL is a great platform for people looking to enrich their university experience by learning a foreign language but
- Cannot commit to formal classes
- Prefer learning to speak over reading and writing
- Want to learn in a casual, free and flexible setting
With SPiKL, you are able to:
- Meet someone who wants to exchange languages in an informal, conversational way
- Learn from a native speaker
- Become a more cultured and global individual
- Add a competitive edge to your employability
- Form international friendships [:
Crowdfunding and spIkl?
I believe that crowd-funding is a great way to gauge the interest amongst university students for this kind of platform. As SPIKL is a real "people product", it is important to know that there are people willing to collaborate to make this happen. On the other hand, in my experience as an international student at university, integration between home and international students can definitely be more fluid. This experience coupled with the hurdles I ran into while trying to find an online language partner fuelled the start of this project.
What is OUR final goal?
I believe this platform has potential to enhance the university experience. If this picks up momentum, we could be seeing the presence of SPIKL in every university across the UK, facilitating the meet up between two people from totally different cultural backgrounds. This could breed a highly internationalised university community with an intercultural atmosphere.
Where will the money go?
£600 (minimum)
The minimum goes solely to the development of the website (incl. user interface, matching algorithm, back-end, front-end).
£800
This amount will be used to obtain an exclusive domain and email address, contribute to the cost of the server and for advertising.
>£800
This amount will enable SPIKL to be officially registered with a UK Companies House and acquire rights for the trademark which will make the website safer and more reliable for all users.
Updates will be given every time we reach 50% of funding amount in each phase and as we hit new milestones.
Rewards
In return for your generosity we have some rewards to thank you, whatever the amount you might give. You can find them on the right side of this page.
Help us succeed!
If you believe in this project and would like to help make this a reality in the UK, starting at the University of York, please consider giving a gift today.
However, you don't need to give money to help us succeed! Please share this project with anyone you think would support us – on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, by email, telephone, in a chat over the fence or on your blog. Any kind of support is greatly appreciated. In fact, share it with everyone you know as we think it's worth seeing something like this come to life at university, and the more people who know about it, the more likely we are to make this work out brilliantly.
And we know we said you don't need to give money to help us, but we'd love it if you did! Please sponsor us and be part of the amazing community that turned this idea into a reality.
Find us here
www.facebook.com/spiklxyz
Our official website www.spikl.xyz is waiting to be developed when we reach our goal. In the mean time, we will constantly be giving you updates on our funding progress and the development of our project through Facebook, YuStart and email. After all, this project would not be possible without you!
