Journal article
Students’ linguistic challenges when learning mathematics: Voices of teachers from seven countries
- Abstract:
- The teaching and learning of mathematics in linguistically diverse contexts present unique challenges, particularly due to the specialised language of mathematics, the intersection of everyday and mathematical language, the impact of the language of teaching, and the communication aspects of the mathematical language. This study investigates the linguistic challenges faced by students in secondary-school mathematics classrooms, as reported by 22 teachers from seven countries across three continents. Using interview data, we explored the questions: What are some of the linguistic challenges that students encounter when learning the topics of angles/probability/linear equations/proportional reasoning? Can you provide an example of a linguistic challenge one of your students experienced in a lesson, and the strategy you used to support them? In the interviews, teachers provided detailed examples of these challenges and the strategies they used to support students. Through iterative inductive coding, the findings reveal a range of linguistic challenges, including difficulties with mathematical vocabulary, reasoning, and topic-specific language demands. Notably, the study highlights how the linguistic challenges that students encounter, as perceived by their teachers, vary across mathematical topics. These findings underscore the importance of integrating linguistic and mathematical support in teaching practices, especially in linguistically diverse settings.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 930.7KB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1080/18117295.2025.2494292
Authors
- Publisher:
- Taylor & Francis
- Journal:
- African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education More from this journal
- Publication date:
- 2025-05-04
- Acceptance date:
- 2025-04-11
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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1811-7295
- ISSN:
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1028-8457
- Language:
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English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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2117949
- Local pid:
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pubs:2117949
- Deposit date:
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2025-04-13
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Planas et al.
- Copyright date:
- 2025
- Rights statement:
- © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
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