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Mathematics Education Research Journal

, Volume 25, Issue 3, pp 361–378 | Cite as

Language-as-resource and language-as-political: tensions in the bilingual mathematics classroom

  • Núria Planas
  • Marta Civil
Original Article
First Online:

Abstract

In this article we reflect on the learning of mathematics in bilingual settings from a social and a political perspective. In particular we highlight two concepts that are key to our work: language-as-resource and language-as-political. To do so, we draw on classroom data from students of Mexican origin in Tucson, USA, and students from Latin America in Barcelona, Spain. The language policies in our contexts share a message of privileging the language of instruction (English or Catalan) over other languages. Our analysis of the two sets of data points to differences in the mathematical participation of students on the basis of which language they use. We develop the argument that, even if languages other than Catalan and English are accepted and certain pedagogies may be close to a language-as-resource approach, the use of the students’ languages is politically mediated in such a way that its pedagogical value (as a medium of communication and learning) is not always taken into account in the bilingual mathematics classroom.

Keywords

Students’ learning Mathematics classroom Bilingualism Language-as-resource Language-as-political Tensions 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This work is part of Projects EDU2009-07113 and EDU2012-31464, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity, and of the research agenda for CEMELA (Center for the Mathematics Education of Latinos/as) funded by the National Science Foundation, grant ESI-0424983. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies.

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Copyright information

© Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Inc. 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Mathematics and Science EducationUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
  2. 2.Frank A. Daniels Distinguished Professor of Mathematics Education, School of Education – CB 3500University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillUSA

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