Mastering Mathematics, Mainstream and Minority Languages

The multicultural nature of modern society constitutes one of the most significant changes to have influenced schools in many European countries, especially at primary and middle school level. The teacher is seldom aware of the need to rethink and if necessary modify his/her methodological and pedagogical approach. This attitude is even more evident in maths teachers who often consider their subject universal and culture-free. Little has been done in Europe as far as maths teaching in multicultural contexts is concerned. The different languages and cultures present in the classroom make the teaching/learning process even more arduous than it already is, especially for pupils from minority cultures and/or with a migrant background or for Roma pupils. A teaching unit, designed in a European Commission funded project, is described. Its aim is to provide teachers with a tool to help their pupils to overcome the learning obstacle represented by the contrast between the simplicity of classroom language and the complexity of mathematics language. Teachers have to bear in mind, however, that the language used in class is an element of further complexity for pupils from minority cultures with a different mother tongue