The importance of Mother tongue in Mathematics Learning
The vital role of language in mathematics performance is widely recognized. Most people see mathematics language only in the context of word problems, but it is much more than that. Every mathematical idea involves three components: linguistic, conceptual, and procedural. To learn an idea means to create linguistic and conceptual models for it. We need to have a language container to receive, comprehend and explain a concept. Without an internalized language container, we need to relearn the concept every time we encounter it. The term language container means a word or a phrase to express an idea with related conceptual schema: sum, even number, least common multiple, denominator, rectangular solid, and conic section. Students’ proficiency in mathematics is directly related to the size of the set of their language containers. However, rote memorization of a collection of words is not enough to master the language of mathematics. One has to acquire the related schema with understanding...