ERIC Number: EJ1326343
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Dec
Pages: 10
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0025-5769
EISSN: N/A
Positioning Multilingual Learners
Smith, Erin
Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12, v114 n12 p916-925 Dec 2021
Scholars use "position" to refer to the social expectations and range of available things a person can say and do in any given interaction (Harré and van Langenhove 1999; van Langenhove 2011). In the classroom, there are different social expectations for teachers and students. Teachers are often expected to give directions, present instruction, discipline students, and assign grades, whereas students are often expected to follow directions and complete assigned work, among other things. These different social expectations can determine who has greater power in interactions. These metaphorical positions are dynamic, not fixed. Thus, one's position can be continuously renegotiated in each interaction. Teachers at any stage can begin to reflect on and make changes to their positioning of multilingual learners. It is not a matter of whether to position students, but "how" to position students, so they can be mathematically successful. This article discusses how to productively position multilingual learners in the classroom.
Descriptors: Multilingualism, Student Diversity, Mathematics Instruction, Teaching Methods, Teacher Responsibility, Social Bias, Goal Orientation, Success, Student Needs, Second Language Learning, Social Emotional Learning, Discussion (Teaching Technique), Student Role, Interaction, Power Structure
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. 1906 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191. Tel: 800-235-7566; Tel: 703-620-9840; Fax: 703-476-2570; e-mail: publicationsdept@nctm.org; Web site: https://pubs.nctm.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 0844556

Peer reviewed
Direct link
