Child language assessment and intervention in multilingual and multicultural South Africa: Findings of a national survey
Research worldwide suggests that service delivery by speech-language therapists (SLTs) to bilingual children is problematic and largely unsatisfactory. In multicultural South Africa, the majority of SLTs speak either only English or only Afrikaans and English. The current state of service deliver...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Afrikaans |
| Published: |
Stellenbosch University
2013-12-01
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| Series: | Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://spil.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/147 |
| Summary: | Research worldwide suggests that service delivery by speech-language therapists (SLTs) to
bilingual children is problematic and largely unsatisfactory. In multicultural South Africa, the
majority of SLTs speak either only English or only Afrikaans and English. The current state
of service delivery to bilingual children, including those with first languages other than
English or Afrikaans, is not known. This study was undertaken to ascertain how SLTs in
South Africa adapt their assessment and intervention practices to cope with the multilingual
and multicultural nature of the local child population. A questionnaire was completed by 243
practising SLTs who had children on their caseloads. 71% of respondents reported treating
children with English as first language, 51% Afrikaans, and 53% an indigenous African
language. Less than 2% reported not treating bilingual children. Almost all respondents could
assess clients in English, 67% in Afrikaans, and 15% in an African language. A quarter could
treat clients in one language only; 11% could do so in more than two languages. Only 7%
reported that 90-100% of their bilingual clients receive intervention in their first language.
70% of respondents needed intervention material in English, 57% in Afrikaans, and 33% in an
African language. 78% considered the underlying linguistic base when selecting a language
assessment instrument; only 6% considered its linguistic and cultural appropriateness for use
locally. The use of translations of English-medium instruments when assessing Afrikaansspeaking
children was widely reported, as was dissatisfaction with standardised English- and
Afrikaans-medium instruments. The findings supply essential information on the state of
service delivery to bilingual children: After almost two decades of official multilingualism in
South Africa, SLTs’ practices remain a poor reflection of the multilingual and multicultural
realities of the population. Steps toward improving the situation would include training more
multilingual SLTs, specifically speakers of African languages, and expanding research
leading to linguistically and culturally appropriate assessment and intervention material. |
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| ISSN: | 1027-3417 2223-9936 |