The effect of code-switching in the teaching and learning of mathematics in College of Education

Isaac Owusu-Darko Owusu-Darko

Abstract


Multilingual speakers have observed a widespread trend of utilizing different utterances, this phenomenon is called code-switching. This is sometimes needed in teaching mathematical content. Switching between two languages in the context of learning is perceived by educators to be an effective communication strategy in transferring and clarifying mathematical concepts at all levels. This study investigated the impact of code-switching on the teaching and learning of mathematics in the selected class of SDA College of Education level 100 students in Ghana, West Africa. Students were put into 3 classes under quasi-experiment for the teaching of selected mathematical concepts in Geometry, algebra and statistics. The teaching of these concepts was used for respective classes for language-based instruction of the content: Akan (L1), English (L2) and Code-switching. The data analyses constituted students observed scores from their post teaching test. We investigated whether mean differences exist among the trilingual teaching approaches. The results showed that; the code-switch used in mathematical instruction mean scores were found to be significantly better than Twi and the English languages mode of instruction respectively. We recommend the integration of code-switching teaching approach of mathematical lessons especially in African community schools where multilingual systems exist

Keywords


Code-switching, multilingual, concept communication, mathematical language, mathematics teaching

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18860/ijtlm.v5i1.13212

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