Ahmad Sabry Othman - PhD Candidate

Thesis Title:   Teaching mathematics in second language.

Email: othah772@student.otago.ac.nz                      

The widespread use of English as a global language has led to content like mathematics, being taught in English, which is not the mother tongue of the teachers or the students in some countries. The main focus is on the education practices in Malaysia. The situation poses new challenges to the teachers where they have to teach their subject in English to students who are still learning the language. The teachers being the second language users themselves have to acquire the necessary English language skills in order to teach effectively. The fact that mathematics has its own language, known as mathematics register, may complicate the situation. Mastery of mathematics register is essential for mathematics learning to take place. Mathematics teachers need to be able to use the mathematics register as well as promote its usage among students. This is especially crucial in second language situation whereby students in second language rely heavily on the teachers for language input and model.
It is hoped that the findings of this study will contribute to the field of teaching mathematics in multilingual contexts by identifying effective teaching strategies that will help students learn mathematics in a second language.

Conference Presentations