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The Language Dimension of Mathematical Difficulties

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International Handbook of Mathematical Learning Difficulties

Abstract

Many empirical studies have shown that students’ mathematical difficulties are often connected to language factors. In this chapter, we discuss this issue from different perspectives and with regard to different groups of students. First, differences between everyday and academic language on word, sentence, and text/discourse level and their implications for mathematics learning processes are discussed. Secondly, it is described how language factors affect the achievement of specific groups of students: second-language learners, students with learning disabilities in mathematics and reading, and students with specific language impairment. Thirdly, important language dimensions for the mathematics learning focusing on the use of language as a learning medium and discourse practices are presented. Finally, it is concluded that instructional approaches seem to become most effective for supporting mathematics learning when they provide learning opportunities especially for the discourse practices of explaining meanings of mathematical concepts and operations and for describing general pattern.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Development and Research in Mathematics Education (IEEM), TU Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany

    Susanne Prediger & Kirstin Erath

  2. Institute for Educational Studies, Department of Special Needs Education, Education and Integration, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Elisabeth Moser Opitz

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  1. Susanne Prediger
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  2. Kirstin Erath
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  3. Elisabeth Moser Opitz
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Correspondence to Susanne Prediger .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Annemarie Fritz

  2. Faculty of Education, Centre for Education Practice Research, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Annemarie Fritz

  3. Departamento de Psicologia, Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Vitor Geraldi Haase

  4. Niilo Mäki Institute, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Pekka Räsänen

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Prediger, S., Erath, K., Opitz, E.M. (2019). The Language Dimension of Mathematical Difficulties. In: Fritz, A., Haase, V.G., Räsänen, P. (eds) International Handbook of Mathematical Learning Difficulties. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97148-3_27

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