Interweaving linguistic relativity and linguistic interdependence on mathematical thinking: A mixed methods multiple-case study of Chinese-Filipino learners

PhD Dissertation Defense
Interweaving linguistic relativity and linguistic interdependence on mathematical thinking: A mixed methods multiple-case study of Chinese-Filipino learners

by Lester C. Hao
PhD Mathematics Candidate

Date: Saturday, 25 June 2022
Time: 1 pm
Venue: Online

Advisers:
Dr. Romina Ann S. Yap
Ateneo de Manila University

Panelists:
Dr. Jude C. Buot
Ateneo de Manila University
Dr. Angela Fatima H. Guzon
Ateneo de Manila University
Dr. Queena N. Lee-Chua
Ateneo de Manila University
Dr. Catherine P. Vistro-Yu
Ateneo de Manila University
Prof. Emeritus Philip Clarkson
Australian Catholic University
Dr. Núria Planas
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

The present study is spurred by research on multilingualism in the mathematics classroom and the lack of it in the context of Chinese-Filipino learners who learn school mathematics in both English and Chinese. It in- vestigated and modelled multilingual Chinese-Filipino learners’ crosslinguistic utilization of mathematical knowledge — how they make use of the knowledge they acquired from mathematics classes taught in differ- ent languages. The study interweaved the linguistic principles of interdependence (i.e., one’s languages at the academic level support each other under certain conditions) and relativity (i.e., the language one speaks in- fluences his thoughts). Utilizing a mixed methods multiple-case study research design, the study was divided into several phases, wherein multiple sources of data were tapped: school grades, survey questionnaires, interview, and task observation. Fifty-four (54) students, who were enrolled in Grade 10 for both English and Chinese curricula during SY2019-2020, participated in the study and were clustered into four (4) cases according to their English and Chinese Language Arts scores. Both quantitative and qualitative data were integrated within each case and compared across cases. Results show that the Chinese-Filipino students’ crosslinguistic utilization of mathematical knowledge manifested not only through their preferred concep- tualizations and terminologies, but also through their experiences of transferring knowledge. Moreover, it is influenced by both linguistic and non-linguistic factors, wherein those who possessed higher language pro- ficiencies were found to achieve higher mathematics scores and report better likelihood of reconciling and transferring mathematical content. The study concludes with a revised model of the crosslinguistic utiliza- tion of mathematical knowledge based on the results and recommends future research that utilize it while networking with other relevant theories in mathematics education.