More than words: a literature review of language of mathematics research

This paper presents the results of a systematic search of the empirical literature on language of mathematics. Historically, mathematics educators and policy-makers have focused primarily on the importance of vocabulary in helping students move from everyday language to more formal mathematical language in order to promote academic outcomes. Utilizing Gee’s notion of Discourse, which includes many aspects of language as well as notions of identity and power, we synthesize the extant literature to explore the multifaceted ways researchers have extended the traditional focus on vocabulary. Our findings suggest that for students to be successful in mathematics classrooms, educators must become cognizant of the role of language in establishing classroom norms, negotiating identities, and challenging inequitable distributions of power. We also utilize Gee’s seven building blocks of language to identify aspects of language that remain ripe for future research.