Lead supervisor:
Dr Sarah Cooper 
Other supervisor(s):
- Dr Eirini Sanoudaki
Start date: October 2023 (Full time)
Award: General
Subject Pathway:
Linguistics and Bilingualism
Thematic Cluster:
Language, Learning and Behaviour Cluster
Speech and Language Therapy in Wales: the availability and adequacy of bilingual Welsh resources
Previous survey studies have reported a lack of bilingual resources available for Speech and Language Therapists (SLT) around the world (Bloder et al., 2021; Mulgrew et al., 2022). The studies highlight that many current assessments are translated from English and few of these assessments were designed for bi- and multi-lingual service users. In the context of Welsh, evidence shows little progress has been made to increase the number of bilingual Welsh-English resources, and the resources that are available are not reflective of the Welsh language or the bilingual Welsh population (Thomas et al., 2022).
This study aimed to explore resources from the perspective of Speech and Language Therapists themselves, by employing a questionnaire and conducting interviews. The questions will explore the availability of bilingual Welsh resources for SLTs, the adequacy of resources to be used with SLT caseloads, and SLTs’ views on bilingual Welsh medium resources. Further investigation will be conducted on the experiences and attitudes of service users of Speech and Language Therapy in Wales. This will provide various perspectives of the current situation of Welsh Speech and Language Therapy and Welsh language resources in Wales.
Currently, analysis of the existing data shows that a majority of SLTs lack Welsh medium resources to use with service users needing support and intervention through the medium of Welsh. The existing data also provides insights to current practices without Welsh resources and how these issues are being solved temporarily. The results provide empirical evidence for the need to create original bilingual Welsh-English resources within Speech and Language Therapy in Wales.
Bibliography
Bloder, T., Eikerling, M., Rinker, T., & Lorusso, M. L. (2021). Speech and Language Therapy Service for Multilingual Children: Attitudes and Approaches across Four European Countries. Sustainability, 13(21), Article 21. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112143
Mulgrew, L., Duffy, O., & Kennedy, L. (2022). Assessment of minority language skills in English–Irish-speaking bilingual children: A survey of SLT perspectives and current practices. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 57(1), 63–77. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12674
Thomas, E., Owen, C. M., Hunt, F., Young, N., Dafydd, M., Fontaine, L., Aldridge-Waddon, M., Sullivan, K. P. H., Lloyd-Williams, S. W., ap Gruffudd, G. S., & Caulfield, G. (2022). Working towards diagnosing bilingual children’s language abilities: Issues for teachers in Wales. Cylchgrawn Addysg Cymru / Wales Journal of Education, 24(2), 50–73.