Proficiency in the language of the country of residence has implications for an individual's level of education, employability, income and social integration. In Australia 23.2% of the population reported speaking a language other than English at home. Moreover, 13% of these individuals reported speaking English 'not well' or 'not at all' (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). Intelligibility is the extent to which a native speaker understands a speaker's message (Derwing & Munro, 1997). It is a perceptual judgement made by the listener and is influenced not only by speech patterns (accent), but also by message content, the listener's linguistic experience, communication cues available and context in which the communication takes place (Bernthal & Bankson, 2004). My research examines the extent to which intelligibility in English impacts multilingual speakers' ability to participate in Australian society. Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (World Health Organization, 2001) as a framework, we investigate this population's ability to participate in education, employment and leisure activities as well as examine their attitudes to and experiences of enhancing their intelligibility in English.

Invited member of the International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children's Speech

A certified practicing speech pathologist and member of Speech Pathology Australia

International Affiliate of the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA)

Member of the working party that developed Speech Pathology Australia’s national position paper and clinical guidelines for Culturally Responsive Speech Pathology Practice