In this interview, we spoke with Dr Roy Alderton, Programme Director of our MSc in Speech and Language Therapy.
Academic interests and expertise
Can you tell us about your academic and research background?
My main research interests are in phonetics, which is the scientific study of speech sounds, and sociolinguistics, which is the study of the interaction between language and society. I have conducted research on various topics in these areas, such as accent variation among young people in the south of England, how listeners associate social characteristics with different speech sounds, and the production of English vowels by native speakers of Mandarin Chinese.
Such projects usually involve the quantitative measurement of the auditory and acoustic properties of speech sounds, including statistical modelling and machine learning techniques.
What inspired you to specialise in your current field of study?
I have always been fascinated by language and the enormous range of possibilities in its sounds, structures and usages. Growing up in a bilingual household meant that I was exposed to linguistic variation from an early age, then as I got older, I met people from ostensibly similar backgrounds whose ways of speaking were noticeably different. This eventually inspired my doctoral research on sociophonetic variation between students in the state and private-school sectors in small towns in southern England. Since then, I have expanded my research interests to an array of topics within phonetics and sociolinguistics.
What do you enjoy most about teaching and mentoring students?
I enjoy sharing my knowledge and enthusiasm for my subject with students and seeing them develop in their understanding. Many students have no experience with phonetics when they first join the course and hence find it a challenging subject, so it gives me great joy to see the metaphorical lightbulbs switch on for students who initially struggle but then show huge progress as they get to grips with transcribing speech and analysing patterns of pronunciation.
Why this course?
What makes this postgraduate programme unique within its field?
The MSc Speech and Language Therapy degree at City St George’s is unique because it is the largest such programme in the UK. This means that you will be studying with people from a wide range of backgrounds and learning from each other’s experiences in group activities and discussions. It also means that we have a correspondingly large body of teaching staff, all of whom are experts in their field, unlike some smaller programmes where lecturers are forced to teach multiple subjects, including those outside their expertise.
Another special part of the programme at City St George’s is that as well as the traditional blocks of clinical placements in the summer, you will also be on placement one day a week in term time, allowing you to integrate what you learn in lectures into your practice immediately and providing continuous opportunities for professional development.
What support is offered to help students transition from undergraduate to postgraduate study?
Students entering the programme come with a wide range of first degrees under their belts, including psychology, modern languages, linguistics, drama, health and social care, and many more. Lecturers know that some students will already have studied their subject in detail before, while others will be arriving at it for the first time, and so they pitch their content accordingly.
Lecture slides are made available online in advance and recordings can be used to revise past sessions afterwards, enabling students who need extra time to get a handle on a new subject to do so in their own time.
Are there opportunities for networking with alumni or industry professionals during the course?
All students are assigned a clinical tutor throughout their studies, who is a registered speech and language therapist who serves as a link between the academic and clinical sides of the course. Your clinical tutor will help you navigate what it means to be a professional clinician and will push you to develop your practical skills on placement.
In addition, a number of taught sessions throughout the programme are delivered by City St George’s alumni, practising speech and language therapists and service users, who are always happy to answer students’ questions about their experiences of delivering or receiving therapy in the real world, as well as what skills are needed to secure a job in the field after graduation.
Career paths
How does the programme help students develop skills for their future careers, whether in academia or industry?
The programme is accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), which means that students who are awarded the MSc are registered with these bodies when they graduate and can immediately practise as a speech and language therapist.
The course covers all knowledge and skills required for the profession, including both paediatric and adult communication difficulties as well as eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties. In your final year, you will undertake a research project and write a dissertation under the supervision of a member of staff, which will develop the critical and analytical skills required should you decide to continue into further study.
What career paths have graduates from this programme typically followed?
The programme has an excellent progression rate, with 95% of graduates finding suitable jobs or further study within 6 months of leaving the course in 2023-24. The vast majority of graduates proceed to practise as registered speech and language therapists in a range of settings such as schools, hospitals, charities and private clinics in the UK. The remainder typically secure similar roles abroad or go on to further study such as MRes or PhD qualifications.
Tips for offer holders
If you could highlight one thing that students should look forward to in this programme, what would it be?
The variety of people, subjects and experiences is arguably the highlight of the programme. You will learn a lot from the many people who will teach you, people you will study with, topics you will engage with and environments you will work in on placement. Even if you find a particular module or placement setting challenging, chances are that you will excel at something else that others might find tricky. Embracing the new, the different and the difficult will massively boost your odds of success on the programme and how much you will enjoy it.
What advice would you give offer holders as they prepare to join this course?
Students often describe the course as intense, which reflects the requirements around all the knowledge and skills you’ll need to practise as a speech and language therapist. The typical week in term time is two full days on campus, a day on placement, a day of online lectures and a day of independent study. If you join us at City St George’s, you are advised to treat the course as a genuinely ‘full-time’ endeavour if you want to get the most out of it and succeed to your full potential.