Mathematics Teachers Discourse Practices in Teaching Lesson Content Using Non-Native Language

1. IntroductionBeginning 2003, in the national school, English was re-adopted as the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics after about 33 years of using Malay (Bahasa Melayu). This change in the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics in schools policy was deemed necessary to ensure that Malaysians are able to keep abreast with scientific and technological development that is mostly recorded in the English language. At the same time, this move is envisioned to provide opportunities for students to use the English Language and therefore increase their proficiency in the language (Sharifah Maimunah Syed Zin, 2002). Although the implementation of the teaching of Mathematics and Science came armed with training provisions for teachers, such as the Teaching of Mathematics and Science (EteMs) programme, comments are heard from teachers regarding problems with the implementation. This change of the medium of instruction may affect the dynamics of teaching and learning Science and Mathematics in the classroom. Students seem to have problems understanding terms used and they seem to be unmotivated, and lessons seemed to have become unattractive and appealing (Harshita, 2005).Code switchingIt is observed that the language in which education is conducted is very important as the selected language may enhance or impede the quality of education. Therefore, language is an important issue, especially in multilingual classrooms where we have students from different linguistic and socio-cultural backgrounds. The language of instruction can also be a problem, especially when the content or concepts being taught are not in the learners' home language. Learning certain subjects, such as Mathematics, in English may be a problem for students whose home language is not English. Learning such subjects in the students' home language or supplementing English with the students' home language (code switching) can lead to a better understanding of the contents being taught. Hoffman (1991) view code switching as a communication strategy and it is the situation in which two languages are used in the same utterance. For bilinguals or trilinguals it is normal to move between different languages when talking with each other, and code switching is an essential strategy for them. Therefore, learners are not treated as unsuccessful monolinguals in each language, but rather as people who possess and manipulate more than one grammatical system; elements from these systems come into contact on a regular basis, and the speakers combine them in ways congruent with each language, but also reflecting unique properties specific to the code-switching situation.Talk in the ClassroomTalk in the classroom involves the talk of the teacher and the talk of the learners, and, as in any relationship, the one can have a deep impact on the other, for better or worse (Hendersen & Wellington, 1998). In the instruction of mathematics, paying to (mathematical) language is important because it is a dimension that is quite pertinent to classroom operations (Rubenstein & Thompson, 2000). Hence, it is deemed significant that teachers have to give due attention to mathematical language learning as the opportunity for students to "talk mathematics" is very much confined to the mathematics classrooms (Thompson & Rubenstein, 2002). It seems uncontroversial that the nature of classroom discourse influences learning (Hiebert & Wearne, 1993). "The kind of talk in which the teacher and students engage must have some effect on learning" (Hiebert & Wearne, 1993, p. 396).2. Problem StatementClassrooms undoubtedly play a significance role as a setting for students to encounter formal mathematical knowledge since the Malaysian students significantly learn Mathematics within formal classrooms (Ruzlan, 2006). The instruction of mathematics in English, the non-native language both for the mathematics teachers and the students, has placed great linguistic demands on teachers of the two subjects, who, for most, had been teaching these subjects in Malay throughout their teaching careers (Harshita & Arsaythamby, 2007). …