We need to talk - when the first language falls short

A mother tongue seems to be the most normal thing in the world: we grow up with it, think in it, it gives us the words with which we get to know the world. It is almost always literally laid into our cradle with bedtime stories or picture books. Learning it is the basis for almost all other skills. But learning to speak is no longer a matter of course. "When you talk to colleagues in the sector, the feedback you get is that many children no longer have a consolidated mother tongue, " observes Catherine Ley, lecturer in speech therapy at the Centre of Excellence for Speech Therapy (CL). This is not only potentially a problem for the ability to speak, emphasises Marc Schmidt, Director of the CL: "The development of strong language is closely linked to overall cognitive development. If the first language does not develop well, the child has problems in all areas."

The number of children receiving speech therapy at CL was 1,600 in 2018, but has almost doubled to almost 3,000 in 2025. According to Marc Schmidt, this can be partly explained by earlier and better diagnostics and more staff. However, other reasons should not be ignored. Extreme cases in which children are virtually unable to speak for a long time are extremely rare, say both Ley and Schmidt. However, the fact that there is a trend here at all is a cause for concern.