School of Education - Research Seminar Series

Sarah Verdon is this month's speaker for the School of Education Research Seminar Series.

The seminar can be attended in person on the Albury campus or via video conference on the Wagga Wagga Campus on Wednesday 22nd July at 3pm.

Title

Embracing diversity, creating equality: Supporting the speech, language and communication of culturally and linguistically diverse children.

Abstract

Effective communication is essential for social engagement, educational attainment, and workforce participation. Australia, like many other English-dominant nations is becoming increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse. Therefore an understanding of this diversity is essential for planning services to support all Australian children to become competent and effective communicators in ways that are responsive to their cultural and linguistic background. Yet, little is known about Australian children’s linguistic diversity and how their multilingual speech, language, and communication development can be supported.

This seminar presents the findings of mixed methods PhD research which aimed to contribute to what is known in this area by describing the linguistic diversity of Australian children and the current services available to support them. Additionally, the research investigated approaches to practice that can facilitate positive outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse children with speech, language, and communication.

The first part of this presentation draws upon large scale longitudinal data sets of over 5000 children to examine cultural and linguistic diversity and language maintenance among Australian children, as well as the services available to support their communication.

The second part of this presentation will present the findings from an ethnographic study of professional practice in 14 international sites in Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy, and the US, identified as working with culturally and linguistically diverse populations.

Ethnographic data were analysed using Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT, Engeström, 1987), a heuristic framework that made visible the reality and complexities of professional practice culturally and linguistically diverse populations. From these analyses six overarching principles for guiding practice with culturally and linguistically diverse children were identified: (1) identification of culturally appropriate and mutually motivating therapy goals, (2) knowledge of languages and culture, (3) use of culturally appropriate resources, (4) consideration of the cultural, social and political context, (5) consultation with families and communities, and (6) collaboration with other professionals.

The seminar will explore each of these principles and how they can be applied in practice to support the communication of culturally and linguistically diverse children.

We look forward to seeing you at the seminar.