I read two interesting articles this week about language acquisition and how learning mathematics in a second language (L2) impacts comprehension of mathematics. The first article, Studies Find Language is Key to Learning Math, was about a series of research studies done by Susan Goldin-Meadow a professor at University of Chicago. In these studies, she worked with deaf adults in Nicaragua who had never learned a formal language (this includes not learning a formal sign language). What she found is that adults with language or sign language were easily about to count and assign abstract meaning to numbers. Hearing-impaired adults without a formal sign language (communicated with self-created gestures) were not able to count more than three objects at a time and count not match groups with equivalent numbers of items.
There was a lot more information in the study about what mathematical ideas were comprehended and which were not. However, overall these studies showed that the way we understand numbers relies on language. Most importantly, "one educational issue that this research brings up is that young children being educated in a language not their own may be at a disadvantage in the early years of mathematics instruction." Of course, this means without any support from an ELL program. Supports need to be put in place in order for a student to not be at a disadvantage when learning mathematics in a second language.
I talked a little bit about education policy in my last assignment. I mentioned nationally imposed government mandates are difficult for all schools to achieve in the same ways. It's interesting that there was a proposition on the California ballot about giving schools more freedom in how they provide ELL support. The second article I read was about "tensions" in teaching mathematics through a second language. One of the issues discussed is the tension between policy goals and classroom practices. The author gives an example of a Pakistan classroom where although Urdu is the national language, policy dictates all mathematics be taught in English. One problem with the policy is the lack of English-speaking teachers available. However, as I have learned in this class it certainly is not impossible to learn mathematics in another language, it just requires additional supports.
I think I liked these articles because they do show that understanding language is requisite for comprehending mathematics. Students that are learning a new language (while learning mathematics) will require additional support. Lack of comprehension of the mathematics is not due to lack of intelligence. It's important for teachers to use best practices for students to comprehend both language and content. There were great examples in the second article of student explanations of the mathematics they were learning. The article then discussed how to discuss whether the child was misunderstanding language or content knowledge. The examples were really helpful. I'm glad I found these articles!