South Africa is a complex multilingual country. In the majority of schools in the Eastern Cape, a province in South Africa, the teachers and learners share the same home language, isiXhosa, but teach and learn mathematics in English. The purpose of this study was to encourage teachers to use the home language as a resource to teach mathematics in multilingual classes. The study follows a mixed method design, using both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data were collected from a survey and poetry, which teachers crafted, in which they highlighted their perceptions about language in their lives. They also reflected on their practices and submitted pieces of contemplative writing. Quantitative data were collected from participating teachers who administered a pre-test to their learners as well as a post- test approximately nine months later after conducting an intervention. The results showed that where strategies, such as the implementation of exploratory talk and code switching which used language as a resource, had been introduced mathematical reasoning improved and classroom climate became more positive. The learners’ lack of confidence in being able to express their reasoning in English was prevalent throughout the reflective writing. By enabling learners to use isiXhosa in discussions the teachers felt that the learners gained in both confidence and mathematical understanding. This study has demonstrated that using the learners’ and teachers’ home language unlocks doors to communication and spotlights mathematical reasoning, but there is still an urgency to encourage learners to become fluent in Mathematical English. It is important to note that a positive classroom climate is essential for learners to build confidence and to encourage them to attempt to formulate sentences in English - to start on the journey from informal to formal usage of language as advocated by Setati and Adler (2001:250). My main conclusion is that an intervention that develops exploratory talk by using language as a resource can improve learners’ mathematical reasoning. I wish to emphasise that I am not advocating teaching mathematics in isiXhosa only, but the research has shown the advantages of using the home language as a resource together with English in Eastern Cape multilingual mathematics classes. Learners need to be able to express themselves in English, written and spoken, in order to achieve mathematically. This study therefore shows that teachers can gauge their learners’ improvement in mathematical reasoning after an intervention that develops exploratory talk in class by using the home language as a resource.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:9469 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Whale, Susan Gaye |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Education |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MEd |
| Format | iv, [8], 121 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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