MATHEMATICS AS A SECOND
LANGUAGE:
SUPPORTING ELL STUDENTS IN A MATHEMATICS
CLASSROOM
By: Natalie Jenkins, Kelly Malinowski, Kacy
Swinson, & Kam Millikan
I-CLICKER QUESTION!
 In
your opinion, what is the best approach
when teaching English Language Learners?
 A. Incorporating them into a traditional
classroom
 B. Having an ELL specialist available in a
traditional classroom
 C. Separating ELL students into their own
classroom for specialized attention
 D. Separating ELL students initially and
gradually incorporated into the traditional
classroom
WHAT IS THE TOPIC AND WHY IS IT “HOT”?
Our topic is supporting ELL students in a
Mathematics classroom
 According to the U.S. Department of Education,
between 1979 and 2004, ELL students in grades
K-12 increased from 1.3 million to 9.9 million
(Winsor, 2008, 372).
 “In 2026, it is estimated, one in four students will
not speak English as their primary language”
(Hoffert, 2009, 132).
 No Child Left Behind

WHAT ARE THE RELEVANT ISSUES?
Teachers aren’t being trained to teach in an ELL
classroom
 Stressing the importance of communication in
Math

WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY?

1st Article: “Bridging the Language Barrier in
Mathematics” by Matthew S. Winsor
Key Ideas: MSL (Mathematics as a Second
Language)
 Curriculum based off of comparison

Similarities:
 They write to communicate what they are learning
(journals, wordsquares)
 They learn in groups (peer reflections of journals)
 The learning is set in context (projects)
 Results?
 “What was your answer” changed to “How did you get
that? I did mine differently”
 Student-oriented
 Projects—unsure

WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY?

“Differentiating Instruction In Mathematics for
the English Language Learner” by Deandrea
Murrey
Comprehensible Input (Rate, Repetition,
Representations, Students share)
 Contextual Instructions (Building to a definition)
 Low-anxiety learning environment (Group work,
establishing norms)
 Meaningful engagement in learning activity (Making
conjectures and presenting findings)

WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY?



Mathematics: The Universal Language? By Sharon
B. Hoffert
Math is universal, but communicating about it is not.
Recommendations for ELL classrooms:
Assess Previous Knowledge
Highlight Words
Use Precise Language
Have Students Communicate Math Daily
Use Graphic Organizers
Use Cooperative Learning Groups
Use Technology to Motivate and Promote equity
Engage Students during Practice and Reinforcement
Provide Daily Review
Use Language as Bridge for Better Math Understanding
WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY?
“ELLs and Group Work: It Can Be Done Well” by
William C. Zahner
 Four Primary Concerns:


Selecting Appropriate Tasks


Assinging Students to Groups


How many people, what level of students (high/middle/low
acheiving/) ELL breakdown?
Setting Up Group Norms


Focusing on important concepts, open-ended and
collaborative, multiple points of entry, avoid unnecessary
langauge
All students listening and participating, valuing others
contributions, teacher values students’ native languages
Assessing Students’ Understanding
Takes place on both an individual and group level so that
students stay motivated in each setting
 Presentations encouraged, teacher asks comprehension
questions to specific group members

I-CLICKER QUESTION!

Which one of the following is an example of
contextualizing instructions?
A. Presenting a problem that has real-life meaning
 B. Providing and repeating definitions for new
vocabulary
 C. Introducing a problem and having students work
towards the concept themselves
 D. Showing a concept through a visual tool before
defining it

WHAT IS THE BEST PRACTICE
RELATED TO THIS TOPIC?

Group work and Inquiry based curriculum

Making sure groups have a variety of different levels
of language ability, and student composition is varied
frequently. Making sure students are participating
and actively engaged in the discussion
Use of Multiple Representations
Since ELL students have trouble understanding
academic math language, but still need to be exposed
to it, use many representations of a concept along
with an explanation so the words and concepts can be
understood and connected.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT FOR
YOUR FUTURE TEACHING?
As a teacher, it is very likely that we will have
ELL students in our classroom.
 Training or preparation for teaching ELL
students is minimal.
 We must be prepared to teach ALL kinds of
students, not just the “average” learner.
 ELL students have many challenges they face
within the schools and we as teachers must help
make learning as easy as possible by being
knowledgeable about how to best teach them.

I-CLICKER QUESTION!

While teaching a combined ELL and traditional
classroom you assign your students to work in
groups on today’s new concept. While the students
are working in groups you notice that one of the
ELL students is not participating and several
questions behind the rest of the group. How do you
approach the situation?
A: Give the student individualized attention to catch
the student up with the rest of the group
 B: Encourage the rest of the group members to make
sure the ELL student is understanding and caught up
 C: Move the student to another group that more
resembles that ELL student’s pace
 D: Bring the class together as a whole to focus on
reviewing the class work from the beginning

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hoffert, S. B. (2009). Mathematics: the Universal
Language?. Mathematics Teacher, 103(2),
130-139.
 Murrey, D. L. (2008). Differentiating Instruction
in Mathematics for the English Language
Learner. Mathematics Teaching In The
Middle School, 14(3), 146-153.
 Winsor, M. S. (2007). Bridging the Language
Barrier in Mathematics. Mathematics
Teacher, 101(5), 372-378
 Zahner, W.C. (2012). ELLs and Group Work: It
Can
Be Done Well. Mathematics Teaching
In The
Middle School, 18(3), 156-162.
