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Discursive Demands and Equity in Second Language Mathematics Classrooms

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Equity in Discourse for Mathematics Education

Part of the book series: Mathematics Education Library ((MELI,volume 55))

Abstract

This chapter introduces the idea of ‘discursive demands’ as an overlooked aspect of the particular challenges faced by second language learners of mathematics. Discursive demands are defined as the interactional requirements arising in mathematics through which second language learners and their interlocutors jointly produce both cognition and context. This idea draws on Cummins’ (Language, power and pedagogy: bilingual children in the crossfire. Multilingual Matters, Clevedon, 2000) framework relating linguistic context with the cognitive demands of the interaction and on discursive psychology (Edwards, Discourse and cognition, Sage, London, 1997). Interaction involving a teacher and a beginning learner of English during a lesson on halving and doubling are used to illustrate three forms of discursive demands in mathematics: multiple speaker interaction; frequent repair sequences and the pressure on K arising from repeated questioning by a teacher. In conclusion, some implications for equity in mathematics classrooms are discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Richard Barwell

Authors
  1. Richard Barwell
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Correspondence to Richard Barwell .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Michigan State University, Erickson Hall 329, East Lansing, 48824, Michigan, USA

    Beth Herbel-Eisenmann

  2. , Warner School of Education, University of Rochester, Box 270425, Rochester, 14627, New York, USA

    Jeffrey Choppin

  3. , Faculty of Education, University of New Brunswick, P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, E3B 5A3, Canada

    David Wagner

  4. Dept. Secondary Education, University of Alberta, Education South 341, Edmonton, T6G 2G5, Alberta, Canada

    David Pimm

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Barwell, R. (2012). Discursive Demands and Equity in Second Language Mathematics Classrooms. In: Herbel-Eisenmann, B., Choppin, J., Wagner, D., Pimm, D. (eds) Equity in Discourse for Mathematics Education. Mathematics Education Library, vol 55. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2813-4_9

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