Abstract
This paper reports on a study of the relationship between language and learning in school mathematics. In an empirical investigation of the spoken language of teacher and learners in a Year 9 mathematics class, discourse analysis of transcripts provides a descriptive account of language practices characteristic of school mathematics. It is argued that learning mathematics requires transformational shifts between “less mathematical” language and “more mathematical” language. A model is proposed where mathematical meanings are constructed within the shift towards increasingly mathematical language.
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Chapman, A. Towards a model of language shifts in mathematics learning. Math Ed Res J 9, 152–173 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03217309
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03217309