Learning language and mathematics: A perspective from Linguistics and Education
Abstract The introductory article offers a framework for language education researchers and mathematics education researchers to share insights, questions, and understandings from their complementary perspectives on the relationship between language and mathematics. This Article Collection re-publishes seven, of the 18 articles that were authored by researchers from seven different countries; that addressed the topic and were published in Linguistics and Education since the journal's inception in 1988. The first part is organized into four sections, including: (1) The concepts of the academic language and the mathematics register; (2) the language and literacy challenges of teaching and learning mathematics; (3) specific issues for English learner students’ (EL students) mathematical learning and mastery of the mathematics register; and (4) implications for teaching mathematics to all students. A brief overview of the 18 published papers follows. A more detailed description of the seven Linguistics and Education articles provides a set of perspectives with corresponding analyses; that, taken together, constitute a context for an interdisciplinary sphere of developing research and theory regarding language, literacy and mathematics learning. Finally, the conclusion summarizes cross-cutting themes and suggestions for further study.