At the intersection of culture, bilingualism, and mathematics: breaking language norms in a seventh-grade dual-language classroom for biliteracy development

ABSTRACT

As it is a common practice in Dual Language Education (DLE) classrooms throughout the United States, language separation tends to be a planning policy that is usually enforced by curriculum designers, school administrators, and bilingual teachers. However, research has shown that DLE teachers and students have the potential of teaching and learning bilingually in their own terms. Using theoretical perspectives from Anthropolitical Linguistics coupled with Ruíz’s seminal work on language as problem, resource, and right; and other socio-cultural frameworks, this paper presents an ethnographic case of a seventh-grade DLE mathematics classroom, and examines how the members of this mathematics community use their bilingual abilities in a flexible way; which in turn, influence the development of mathematics biliteracies. Drawing from a larger ethnographic project, this study shows how the members of a bilingual mathematics community of practice break language norms, which prevail in DLE classrooms, to promote mathematics biliteracies. Findings suggest that using a ‘translanguaging’ approach in DLE classrooms is an effective way for teaching and learning mathematics with a biliteracy approach. Some implications for schools, teachers, and teacher educators are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Dual language education
• bilingualism
• mathematics education
• translanguaging

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 For the purpose of this paper, mathematics biliteracies encompass three main elements. (1) Mathematical proficiency & competence include conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, adaptive reasoning, strategic competence, and dispositions to see mathematics as useful and worthwhile (Kilpatrick, Swafford, and Findell 2001). (2) Bilingual mathematics Discourses refer to how members of a mathematics community utilize their entire linguistic repertoire (García 2009) to convey mathematical meanings in one or two languages. These Discourses (with capitol ‘D’) involve a less and more academic language (for a clearer view on these constructs, see Gee 2015). And (3) participation in mathematical practices refer to how students are engaged in activities using symbols, artifacts, and social learning (Lave and Wenger 1991; Moschkovich 2015; Pimm 1987) to perform mathematical tasks.

2 García (2009) uses ‘language’ as a verb and asserts that people language differently for a diverse array of purposes. She also states that languaging bilingually is the norm in many multilingual communities around the world.

3 As described by García (2009).

4 An example to follow.

5 ESMS’s school district uses the term Two-Way Dual Language Immersion Program as the official name for its bilingual education program.

6 All names used in this paper are pseudonyms.

7 It is not the intention of the author to convey the meaning of ‘poor/bad teaching’ by using the phrase ‘breaking the rules.’

8 Mr. Lastra used the term codeswitching to signal the use of both Spanish and English in his classes – a bilingual approach.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

A. Garza Ayala

Dr. A. Garza Ayala is Assistant Professor of Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies at the University of New Mexico, USA.