Australian Vietnamese students learning mathematics: High ability bilinguals and their use of their languages
Clarkson, Philip C.
Clarkson, Philip C.
Author
Abstract
Bilingual students have, at times, been thought to be at a disadvantage in learning mathematics because of an assumed interference between their two languages. Earlier research, confirmed again in this study, shows that this is a naive view to take. Although some bilingual students do have a harder time, others seem to be at an advantage. This study explores the use that bilingual students who are succeeding in mathematics make of their two languages. These students seem to have better metalinguistics skills that allow them to self-correct when solving problems, and are perhaps more confident in their approach to solving difficult problems. It also appears that students in this study switched between languages in early years of schooling, but only used English by the time they were completing elementary school.
Keywords
Date
2006
Type
Journal article
Journal
Educational Studies in Mathematics
Book
Volume
64
Issue
2
Page Range
191-215