Svårigheter i matematik för elever med svenska som andraspråk
Lärares syn på problem och möjligheter
In today?s society teachers will face students of foreign origin. It is up to the teachers to help these students gain the knowledge they need to flourish in society. Despite the fact that mathematics is a universal topic with high status in many countries, studies have shown that mathematics is a subject where a large proportion of foreign students fails. The purpose of this study was to see wherein the problem lies and describe teachers' perceptions of the barriers and the opportunities in mathematics for students with Swedish as a second language. The method used was a literature review and interviews with three teachers in Swedish as a second language, who also partly teach mathematics and one remedial teacher in mathematics. The literature and interviews clearly showed that the language plays a major role in mathematics. There is an ignorance of this, which means that students do not get the right help. Considering that language plays such a significant role in the subject, teachers should work more with the mathematical language. It would lead to students getting an understanding of language while they learn about mathematics. The study also found an absence of collaboration between language teachers and mathematics teachers.