Profile
I am a qualified Speech and Language Therapist, therefore a member of the RCSLT and registered with HCPC. I have an honorary contract with Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and I run an in-house clinic for Welsh-speaking children with speech, language and communication difficulties.
My teaching mainly involves delivering Welsh-medium lectures, workshops, tutorials and in-house clinical teaching.
Having worked as a clinician for several years within the NHS, I began studying for my PhD at Cardiff Metropolitan University in September 2010. My doctoral studies are on-going, currently on a part-time basis (see research below for details).
Teaching
I currently teach on the following modules:
SLP4941 Clinical Foundations / Sylfeini Clinigol
SLP4041 Clinical Foundations
SLP5950 Clinical Practice 1 / Ymarfer Clinigol 1
SLP6950 Clinical Practice 2 / Ymarfer Clinigol 2
SLP6020 Bilingual and Bicultural Studies
I have also delivered the following Welsh-medium sessions as an additional learning opportunity:
Workshop series on Welsh Syntax
Workshop series on Welsh Phonetics
Year 3 Clinical Tutorials
I am also a placement educator and offer clinical placements for students at all levels.
Research
Research interests
Phonetic and phonological acquisition in monolingual and bilingual children
Speech, language and communication impairments in bilingual children
PhD project
Early phonological development in Welsh-English bilingual children: typical and atypical patterns
Supervisors: Dr Robert Mayr and Dr Lalage Sanders, Cardiff Metropolitan University; Prof Enlli Thomas, Bangor University
Investigation into the early phonological development of six children from North Wales through analysis of longitudinal data collected between the ages of 1;0 and 2;6. The aim is to capture the early developmental trajectories of consonants as well as phonological development in Welsh-English bilingual children. Some of the children studied are hearing only Welsh at home, others only English at home and others Welsh and English at home. This allows us to explore the influence of home language environment on the acquisition processes. As well as documenting patterns of typical acquisition, atypical patterns have been identified within the data collected from one participant, providing a unique insight into atypical early phonological development in a bilingual child.
Oral presentations
Cardiff School of Health Sciences Postgraduate Research Symposium, Cardiff
‘The link between early sounds and early words: data from a bilingual context’
Lunchtime Research Seminar, Cardiff Metropolitan University
‘A cross-linguistic investigation of the emergence of early consonants in babbling and first words: a longitudinal study’
ESRC Centre for Research on Bilingualism Conference ‘Bilingual and Multilingual Interaction’,
Bangor University
‘Early phonological development in Welsh-English bilingual children: a longitudinal study’
Poster presentations
Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol Research Conference, Gregynog Hall, Mid Wales
‘Y cysylltiad rhwng cytseiniaid cynnar a geiriau cynnar: data o gyd-destun dwyieithog’ (The link between early sounds and early words: data from a bilingual context)
Academic Associate Poster Symposium, Cardiff Metropolitan University
‘The link between early sounds and early words: data from a bilingual context’
Workshop on Language Impairment in Bi/Multilingual Societies, Bangor University
‘Phonological development in 1-year-olds: a comparison of children from Welsh-speaking homes, English-speaking homes and Welsh-English speaking homes’
Academic Associate Poster Symposium, Cardiff Met
‘Production of consonants in 1-year-old children: comparing a Welsh speaking, an English speaking and a Welsh-English speaking home’
Publications
Mayr, R., Howells, G. and Lewis, R (2015). Asymmetries in phonological development: the case of word-final cluster acquisition in Welsh-English bilingual children. Journal of Child language, 42, 146-179
