Preparing Students for Studying in a Non-Native Language in Math and Science

Abstract

This study aims to study how language teaching affects the development of mathematical thinking in children learning a language other than their mother tongue through a mixed methodology based on interviews with teachers of math and science in Asia and the Middle East. Our primary goal is to see if the language of instruction in second-language immersion programs impacts the development of mathematical thinking. Therefore, we determine that the language of instruction only influences the development of the first abilities in the pupils’ overall performance or specific areas. When mathematical thinking is established while teaching formal concepts in a non-native language, the analysis of variance and multiple regression results indicates how explicit the language of instruction is. The second language impacts the resolution of everyday difficulties, with pupils in first grade that have a language of instruction that matches their mother tongue being competent.