Who is not multilingual now?

What is the relationship between research into multilingualism and research concerned more generally with language and communication in mathematics education? Diversity in linguistic practices is universal in modern society and poses problems for teaching and learning even in apparently monolingual contexts. Research in multilingualism and mathematics education offers constructs and insights that can inform research and pedagogy more widely. Th

What is a definition for in school mathematics?

This paper discusses the place of definitions in school mathematics, considering official UK curriculum guidance, literature related to definitions in advanced mathematical thinking and to experimental teaching focused on student development of definitions. A two dimensional framework is suggested for considering their functions, the ways in which students are expected to relate to them and their didactic purposes. Two contrasting examples of definitions from textbooks are analysed using systemic-functional linguistic tools

Mathematics teachers' positions and practices in discourses of assessment

Mathematics teachers ’ positions and practices in discourses of assessmen

Beyond communication: using language for researching curriculum, pedagogy and policy in mathematics education

The language and other media used in educational practices do not simply transmit the ideas and intentions of speakers and writers. The practices themselves shape and are shaped by what is said. The texts produced by speakers and writers in a practice such as mathematics education thus draw on ways of construing the world that are legitimate within the practice and also constrain the ways in which listeners and readers may respond. Discourse analytic methods drawing on Halliday’s systemic functional linguistics provide means of describing the world of mathematics education through analysis of its spoken and written texts. This allows us to address questions about the nature of mathematics and mathematical activity and about the nature of teaching and learning, of teachers and of students as these are produced in the texts of a given practice. This article is based on a plenary lecture presented at the Children’s Mathematical Education conference held in Poznań, Poland in July 2014. In it, I discuss a discourse analytic theoretical and methodological approach to researching mathematics education and illustrate this with examples drawn from investigations of curriculum and classroom practice

Understanding practices in mathematics education : structure and text

The practices of mathematics education can be investigated at a wide variety of levels: from the actions of individual students or teachers through classroom interactions, school structures, curriculum specifications and materials, teacher development programmes and local, national or international systems of instruction and assessment. These levels are, however, inter-related. The study of a national curriculum gains significance as we see how it impacts upon and is interpreted by teachers and students. The study of an individual’s actions makes more sense when these are interpreted in light of the broader context within which the individual is situated. This article is a version of a plenary lecture presented at the Psychology of Mathematics Education conference in 2009, addressing the conference theme “In Search for Theories in Mathematics Education”. In it, I trace the development of my own search for theories to address my wish to understand practices in the field and suggest some tools from linguistics, critical discourse analysis and social theory that can help to make such connections between the various levels of investigation, illustrating with a range of examples

Applied linguistics and mathematics education: More than words and numbers

The preceding set of papers has explored various aspects of the role of language in mathematics education. The papers reflect the work of individual contributors. An important part of our collaboration, however, has been the conversation between us. This paper reflects aspects of that conversation, as we draw together some of the themes that have emerged during our work. In particular, we discuss some of the implications of our analyses for theory, policy, practice and inter-disciplinarity in mathematics education and applied linguistics