CSFP Identifying mathematical expression for teaching and learning mathematics in diverse Australian Indigenous languages

The project aims to develop guidelines to identify the capacities of diverse Australian Indigenous languages (AILs) for mathematical expression from a cross-linguistic perspective. The project will apply an innovative functional typological perspective to mathematical expression in different languages. It will develop an analytical framework of language structures needed for school mathematics in ways broadly applicable to all languages. The guidelines will be informed and illustrated by several typologically diverse case studies. Each case study will describe the ways in which mathematical structures are expressed in the language, how they are used in school mathematics teaching, and additional possibilities for mathematical language use. Outcomes include a systematic understanding of the language requirements of mathematics education in different languages, and how they can be identified in Australian languages, improving the potential for delivering mathematics education in AILs with the goal of improving mathematics achievement outcomes of Indigenous students.