19 - English Learners and Mathematics Learning: Language Issues to Consider

Summary

The Problem

Tutor: “OK—let's begin with some of the terms you are going to need for this kind of math.”

Student: “Whadyu mean ‘terms’?”

Tutor: “You don't know the word, ‘term’?”

Student: “Nuh-uh.”

Tutor: “Have you ever heard it before?”

Student: “No—huh-uh.”

An unpromising start for the tutoring session: the student, a “former” English learner, needs help with math to pass the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE). He has failed the math part of the test twice already, and will not graduate from high school if he does not improve his performance substantially this year. But as we see in the vignette, not only does this student have to learn more math this year—he also has to gain a much better understanding of the language used in math.

Although “Freddy” is no longer categorized as an English learner at school, his English remains quite limited. When he began school 12 years earlier, he was a Spanish monolingual. Now, at age 17, he speaks English mostly, although Spanish is still spoken in the home. Despite having been in a program described as “bilingual” during his elementary school years, his schooling has been entirely in English from the time he entered school. The “bilingual” program provided him and his Spanish-speaking classmates one Spanish language session each week. Over the years, he has learned enough English to qualify as a “fluent English-speaker.”