Résumé
Bilingualism can be defined as the ability to express oneself fluently in two different languages. It can be approached from different perspectives or according to different criteria. Bilingual children follow more or less the same language development as monolingual children with some features. In Reunion Island, there is a singular situation of Reunionese Creole-French bilingualism which is more of an inter-linguistic phenomenon than of pure bilingualism. In order to take this reality into account, certain systems have been set up at school, such as bilingual classes for example. In speech therapy as well, it is important to take into account the impact of bilingualism on a patient’s language development at all stages of treatment. Based on these findings, we decided to evaluate the effects of bilingual education on the language development of Creole-speaking children from Reunion Island and to see if the pedagogical tools used could be transposed to speech therapy. Thus, we compared the language profile of two groups of children, on the one hand, children educated in bilingual classes and, on the other hand, children educated in traditional classes, through two evaluations 11-month apart. We also interviewed the teachers. The results of the study show that children in the bilingual class have a greater development in certain language tests than children in the traditional class and that they have a more developed language fluency. The results of the code discrimination test do not show any significant difference between the groups, but this can be explained by the children's language habits. Several tools used in the bilingual classroom can be implemented in speech and language therapy practice. In addition, this study highlights the importance of taking the whole person into account, whether at school, in speech therapy or elsewhere. It brings forward the benefits of recognizing the child's mother tongue.