Supporting prospective teachers to notice and name student language resources as mathematical strengths

Deficit discourse and framing of multilingual students and their academic potential is a persistent challenge in mathematics education research and practice. It is a challenge for teachers of all experience levels to learn how to use asset-based language when working with students who are learning mathematics in a non-dominant language. This article reports on a study that explored how prospective teachers (PTs) position multilingual students and their primary language when learning mathematics. The participants are elementary and secondary PTs who were introduced to and had the opportunity to practice asset-based discourse to describe students’ mathematical strengths. Findings illustrate that after these learning opportunities PTs’ positioning of multilingual students shifted from using deficit and uncommitted discourse to asset-based. A closer look, however, showed no explicit mention of the value of the student’s primary language for learning mathematics. Only a few PTs did so implicitly. This study shows it is possible for PTs to shift deficit language, but that more explicit support is needed to help them communicate the value of language/linguistic diversity in the learning of mathematics.