A Qualitative Study on Speech and Language Intervention in Children from Multicultural Families

Park, So Hyun; Jung, Myoung sim

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Commun Sci Disord. 2012;17(1): 47-65.

So Hyun Park^` , and Myoung sim Jung^`

박소현(So Hyun Park)| 정명심(Myoung sim Jung)

ABSTRACT

Background & Objectives
As the number of multicultural families has been increasing for years in Korea, increased attention has been given to children’s language development. Recent research has revealed language problems in children from multicultural families; however, research specifically designed to determine whether these problems are due to language differences or language difficulties is lacking. The present study investigates the differences in language characteristics and methods of assessment and intervention between children with simple language disorders and children from multicultural families.
Methods
In-depth interviewing was used for data collection. Seven speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who had been working with children from multicultural families were interviewed individually. All interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. The transcripts were analyzed using the constant comparative method of qualitative analysis.
Results
Four primary themes and seven subthemes emerged from the analysis: 1) speech and language evaluation of children from multicultural families, 2) language characteristics of children from multicultural families, 3) speech and language intervention of children from multicultural families, and 4) recommendations for future research and for SLPs who work with children from multicultural families.
Discussion & Conclusion
The results are discussed in relation to the themes defined in the present study as well as in reference to other related literature. Recommendations for future research are also presented.