Implications of First Nations English dialects for supporting children’s language development
Date
2005
Authors
Ball, Jessica
Bernhardt, Barbara
Deby, Jeff
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Abstract
This project addresses growing concern in Aboriginal Early Childhood Care and Development
(AECCD) and in education that there is a lack of knowledge about culturally appropriate
milestones to inform programs of support, screening, and early intervention for First Nations
children’s English language development. Some child care practitioners, educators, speech
language pathologists, and First Nations leaders suggest that First Nations children may be
disproportionately misdiagnosed with language impairments. There is speculation that this
problem may be due in part to dialect difference rather than speech-language deficit or delay.
Language and learning problems may be exacerbated by a mismatch in the communicative norms
valued at home and at school.
Description
Updates on this project can be found at www.ecdip.org.
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Citation
This paper was prepared for a presentation at the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education held at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, Aotearoa/New Zealand, November 27-December 1, 2005.