Blackburn Speech & Paediatric Therapy
We are a team of professionals with bilingual background. We are first- and second-generation immigrants. We understand how important it is for you to preserve your home language, as it is so closely linked to your cultural heritage and family relationships.
Melbourne is one of the most multilingual and multicultural cities in Australia. Over 30% of Melbourne’s population speaks a language other than English at home.
As speech-language pathologists, we can see that there is insufficient support for bilingual families with children who have language difficulties. It is unfortunate that some families are, as a result, advised to use their home languages less. This could lead to difficulties integrating into the community and communication challenges between parents and children.
Research has told us that there are multiple advantages of multilingualism. Having a bilingual background may help your child to better understand how languages work, and thereby learn English and additional languages more efficiently. Most importantly, it can help foster pride and confidence in your own cultural background.