Di Prete, Davide; Nevins, Andrew; Garraffa, Maria; (2025) Rethinking Phonetics: Decolonising Clinical Teaching in Speech and Language Therapy Programmes in the UK. Presented at: "Cultures of Decolonisation at UCL" Forum, London, UK.

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Abstract

SLTs in the UK are increasingly working with clients from diverse linguistic backgrounds. Yet, SLT education remains largely centred on standard English, and multilingualism is often addressed separately from core modules such as phonetics and phonology. This puts at risk of producing professionals underprepared to assess and treat clients whose linguistic experiences differ from the standard norm. There is a need to re-examine how linguistic diversity is addressed in foundational SLT training. The project investigates how phonetics and phonology are taught across UK SLT programmes, focusing on how linguistic diversity and multilingualism are included in teaching practices and student learning experiences. Our goal is to generate evidence- based recommendations for more inclusive and representative curricula that prepare students for real-world multilingual clinical practice. We examined RCSLT-accredited SLT programmes using two online surveys: one for teachers and one for SLT students. The teachers survey explores curricular content, teaching approaches, resources, and critical reflection on language ideologies. The student survey investigates perceived preparedness, confidence in applying phonetic knowledge across languages and accents, and the extent to which their own linguistic backgrounds are recognised during training. Follow-up focus groups allowed for deeper qualitative insight into emerging themes.

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