The social organization of mathematics classrooms and English language learners’ opportunities to participate

Abstract

In this paper, I discuss the significance of classroom organization in English Language Learners’ (ELLs) opportunities to participate in mathematics classrooms through a review of relevant contemporary literature. In particular, I will focus on the following areas of classroom organization: language organization, instructional organization, and discourse organization. By highlighting the relationship between classroom organization and English language learners’ opportunities to participate in the mathematics classroom, I will provide insight into when and under which contexts ELLs are acknowledged (or not) with their existing resources.

Keywords

• English language learners
• classroom learning
• mathematics education
• sociocultural theory