ERIC Number: ED273155
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1985
Pages: 7
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Mathematics Education in a Second Language: An Instructional and Teacher Education Model.
Cuevas, Gilbert J.
For students without a command of English, the use of English to teach mathematics skills and concepts is a barrier to learning. While research on the subject is not conclusive, it is an appropriate assumption that for a student to master the concepts, he must master the language of the concepts. Based on this premise, the Second Language Approach to Mathematics Skills (SLAMS) was designed to provide teachers with strategies for dealing with limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in the mathematics classroom. The model follows a diagnostic-prescriptive approach and has two strands, one focusing on teaching mathematics content and one emphasizing classroom development of related language skills. The activities developed for each strand are derived from specific instructional objectives of the curriculum. The teacher training model contains three components: incentive (intrinsic and extrinsic rewards), specific procedures, and content in culture, mathematics, and linguistics. A SLAMS program has been implemented at the University of Miami, and although research results are not yet available, it has been found that (1) some secondary teachers feel insecure addressing language concerns in the mathematics classroom, (2) teachers become more sensitive to the use of language in their teaching, and (3) teachers find language to be only one of a number of considerations in teaching LEP students, including student academic background, culture, and learning style. (MSE)
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A