Mother tongue and mathematics instruction in multilingual contexts: A quantitative analysis of teacher cognition among elementary-grade teachers

Abstract

In the realization of the teaching and learning process, the Language of Instruction plays a crucial and vital role. Thus, determining what language to use remains a debate among scholars, and a concern among educators. Along this line, it is worth to note that teachers’ cognition towards a language used for instruction is an important aspect to consider, because cognition influences behavior. Hence, this study investigated the perceptions of teachers towards the use of Mother Tongue as medium of instruction in the teaching of Mathematics. The study employed a quantitative research design utilizing an adapted research tool administered to a total of 102 elementary-grade mathematics teachers. Interesting results are discussed herein.