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Speak Out August 2013 29
Bringingwordshome:
volunteering in Zimbabwe
‘C hildren learn through play, they develop
language during play. Teachers should not
dominate play, they instead should just help
children to learn different vocabulary by helping their
interaction in an environment where vocabulary learning
is possible.”
This was the response of one lecturer to the question, ‘How
would you adapt your talking in the classroom to assist
children with language and communication difficulties?’ when
he attended a two-day course on ‘Speech, language and
communication development and difficulties in children’. The
course, which was one of two run in Zimbabwe in January
2013, took place at Madziwa Teachers College in Shamva,
north-east of Harare, and was delivered to the college’s
lecturers. Similar responses were given during the second
course held in Harare which was attended by teachers,
rehabilitation assistants, paediatricians, psychologists,
nurses, psychiatrists and parents.
In 1989/1990, as a fledgling speech and hearing therapist
working in Zimbabwe (where I was born and grew up), I trained
teachers from Harare Region schools to be the identified
‘speech teacher’ for their school – the teacher that would hold
a specific role in relation to children with speech, language and
communication difficulties (SLCDs). Many teachers attended
training sessions and I even had the opportunity to support
some of them on-site. Together we reviewed the children the
speech teachers had identified, on the basis of the training
that had been delivered, as requiring extra support due to
SLCDs. After starting my career in Zimbabwe, I worked in the
UK/Europe gaining a wide range of clinical and professional
experience and then immigrated to Australia in 2010.
The ‘Bringingwordshome’ project was conceived a year
ago. The aim was to contribute to my country of birth and to
bring benefit to and for children with SLCDs in Zimbabwe.
There is limited speech pathology available in the country,
it was not therefore difficult to develop aims to provide
input that would have impact. Networking with old and new
colleagues and friends, we agreed that it would be best to
deliver introductory training about speech, language and
communication development and difficulties in children
to teachers, a range of other professionals that work with
children and lecturers who train teachers. The aim of the
introductory training was to establish understanding of the
impact of SLCDs on children’s learning and functioning and
to develop skills and strategies:
• in identifying SLCDs in the classroom, and
• for enhancing communication in the classroom so that
all children in education settings benefit.
At the end of the courses, course participants demonstrated
increased knowledge regarding speech, language and
communication and the identification of SLCDs in children.
Call for 2015 Conference
Planning Committee
Speech Pathology Australia is now calling for
expressions of interest from ACT members for
a position on the 2015 National Conference
Planning Committee. Expressions of interest
should include a covering letter stating relevant
experience and a curriculum vitae to support
the application.
The application should be submitted
to Michelle Foley – National CPC/SA
Councillor via email: @
Applications close Friday 13 September 2013
2015 Conference Convenor
Speech Pathology Australia is pleased to
announce that Felicity Martin has been
appointed the 2015 Conference Convenor and
we look forward to a successful Conference in
Canberra!
2015 National Conference Training course for educators