Annotated Bibliography

All of the following articles and reports apply, to some degree, to the practices we use in the Mathematics classroom pertaining to English Language Learners (ELLs). The goal of this summative project is to be better able to address the misconceptions we have and practices we use in the Mathematical education of English Language Learners. I have spent 8 years overseas in Korea teaching English as a second language to children and adults, and I want to be able to better facilitate the learning of mathematics concepts to students. There is a misconception that mathematics is a universal language and that all learners should be on par regardless of background. This line of reasoning acknowledges that ELLs possess the cognitive ability to solve problems but ignores that fact that the academic language used in Mathematics is difficult for students to comprehend and requires additional cognitive skill. Some of the articles do contain the use of imperial measures, but it is important to note that these same articles address the cultural bias of using this type of measurement, and that metric units would be more appropriate to use in the classroom. Scaptura, C., Suh, J., & Mahaffey, G. (2007) Masterpieces to mathematics: using art to teach fraction, decimal, and percent equivalents, Mathematics Teaching In The Middle School, 13(1), 24-28 In this article, the researchers/teachers examined how art could be used to teach how fractions, decimals, and percent could all be expressed as equivalents. They investigated how artistic activities helped build students comprehension of the relationships among these rational number concepts. They found that Optical Art (OP Art) facilitated students learning by expressing themselves artistically while engaging them in verbal, pictorial, and symbolic activities and the use of physical manipulatives that allowed them to assimilate the rational number concepts. This article specifically deals with the use of this type of activity to facilitate the learning of English Language Learners by addressing the lack of background and cultural reference that is prevalent in so many of the math problems we present to our students. Moschkovich, J. (2007) Using two languages when learning mathematics: how can research help us understand mathematics learners who use two languages?, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Student Learning Research Brief (Posted to NCTM on March 17, 2009) This publication deals with how research can help us understand students who use two languages when learning mathematics. The author tells us that we should not draw negative conclusions about a students mathematical proficiency based on code-switching (the use of two languages). The findings of this research suggest that teachers should allow students to choose the language they prefer to solve problems. This is significant for teachers because it encourages us acknowledge the fact that ELLs may have learned the underlying concepts of the instruction in a foreign language and how using that language can help them tie the concepts together. Wilburne, J.M., Marinak, B.A., & Strickland, M.J. (2011) Addressing cultural bias: a variety of approaches and strategies can help english language learners understand and solve mathematical word problems, Mathematics Teaching In The Middle School, 16(8), 460-465

This article addresses the issue that while the language and context of many word problems are familiar to U.S. students who speak English as a first language, they are often unfamiliar to the growing population from cultures that are not fluent in English or in American cultural background. The article identifies how to find these cultural biases and presents us with many that are prevalent in the word problems we often encounter in the classroom. The author concludes that as educators we must be able to identify cultural assumptions in the word problems that we ask students to solve. This article is very significant because it asks teachers to look beyond the obvious language problems that ELLs may have with the academic language and consider our cultural suppositions. Lambertus, A., Keene, K., & Coats, H. (2009/2010) Wanted: your number sense, Teaching Children Mathematics, 260-265 This article introduces an activity that can be used to further number sense in the classroom. It is an assessment that measures what students know rather than what they do not know. Students are asked to develop a frontier style wanted poster for the number of their choosing. They use mathematical vocabulary and whole-number information to describe the attributes of the number. This activity can be used at many grade level and be adapted to other mathematical concepts. It applies to ELLs because it encourages them to focus on learning the specific academic mathematical vocabulary. Gomez, C.L., & Kurz, T.L. (2011) Using Blooms taxonomy with english language learners, Mathematics Teaching In The Middle School, 16( 7), 388-391 This article is about using Blooms Taxonomy to differentiate learning for ELLs. A group of twenty-three teachers were asked to create mathematics lessons for students of varying English Language ability. It was found that for students at the preproduction phase of language acquisition 21 of the activities produced were at the recall stage. This shows that teachers do not understand the difference between cognitive mathematical ability and language proficiency, as almost all activities were at the lowest level of Blooms Taxonomy. The authors conclude that it takes conscientious curriculum planning to look beyond language ability and create activities that progress through Blooms Taxonomy. This article is important because it exposes a deficiency in curriculum planning and understanding of cognitive ability of English language learners. As teachers, we often confuse language proficiency with cognitive ability and we have to be careful to engage all of our students, including ELLs, in higher level activities. Fernandes, A. (2012) Mathematics preservice teachers learning about english language learners through task-based interviews and noticing, Mathematics Teacher Educator, 1(1), 10-22 This article deals with preparing pre-service teachers for the demands of the classroom in relation to ELLs. Between 1980 and 2009 the number of ELLs in American classrooms has grown from 10% to 21%. Out of the 41% of teachers who have ELLs in their classrooms only 13% have ELL-specific training. The author stresses that there is a tendency to believe that mathematics is universal and that as a result involves minimal linguistic challenges. The article encourages us to recognize that although it may take ELLs a little longer to complete calculations and additional coaching to understand what questions are asking, that this is not a reflection of their level of mathematical understanding. As teachers, we must understand the lexical aspects that are unique to mathematics and that for students learning English

and the mathematical concepts at the same time the task can be very daunting. We need to differentiate our teaching by recognizing the linguistic and cultural challenges that these students face. Santa Cruz, R.M., (2009) Giving voice to english language learners in mathematics, NCTM News Bulletin This article appeals to Mathematics teachers to recognize the trials that ELLs encounter in learning English while also acquiring content-based knowledge. The article encourages teachers to move toward the goal of delivering opportunity for ELLs to participate fully in mathematical discussions. The author points out that ELLs are not being differentiated for in Mathematics, but at the same time are being held accountable to the same standards as their native English speaking peers. As teachers of ELLs we need to identify the need for students to have the opportunity to listen, speak, read, and write about Mathematics.