Rethinking Proficiency in the Language of Teaching and Learning (LoTL) as a Pillar in the Learning of School Mathematics

Abstract

Although English has become the preferred language of instruction in most classrooms, including those of mathematics across the world today, it will still remain a second language (L2) to many students and their teachers for a long time to come. In mathematics language research, the attention so far given to the role of English as the Language of Teaching and Learning (LoTL) has been with the regard to the impact of levels of student proficiency in the language. This perhaps explains why those who learn in English as their first language (L1) are perceived as proficient in mathematical language, while L2 learners have to attain a level of proficiency in English first. This is in spite of the current absence of clear benchmarks for satisfactory proficiency in English for successful general learning in school mathematics. The poignant question remains: must L2 learners learn mathematics in English given the double jeopardy they face? This paper presents a critical analysis of findings of students’ interpretation of lexical vocabulary common in mathematics texts and in the classroom language typical of mathematics students in L2 contexts, to highlight the general difficulty of this language (English) to the mathematics learners. The main study from which the paper is extracted employed multiple-case study design to examine Mathematical Language (ML) usage and learners’ conceptual understanding of mathematics in secondary schools in Kenya. Data were collected by questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews. The findings of the paper indicate that a majority of L2 students have low proficiency in LoTL; socio-economic background is a factor of proficiency in the LoTL, and mathematics teachers were not aware of the importance of language in learning mathematical concepts. The main conclusion of the paper is that interpretation of mathematical concepts is language dependent which is a challenge to learners not versed in the LoTL. The paper recommends rethinking of LoTL mathematics which L2 learners are versed in to raise levels of conceptual understanding of mathematics.