Clinical implications of childhood bilingualism

Abstract

n many parts of the world, bilingualism is the norm rather than the exception. South Africa, with its 11 official languages, is one of these parts. Already in 1992, Stobbart (1992:23) stated that speech-language therapists (henceforth "clinicians") in South Africa need to become aware of the implications of service delivery in a multilingual and multicultural set-up. According to Grosjean (1989:14), "we should always keep in mind that half the world's population is bilingual and that using the monolingual as a yardstick is questionable". It would appear, on the one hand, that clinicians' sensitivity toward and knowledge of issues pertaining to bilingualism and biculturalism are growing. On the other hand, however, their approach to the assessment and remediation of bilingual clients remains inherently monolingual, as does their clinical training (Müller 2003:2). In this article, clinical implications of childhood bilingualism for assessment instruments and assessment methods, as well as for therapy provision, will be dealt with. Thereafter, brief comments will be made on the use of translators and interpreters during assessment and/or therapy.

Keywords

• childhood bilingualism
• clinical implications
• bilingual assessment
• child's communication abilities
• intrinsic language-learning impairment