Are South African speech-language therapists adequately equipped to assess English additional language (EAL) speakers who are from an indigenous linguistic and cultural background? A profile and exploration of the current situation

Abstract

This article presents an aspect of a larger PhD study, the aim of which was to critically evaluate and interrogate the use of language assessment tools, in their current form, within the South African context and to produce guidelines for adaptations to these tools that will better accommodate English Additional Language (EAL) speakers. These guidelines and principles could be used by language professionals to manage the assessment process and interpretation of findings from EAL speakers in a more accurate, appropriate and equitable manner. The term 'EAL speaker' is used here to specifically refer to South African multilinguals who are non-mother tongue speakers of English and are from indigenous language and cultural backgrounds 1 .The larger study makes use of a specific screening tool as a model, to exemplify and illustrate the argument. In this study, the cultural and linguistic relevance of this commonly used screening tool is interrogated from four different viewpoints: firstly, the perspective of the children, who are the target population of the tool; secondly, that of the parents and community, who play a significant role in the socialisation of the children; thirdly, from the perspective of the academics from an indigenous language and cultural background, who provide an academic perspective of the tool; and, finally, that of Speech-Language Therapist (SLT) practitioners who administer the tool and interpret the findings. As language assessments are conducted on people who exist within a cultural context, the cultural capital is embedded in language (Peltier, 2010;Seidman, 2008;Westby, 2009). Since the larger study focuses on the relationship between language and culture and adopts an ecological approach to the problems addressed in the study, a conceptual model that encompasses a strong ecological and cultural component was selected; that is Taylor's (1986) cultural framework for viewing normal and pathological communication.As part of this larger study, a national survey was conducted with SLTs to establish current practices in assessment and intervention, training and challenges experienced when working with a client who is an EAL speaker. Not a homogenous group there may be inter-and intra-linguistic and cultural variabilityThis article presents the results of a survey conducted on Speech-Language Therapists (SLTs) regarding current practices in the assessment of English Additional Language (EAL) speakers in South Africa. It forms part of the rationale for a broader (PhD) study that critiques the use of assessment instruments on EAL speakers from an indigenous linguistic and cultural background. This article discusses an aspect of the broader research and presents the background, method, findings, discussion and implications of the survey. The results of this survey highlight the challenges of human and material resources to, and the dominance of English in, the profession in South Africa. The findings contribute to understanding critical factors for acquiring reliable and valid assessment results ...

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