Browsing by Author "Saunders, Ella"

Language is an essential part of education, whether written or spoken. Teachers constantly make language related choices, both consciously and unconsciously. Language awareness is a mindset that guides attitudes and choices related to language and is also found in the curriculum (Opetushallitus, 2014, p. 28), but there seem to be ambiguities in its concrete application (see Tainio & Kallioniemi, 2019). Especially subject-specific language awareness has been studied very little, and in the context of mathematics, there is almost no research. The aim of this study is thus to understand prospective teachers' perceptions of language awareness in mathematics education. The research task is to increase understanding of subject-specific language awareness and how future mathematics teachers understand the concept's practical significance. I collected my data by interviewing five teacher trainees using semi-structured thematic interviews. My research was qualitative, and I analysed the data using means offered by phenomenography, inductively. Typically for phenomenography, I sought to identify and compare different conceptions of language awareness in mathematics education. Teacher trainees conceptualized language awareness through six different practice categories: precise use of terms, clarity of language, the verbalization of mathematics, language choices in assignments, utilizing different languages in teaching, and using language as a social tool. Based on these, teachers’ understanding of language awareness was divided into two different perspectives: teaching the language of mathematics and utilizing classroom languages. Although these results are not generalizable, they offer insight into language awareness and its internalization, especially from the perspectives of mathematics and subject didactics.