Why Do Some Children Have Difficulty Learning Mathematics? Looking at Language for Answers

ABSTRACT

Some students enter the world of mathematics with a disadvantage. The authors explored the causes for this from a language-processing perspective. They were particularly concerned with students with potential learning disabilities or specific language impairments. They also explored the role of language-mediated instruction in creating an accumulation of ambiguity in the instructional environment. They offer inferences on how this ambiguity may cause insecurities among young learners, and they suggest preemptive methodologies to better prepare young learners for formal mathematics education.

KEYWORDS:

• early numeracy
• language-mediated instruction
• learning disabilities
• mathematics
• specific language impairments

Notes

1. Young children may or may not have had any exposure to numerals at this point.