The Impact of the Interaction between Verbal and Mathematical Languages in Education

Abstract

Since the methods employed during teacher-learner interchange are constrained by the internal structure of a discipline, a study of the interaction amongst verbal language, technical language and structure of disciplines is at the heart of the classic problem of transfer in teaching-learning situations. This paper utilizes the analytic method of philosophy to explore aspects of the role of language in mathematics education, and attempts to harmonize mathematical meanings exposed by verbal language and the precise meanings expressed by the mathematics register (MR) formulated in verbal language. While focusing on the integration of language use and meaning construction in mathematics education, the paper explores the relationship between the conceptual understanding revealed by the mathematics register and the procedural knowledge that refers to the mathematical content through ordinary discourse.

Keywords: mathematics register (MR); Mathematics Problem Solving Strategy (MPSS); Mathematical language; Verbal language; conceptual schemata; Text-driven processing; Conceptually-driven processing.

Thought and Practice: A Journal of the Philosophical Association of Kenya (PAK)
New Series, Vol.2 No.2, December 2010, pp.79-99
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