A DURBAN Speech Language Therapist, Dr Thandeka Mdlalo, recently returned from addressing international delegates at an International Conference of Speech Pathology in Las Vegas, where she impressed many of her peers.
Dr Mdlalo was invited to speak at the International Conference of Speech Pathology after publishing a paper last year entitled: Are South African Speech Language Therapists adequately equipped to assess English Additional Language speakers from an indigenous, linguistic and cultural background.
“I received an email in September from a woman who was part of the committee organising the international conference who said the issues addressed in the paper were not just South African but global issues. She asked if I would present at the conference. I couldn’t believe it as I’d never been to the US before. Everything was a first on this trip. My talk was very well acknowledged and I received an email afterwards from a pioneer in the profession regarding issues of cultural and linguistic diversity who said she was very impressed by my talk and she would like to cite me in a book she is currently writing on cultural diversity. This was amazing as she is a fundi in the profession and I quoted her in my doctoral research,” she said.
She has also presented at conferences in Lithuania and Canada and has a paper published in the International Journal entitled Studies in Languages.
Thandeka who is originally from the Eastern Cape, says she has been in KZN “forever”. She studied her undergrad degree at Wits University, her Masters degree at Stellenbosch University and her PhD at UKZN. She works full time at Livingstone Primary School as a Speech Language Therapist, lectures part time at UKZN as well as runs her own private practice.
“I did not originally aspire to do my PhD, but education was paramount in my family. It was drummed into us that for success we needed to be well educated. We were all very clear on this in my family. I was content with my undergraduate degree but decided to pursue my Masters in my area of passion. As a lecturer I was encouraged to do my PhD and this opened me up to a certain level of critical thinking,” she said.
Thandeka is passionate about the field of Language and Cultural, Linguistic Diversity as it impacts on the life decisions and future of pupils that Health Professionals and employees in the education sector assess. She stated that;
“What we do impacts on people, families and their finances. It’s so much bigger than just language. I feel exposing children to English (in cases of second language speakers) should not be at the expense of their mother tongue- Learning English should be additive and not subtractive to language development. Language exists within a context and we need to take into account a person’s background, dialect and frame of reference. This affects the outcome of an assessment and the recommendations based on it”
In her spare time, Thandeka is a group trainer at Virgin Active. She also loves exercising, reading, music and enjoys the theatre. She is a single parent of two teen girls of whom she is very proud.
“I would like to do more in the field and have been asked to speak at the SA Speech, Language and Hearing Association Conference in October 2017. For me, it’s about making a difference out there, so Speech Therapists will think twice about how they assess children and adapt this to a South African context. Subsequent to my presentation at the conference, several colleagues approached me and stated that my content was thought provoking and challenged them to review their current practices.
Dr. Mdlalo remarked, “I feel it is ‘mission accomplished’ when I can change the way people think”.
Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
