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Aims: To survey orthoptists’ confidence in communicating with patients with communication impairments and to investigate resources orthoptists are currently using to aid assessment and management and to explore future resources that may be beneficial. Methods and Procedures: Practicing orthoptists (n = 63; median age range: 31–35 years old) completed an online survey with quantitative and qualitative questions which investigated approaches to adult and paediatric patients with communication impairments and any communication tools used. Analysis of quantitative survey responses was conducted using IBM SPSS v27. Content analysis of qualitative responses was done. Outcomes and Results: Simple communication strategies (e.g., eye contact and body language, repeating/rephrasing sentences) were commonly used with both adult and paediatric patients while more complex strategies (e.g., electronic visual aids, writing key words/concepts) were rarely used. Usage of communication strategies was not affected by length of work experience, workplace clinical speciality or training during their clinical degree or after graduation (p < 0.05). Most participants (71.2%) reported being unaware of resources available for orthoptists to assist in the assessment and management of patients with communication impairments. Conclusions and Implications: Orthoptists have adopted some communication strategies to improve their interactions with patients with communication impairments, despite limited resources. With proper resources, such as training in supportive communication techniques, they can provide optimal patient care, making it essential to identify what kind of resources would be most appropriate.

The present paper probes the use of French grammatical accents by English-speaking learners of French in a multilingual country: Cameroon. Its aim is twofold. First, it highlights the extent to which the various appropriative uses of French by French-speaking Cameroonians influence the form of the language spoken by their English-speaking counterparts. Then, it checks the effect of the language spoken by these learners on their written language. The data were collected among 160 Form 3 and Form 4 pupils from two high schools in the town of Maroua, Far North Region, Cameroon. Six tests and fifty tape recordings were carried out among the target population. Also, four French teachers were tape recorded during the exercise. The analysis of the errors made by the informants revealed significant patterns of acute and grave accents in the spoken language of respondents. These patterns of oral usage were found to strongly correlate with their written production. It therefore appears that Cameroon French displays some specific phonological characteristics, which severely spoils the acquisition of grammatical accents by English-speaking Cameroonians. These findings may revive the debate over whether French in former colonies should adapt to its contexts or keep its native purity.