ABSTRACTThis article explores how one teacher, Promise, negotiated the challenges created by the language of instruction in her classroom. The article is part of a broader study in which participation was invited from mathematics teachers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Data gathering instruments included a teacher questionnaire, lesson observation schedules, field notes, a teacher interview schedule and a focus group interview schedule for learners. A qualitative analysis at each stage of the study provided data for the subsequent stage. This study was framed using Hill and Ball’s ‘mathematics knowledge for teaching’ framework. The findings suggest that participants incorporated pedagogic strategies in their classrooms to negotiate the challenges arising when learners learned mathematics in a language other than their native language. This article reflects on and describes Promise’s pedagogic strategies. Identifying pedagogic strategies that embrace the language of instruction in mathematics classrooms can be of value to mathematics curriculum developers as well as teachers.