This thesis explores the learning possibilities afforded by crosslinguistic translanguaging (Cummins, 2022) at the intersection of mathematics education and sociolinguistics research. The study focused upon a class of 8-9-year-old pupils engaging in a sequence of four lessons exploring the mathematical operation of division, within a bilingual school in the UK. The first two lessons were taught through the medium of English and the second two in French, within an ‘immersion-style’ bilingual education context. The four focus lessons were video- and audio-recorded and then transcribed, then analysed using translanguaging interaction analysis. Individual semi-structured interviews were held with each teacher directly following their teaching sessions, to explore their perceptions of the pupils’ learning. Pupils’ perspectives were gathered through two cycles of focus group discussions, the first focusing on their learning in English and the second on their learning in French. The results indicate that both teachers and pupils viewed their languages as fluid and flexible, enabling translanguaging to facilitate use of pupils’ full linguistic repertoires. Individual translanguaging cycles reveal how the mathematical elements of structure, variation and multiple representation provided scaffolds through which translanguaging could be used to further connect the target concepts. These translanguaging cycles revealed ways in which personal mathematics registers could be developed through linguistic transfer, developing personal linguistic repertoires. Findings suggest that pupils utilise the fluidity of their language repertoires when engaging in mathematical thinking, using languages flexibly and purposefully, to provide efficient methods for engaging in problem solving and reasoning, as perceived by the learners themselves. Pupils displayed high levels of metalinguistic awareness and strong inhibitory control in their approaches to solving mathematics calculations. Furthermore, the findings illustrate the bespoke and individualised nature of language use by pupils, including the role of motivation in the extent to which learners utilise translanguaging opportunities. This thesis seeks to contribute to this rapidly expanding area of mathematics education research through providing authentic examples of crosslinguistic translanguaging theory in the mathematics classroom, alongside the creation of an analytical framework, which may be used by other researchers seeking to explore the use of linguistic repertoires within mathematics classrooms. The thesis also contributes a new approach within discourse analysis, termed ‘translanguaging interaction analysis’, specifically designed to support analysis of crosslinguistic translanguaging.
Permanent link to this resource: https://doi.org/10.24384/w2sw-v563
Skelton, Joanna
Supervisors: McGregor, Debra; Spiro, Jane
School of Education, Humanities and Languages
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