Primary school children's interpretations of lexical ambiguity in mathematical descriptions

Abstract

ABSTRACTMany words are used in mathematical descriptions in ways which differ from their everyday meanings. This study investigates how children interpret lexical ambiguity in written descriptions of mathematical relationships. Primary grade children were asked to identify the synonyms of ambiguous words, such as leaves, high, tables, make, which were presented in sentences biased toward either their dominant or their mathematical senses. Performance was superior in the everyday contexts. Error analyses revealed that subjects were more likely to identify incorrectly the synonym of the dominant sense when the ambiguous word was used in its mathematical meaning than they were to identify the subordinate, mathematical sense when the ambiguous word was used in its dominant meaning. Performance was age related and errors were more likely in younger children. The implications of a bias to interpret ambiguous terms in their dominant sense when reading maths materials are discussed as a pervasive but often unrecognised factor in mathematical education.