Prospective Teachers’ Conceptions about Language and Mathematics Regarding English Language Learners

Laura McLeman

doi:10.29333/iejme/267

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Laura McLeman

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Abstract

Little is understood about prospective teachers’ conceptions regarding the mathematics education of English language learners (ELLs). This study examined prospective teachers’ conceptions about language and mathematics while they investigated children’s thinking in a mathematics for teaching1 class. Findings show that participants thought teachers should help ELLs acquire mathematical language, which three participants saw as more than just vocabulary. All participants also thought it was important for children to express their mathematical understanding. However, two participants seemed to conceive of a unique way to express that understanding. These findings suggest that prospective teachers need to be critically exposed to literature regarding the mathematics instruction of ELLs earlier and more thoroughly through their teacher preparation coursework. Additionally prospective teachers will benefit from participating in experiences that focus on working with ELLs in mathematics classrooms.

Keywords

Mathematics teacher education
English language learners
children's thinking activities

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INT ELECT J MATH ED, Volume 7, Issue 1, January 2012, 21-38

https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/267

Publication date: 06 Jun 2012

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APA

McLeman, L. (2012). Prospective Teachers’ Conceptions about Language and Mathematics Regarding English Language Learners. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 7(1), 21-38. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/267

Vancouver

McLeman L. Prospective Teachers’ Conceptions about Language and Mathematics Regarding English Language Learners. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2012;7(1):21-38. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/267

AMA

McLeman L. Prospective Teachers’ Conceptions about Language and Mathematics Regarding English Language Learners. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2012;7(1), 21-38. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/267

Chicago

McLeman, Laura. "Prospective Teachers’ Conceptions about Language and Mathematics Regarding English Language Learners". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education 2012 7 no. 1 (2012): 21-38. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/267

Harvard

MLA

McLeman, Laura "Prospective Teachers’ Conceptions about Language and Mathematics Regarding English Language Learners". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, vol. 7, no. 1, 2012, pp. 21-38. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/267