International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME)

Proceedings of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education · Volume 1

Moving from Language as Resource to Language as Sources of Meaning in Mathematics Education

Sashi Sharma

University of Waikato

49th Annual Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, PME 2026Helsinki27 July 2026 - 1 August 2026pp. 1347–1354ISSN 2790-36482026Scopus conference code 336559
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Abstract

In multilingual mathematics classrooms, language is often conceptualised as a resource, a supportive tool that teachers may deploy to assist learners in accessing mathematical content. While this perspective has contributed significantly to equity-oriented practice, it risks treating students’ linguistic repertoires instrumentally and fails to recognise the epistemic functions of language in constructing mathematical meanings. Drawing on classroom empirical illustrations from probability lessons, this paper advances a theoretical and practice-oriented shift from understanding language as a resource to understanding languages as sources of meaning (Barwell, 2018). Implications for teaching practice are discussed, emphasizing the centrality of multilingual meaning-making in shaping mathematical thinking in statistics classrooms

Keywords

multilingual classrooms. language as sources of meaningprobabilityimplications

Recommended citation

Sharma, S. (2026). Moving from Language as Resource to Language as Sources of Meaning in Mathematics Education. In Krzywacki H., Hähkiöniemi M., Haataja E., Hannula M.S., Hästö P. (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Volume 1 (pp. 1347–1354). Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME). ISSN 2790-3648.
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