Mathematics education and language : lessons and directions from two decades of research

This chapter argues that the progress of mathematics education and language research is taking place through a complex expansion rather than an overthrow of the linguistic paradigm, with an increase in the scope of the domain and in the spread of cultural and social claims. It addresses the following questions: What is the scope of the research on mathematics education and language? How can we map and link the newer approaches in the domain of mathematics education and language to classical approaches? What has been achieved in the last two decades of research? The chapter analyses research reported at Congress of European Research in Mathematics Education (CERME) since 1998 as a benchmark for assessing the phenomenon of increasing complexity as well as the relationship between continuity and complexity in the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (ERME) domai