The flows and scales of language when doing explanations in (second language) mathematics classrooms

Richard Barwell (1)

1 University of Ottawa [Ottawa]

I develop the idea of sources of meaning by proposing the notions of scale and flow as a way to think about participation in mathematics classroom discourse. Flow emphasizes the dynamic nature of language use, while scale makes apparent its stratified and stratifying nature. Drawing on an ethnographic study of four second language mathematics classrooms in Canada, I examine the flow and scales arising in interaction in one 'language positive' classroom: a group of recently arrived immigrants to the province of Quebec. The analysis focuses on examples of the construction of mathematical explanations to illustrate the role of scale-jumping in the construction and stratification of mathematical meaning.

Mots clés: Language diversity; second language learners; scale-jumping; social stratification; mathematics classrooms

Domaines: Mathématiques [math]; Education

Richard Barwell. The flows and scales of language when doing explanations in (second language) mathematics classrooms. Seventh ERME Topic Conference on Language in the Mathematics Classroom, Feb 2020, Montpellier, France. ⟨hal-02970546⟩