Developing mathematical reasoning by using questions in a multilingual mathematics classroom

In this paper, students’ questions while working in small groups on mathematical problem-solving tasks are investigated. In order to improve students’ reasoning and communication abilities in mathematics, an intervention study was designed in a multilingual upper secondary mathematics classroom in Sweden. In their discussions students used Swedish, which was their second language and also the language of instruction. The changes in students’ ways of using questions across the three cycles of the intervention were analysed. The results showed how students over the cycles changed their ways of framing questions from looking for the correct answer towards clarifying other students’ meaning in order to understand each other’s reasoning. The implication from the study is that it is important to promote interactions between students rather than focusing on students’ need to develop their second language competencies