On squares, rectangles, rhombuses, ... and the influence of culture and language on students’ conceptions

Abstract

In this paper we discuss the influence of cultural and linguistic factors on students’ understanding of some special types of quadrilaterals which are common in geometry lessons, namely the square, the rectangle, the rhombus, the parallelogram, and the trapezium. In this direction we examine a number of clinical interviews with 10th grade students. In particular we analyse, from a culture and linguistic viewpoint, the students’ difficulties with respect to the logical/conceptual structure of the above types of quadrilaterals.