preview

English Language Learners Research Paper

Good Essays

Teaching Math to English Language Learners
When it comes to teaching English Language Learners, math is often an under researched topic because it is thought to be a language of numbers (Janzen, 2008). A misconception that many educators share is that because math uses symbols it is not associated with language or culture (Bresser, Melanese &Sphar, 2009). Not all English Language Learners are the same, and often times ELLs enter a new classroom that requires proficiency on both mathematical and linguistic levels. ELLs come in with different levels of schooling, some come from a situation where they have been attending school regularly, so the transition is not as hard as it is for the students who really have not attended school on a regular …show more content…

Math uses a specialized vocabulary that can only be learned in school. Words in math can mean one thing and have a completely different meaning in everyday conversation. It takes English Language Learners (ELLs) about two years to learn social (everyday) language, but math language takes about five to seven years to learn. ELL students not only have to translate between English and their native language, but also between social and academic language (Janzen, 2008; Slavit & Ernst-Slavit, 2007). In math, we use language to explain concepts and to carry out the procedures, so it is critical to have an understanding of the vocabulary in order to comprehend those concepts. If students do not fully grasp the vocabulary in the problem, then they are at an obvious disadvantage. ELLs may understand the content of the lesson, but inexperience with the language can hold them back from expressing what they know. When students are learning to talk math, it is essential to make the lesson comprehensible for the students, but also to make sure that the students have the vocabulary needed to understand the instruction. It is important for students to not only be able to understand the vocabulary used in the lesson, but also to be able to apply that vocabulary in conversation (Bresser, Melanese &Sphar,

Get Access