Math As A Language.

I've heard it said that we should teach math as if it were a foreign language.  For instance the language of math can have multiple meanings, be ambiguous, or have multiple interpretations for the same symbol.  Most of the time math is “spoken” only in an educational situation and is not a “first” language for people.  It has to be learned. Furthermore, there are the formal and informal versions. So what if instead of focusing on the concepts, we consider looking at math as an actual language with objects or nouns, and actions or verbs.  

You may wonder how verbs and nouns factor into mathematics since we usually break math content down into the concept and the process.  Think about it.  Nouns are the object or thing which means the concept is the same as the noun while the verb is action so the process is the verb as it is what we have to do.  The action might include communication, solving the problem, representations and models, interpreting the results.

By redefining the focus, we could turn the experience of learning into something students are more familiar with.  It would show students that learning mathematics is similar to learning another language rather than treating it as a separate entity.  

In math, most students have to go through two stages of decoding in order to determine what is going on.  First, they have to decode the spoken words to the proper context and then they have to translate how it is used within the context.  For instance, if you say the term whole numbers, the student might think of numbers with holes in them rather than positive integers and thus may come up with the wrong answer due to a misinterpretation of the original spoken word.

In addition, decoding in mathematics also includes symbols and signs which might be seen pictorially or verbally, might be associated with an operation, or even an expression.  Consequently, students need to learn the meaning of these  basic symbols and signs just as they learn those recommended sight words in elementary school.

As noted above, mathematical vocabulary can be confusing due to the differences between mathematical and non-mathematical definitions, the fact that two different symbols could refer to the same situation such as 3-5 is the same as 3 + (-5). Unfortunately, even graphical representations can cause confusion because of the difference in types and how they are interpreted.  For instance, a bar graph and a line graph represent different situations and are interpreted differently.  

It is important to help students learn the differences in mathematical context and by offering the possibility of teaching math by identifying verbs and nouns, they might find it easier to understand and adjust to the different contextual situations they experience in math.  Let me know what you think, I’d love to hear.  Have a great day.