Mathematics problem-solving is a fundamental aspect of school mathematics that requires an integrated set of skills, such as comprehending the problems and mathematics computation. Providing useful problem-solving interventions and instructions is essential for students who are English learners (ELs) with learning disabilities or at risk for…

This article presents a study of 8th grade students working in groups to solve a task about generalizing patterns. The study aimed to openly explore how progress in mathematical thinking might relate to the discourse. To do this, we first studied both separately. The progress in mathematical thinking was studied by inspecting how the groups…

We describe an instructional intervention designed to help teachers engage English learner (EL) students in mathematical problem solving and learn the mathematics register. The "Discursive Assessment Protocol" (DAP) integrates Pólya's classic problem solving framework with research-based instructional strategies that benefit EL students.…

The purpose of this basic qualitative study is to examine the perceptions of Language 2 (L2) learners about project-based learning (PBL) at a Midwestern high school to acquire their mathematical concepts in English. L2 learners' insights using a PBL environment to construct their skills for college readiness, higher order thinking, autonomy,…

This study explored the role of growth in the executive components of working memory (WM) on second language (L2) mathematical problem-solving in elementary school children who are emerging bilinguals whose first language (L1) is Spanish. To this end, children (N = 429) in Grades 1, 2, and 3 at Wave 1 were administered a battery of math, reading,…

This project is aimed at generating new knowledge and improving our understanding of how Modified for Language Support-Worked Example Pairs (MLS-WEPs) contribute to effective mathematics learning and teaching in an ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) context. The current study investigated a novel instructional approach to help English…

This paper focusses on the process of learning mathematics in primary school from the perspectives of 62 girls aged seven to 11. For many of these Singaporean girls, English is not the dominant home language, but they all learn mathematics in English. Despite the fact that achievement in mathematics is high nationally, girls appear to be less…

This paper focuses on Emergent bilinguals (EBs) who traditionally face unequal opportunities to learn mathematics, harming their identities. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how a fifth grade teacher cultivated the development of her EBs' mathematical identities by giving them opportunities to participate in cognitively demanding…

I found the need to explore the difficulties faced by Arabic-speaking English language learners studying mathematics as soon as I moved to the United Arab Emirates. Thus, I began a line of research that aimed to explain and understand these issues and find effective teaching strategies for the students. This case study describes the first research…

This study examined the effects of using the Model-Strategy-Application with Reasoning Approach (MSAR) in teaching and learning mathematics in linguistically and culturally diverse elementary classrooms. Through learning mathematics via the MSAR, students from different language ability groups gained an understanding of mathematics from creating…

The 43rd meeting of Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group (CMESG) was held at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia (May 31-June 4, 2019). This meeting marked only the third time CMESG/GCEDM (Groupe Canadien d'Étude en Didactique des Mathématiques) had been held in Nova Scotia (1996, 2003), and the first time it had been…

Bilingual education programs implicitly assume that the acquired knowledge is represented in a language-independent way. This assumption, however, stands in strong contrast to research findings showing that information may be represented in a way closely tied to the specific language of instruction and learning. The present study aims to examine…

For over a decade, research studies of mathematics education in high-performing countries have pointed to the conclusion that the mathematics curriculum in the United States must become substantially more focused and coherent in order to improve mathematics achievement in this country. To deliver on the promise of common standards, the standards…

Discusses use of mathematics problem cards written in foreign languages. Indicates that contextual cues from mathematics problems provide helps to translation. Gives example problems in French, Norwegian, and Japanese. (JM)

Research into the teaching and learning of language and content in mainstream classrooms research tends to treat content as a fixed body of knowledge to be (re)constructed by learners. There is little research which seeks to understand how language and the curriculum are constructed and related in interaction by learners. In this paper, I report…