Monograph No. 10
Communication, Communication, Communication, Communication in the MATHEMATICS CLASSROOM
October 1992
Publication of the Mathematics Council of The Alberta Teachers’ Association
38 – 42
Chapter 5 – The Language of Mathematics Learning Lexicon and Grammar
Laurie Walker
Because Laurie Walker teaches education language arts at the University of Lethbridge, it might be assumed that he would approach the language of mathematics learning from a language-experience viewpoint. He does and, along the way, allows those of us who have a primary interest in language learning to bring our understanding of this domain more explicitly into our practice as mathematics teachers.
He describes a “grammar of mathematics’ with illustrations from division and shows how differences in passive and active forms can lead to confusion. He also offers insight into errors commonly encountered or made by children.
He concludes by suggesting that
if there is a gap between everyday language and the language of mathematics found in the technical terms and in the grammar, a general proposal for teaching the subject may be useful: That children be encouraged and helped to learn math in their own language, at least initially.
This is good advice, particularly when taken in context with the rest of the chapters in this monograph.