Analysing teachers’ discourse and language patterns during sharing-based fraction instruction in isiZulu-medium Grade 3 classrooms

Abstract

Background: Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education (MTBBE) aims to strengthen learners’ home language while developing English as an additional language. However, the historical marginalisation of African languages in mathematics education means that teachers may use everyday expressions that do not communicate mathematical meanings precisely. Limited research has examined how language choices in African-language classrooms shape learners’ early mathematical understanding.
Aim: This study examined how teacher discourse constructed fraction concepts during sharing-based lessons in isiZulu-medium Grade 3 classrooms, with implications for MTBBE in Grade 4.
Setting: The study involved two Grade 3 classrooms in South African township primary schools.
Methods: Guided by a language-as-resource orientation, this qualitative study analysed observations of two fraction lessons taught by mathematics subject advisers during a Lesson Study. Multimodal discourse and thematic analyses examined how language and teaching practices shaped mathematical meaning-making.
Results: Both lessons introduced fractions through equal-sharing contexts. However, some translated expressions conveyed meanings more closely associated with division than with fractions as parts of a whole. One teacher emphasised fairness and equivalence, while the other used comparative and relational language, including more, less, fewer and larger parts.
Conclusion: Teachers’ language choices influenced how learners encountered and interpreted fraction concepts.
Contribution: The study shows how instructional discourse shapes mathematical meaning-making and highlights the need to develop mathematically precise isiZulu terminology and expressions for MTBBE classrooms.