What is the SPEECHIE project?
SPEECHIE is a research project funded by the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) FUSION programme aiming to develop a device/toy for 3-to-5-year-old children that will facilitate and enhance speech and language therapy within and beyond the clinical setting.
A Speech and Language toy?
Children develop critical skills through playing. The toy will stimulate children to engage in various play scenarios and consequently practice on the goals assigned by Speech and Language Pathologists.
Bilingualism?
Bilingualism is a person’s ability to communicate with ease in two languages. In countries that have two main languages, children concede vocabulary skills in both languages. It is normal that children acquire a dominant language because it depends on how much they are exposure to any language. It is also a fact that the bilingual child’s vocabulary production in each language separately cannot be compared to that of monolingual children (Thordardottir, 2005)*. Although bilingualism does not cause Language Impairment, such disorders can be complicated when children have bilingual or multilingual exposure, which is a common occurrence worldwide.
Although bilingualism does not cause Language Impairment, such disorders can be complicated when children have bilingual or multilingual exposure, which is a common occurrence worldwide.
*Thordardottir, E. T. (2005) Early lexical and syntactic development in Quebec French and English: implications of cross-linguistic and bilingual assessment. International Journal of language and Communication Disorders 40 (3), 243-278.
TAGLINE
SPEECHIE: Helping children speak loud and clear.
SHORT DESCRIPTION
The SPEECHIE Project is focused on developing an assistive toy that can help children aged 3-5 communicate better in a bilingual context.
Learn more about SPEECHIE project device: Flyer