The Effect of Language Skills on Students Mathematical Achievement

Author(s):

Mark Prendergast(submitting)Fiona Faulkner(presenting)Clare O'Hara

Conference:

ECER 2015

Network:

24. Mathematics Education Research

Format:

Paper

Session Information

24 SES 14, Teaching Mathematics

Paper Session

Time:

2015-09-11

15:30-17:00

Room:

316.Oktatóterem [C]

Chair:

Javier Diez-Palomar

Contribution

Background to the Study

Approximately 1.7 million students, almost half of whom are from non – English speaking developing nations in Asia, cross borders every year to acquire a foreign education (Sawir, 2005). In Ireland, the percentage of international students has increased from 3 per cent in 2002 to 10 per cent in 2012 (Perkins et al., 2013). The Government aims to increase this further as it bids to promote the internationalisation of the Irish Higher Education sector and to significantly increase the proportion of fee paying international students as a means to diversify the income base for HEI’s (DES, 2010). However, the increased arrival of international students has also coincided with the introduction of Project Maths in second level Irish schools. Project Maths is an ambitious reform of Irish mathematics education at second level. It involves changes to what students learn in mathematics, how they learn it and how they will be assessed. There is a much greater emphasis placed on student understanding of mathematical concepts, with increased use of contexts and applications that will enable students to relate mathematics to their everyday experiences. The assessment reflects the different weight on problem solving and applications in the teaching and learning of mathematics and there is a much greater emphasis on reading and understanding the problems. Hence there is a greater emphasis on student’s English language proficiency.

Concern has already been expressed regarding the perceived language demands of the revised mathematics syllabus (Cosgrove et al., 2012; Jeffers et al., 2013). Language permits mathematics learners to ask and answer questions, to convey their understanding and to discuss their answers with others. It also plays a significant role in the processing of mathematical text and the interpretation of questions (Hoosain, 1991). However students with low literacy levels and particularly non – national students for whom English is not a first language struggle with the comprehension and wordy nature of some of the mathematics questions (Cosgrove et al., 2012).

Research Question

Does an increased use of language in mathematical questions effect international students’ achievement in the subject?

Method

The authors decided to use a mixed method approach by combining both qualitative and quantitative methods of research. The use of multiple methods was decided upon in order to get an in-depth understanding of the research. Participants The participants for this study comprised of International students who were enrolled in an International Foundation Programme in an Irish Higher Education Institute. Upon successful completion of the programme, students are granted direct entry onto an undergraduate programme of their choice in the HEI. The aim of the programme is to equip them with the skills to meet the minimum entry requirements of such undergraduate programmes. All of the students who participated in the study originated from either Saudi Arabia or Oman and all spoke Arabic as their first language. Thus for many of these students, the main skills required involve improving their English language proficiency. This proficiency is measured using the International English Language Testing Score (IELTS). The IELTS is an internationally standardised 9-band scale. Each band corresponds to a level of English competence. In order to gain entry onto the Foundation Programme students must have an IELTS of at least level 5.0 or one whole band below the entry requirements of their undergraduate destination. Students with an IELTS of 5 are defined as modest English language users (www.ielts.org). They should have a partial command of the language, and although they are likely to make many mistakes, they should be able to cope with the overall meaning in most situations. Quantitative Data In order to get a quantitative measure, the scores of students in a Project Maths style examination were compared with their scores in a traditional style mathematics examination. The questions in Project Maths style examination were based on the Project Maths method of assessment and thus reflected the emphasis on understanding, problem solving and applications. The questions in the traditional style examination were technically the same questions but were mathematical procedure and skill based only with the removal of any context or language. Qualitative Data In order to get feedback regarding International student’s opinions on the effect of their language skills on the learning of mathematics, a focus group was conducted with eight students who volunteered from the examination participants.

Expected Outcomes

Similar to the findings of the ‘Research into the impact of Project Maths on student achievement, learning and motivation’ (Jeffers et al., 2013) and ‘Teaching and Leaning in Project Maths: Insights from Teachers who Participated in PISA 2012’ (Cosgrove et al., 2012) reports, this study highlights concern for non – national students for whom English is not a first language in how they manage the high literacy demands of Project Maths. The heavy emphasis on English language in the problem solving and application questions is difficult for International students. Statistically significant differences were found in the results of student scores in a traditional style mathematics exam with their scores in a Project Maths style exam. There was also statistically significant differences in the scores of students in the Project Maths style exam who had an IELTS of 5.5 compared to those who had an IELTS of 5.0. This shows that student’s language levels had a significant effect on students’ achievement in mathematics. Participants of the focus group gave a number of reasons why they felt that this was the case (P6: ‘there were no words which I can’t understand’). There was a general conclusion amongst participants that Project Maths style exam was more difficult. Language and literacy levels were the foremost factors (P1: ‘in Project Maths style exam, most of the questions I didn’t understand because I didn't know some words. It had hard expressions that an International student who’s English is his second language wouldn't be able to understand’),The allocated time was also consistently mentioned as a factor which made the Project Maths exam more difficult (P2: ‘we need to read the question many times to understand it and that may lose time’).

References

Cosgrove, J., Perkins, R., Shiel, G., Fish, R., & McGuinness, L. (2012). Teaching and Leaning in Project Maths: Insights from Teachers who Participated in PISA 2012, Dublin: Educational research Centre. Department of Education and Skills (2010). Investing in Global Relationships – Irelands International Education Strategy 2010 – 15, Report of the High-Level Group on International Education to the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Dublin: Department of Education and Skills. Ellerton, N.F. and Clarkson, P.C. (1996). Language factors in mathematics teaching and learning, in A.J. Bishop et al (Eds.) International handbook of mathematics education (pp. 987-1033). The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Gorgorió, N. and Planas, N. (2001). ‘Teaching mathematics in multilingual classrooms’, Educational Studies in Mathematics, 47(1), pp.7-33. Hoosain, R. (1991). Psycholinguistic Implications for Linguistic Relativity: A Case Study of Chinese. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Hunt, C. (2011). National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 - Report of the Strategy Group, Dublin: Department of Education and Skills. Jeffes, J., Jones, E., Wilson, M., Lamont, E., Straw, S., Wheater, R. and Dawson, A. (2013). Research into the impact of Project Maths on student achievement, learning and motivation: final report. Slough: NFER. Perkins, R., Shiel, G., Merriman, B., Cosgrove, J. and Morgan, G. (2013). Learning for Life: The Achievements of 15 year olds on Mathematics, Reading Literacy and Science in PISA 2103, Dublin: Educational Research Centre. Sawir, E. (2005). Language Difficulties of International Students in Australia: The Effects of Prior Learning Experience. International Education Journal, 6(5), 567-580. Smith, B. O and Ennis, R. H. (1961). Language and concepts. Chicago: Rand McNally & company. Zevenbergen, R. (2001). Changing contexts in tertiary mathematics: implications for diversity and equity, in D. Holton (Ed.) The Teaching and Learning of Mathematics at University Level, An ICMI Study. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Author Information

Mark Prendergast (submitting)

Trinity College Dublin

School of Education

Dublin

Fiona Faulkner (presenting)

Dublin Institute of Technology

School of Hospitality and Tourism

Dublin

Clare O'Hara