Joint Colloquium on Multilingualism in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics – Enhancing Success

On 17 August 2023, members of the Community of Practice for the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics, Community of Practice for African Languages and Education Deans’ Forum congregated with higher education policymakers at Stellenbosch University to converse on  Multilingualism in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics in Higher Education – Enhancing Success.

Multilingualism in teaching and learning refers to the use of multiple languages in the classroom as a means of instruction, communication, and interaction between teachers and students.  

The one-day colloquium served its purpose of providing a platform for promoting interdisciplinary conversations and the exchange of ideas among educators, researchers, and policymakers.  Delegates explored the intersection of multilingualism, language and mathematics education and identified innovative teaching strategies that leveraged the strengths of multilingualism and interdisciplinary learning to enhance the quality of mathematics education.

This turned out to be an effective start to the advancement of knowledge and understanding of how multilingualism can be effectively integrated into mathematics education, and teacher education, ultimately benefiting students and educators alike.

Beyond the Colloquium, the three participating groups need to interrogate the outcomes of that event from their distinct perspectives and identify a plan of action to enhance mathematics teaching and teacher education in pursuit of the broad aim of the Language Policy Framework for Higher Education Institutions.