Linguistic difficulties in the transition to the university: Learning mathematics in three structurally different languages

Overview & Synopsis

This paper reports a study of the structural differences of the three languages used in Algeria: Arabic, dialect and French. These languages are used by both students and teachers at the university: French for written mathematics and the two others for oral expressions and thinking. The use of Arabic and dialect is meant to help students in learning mathematics in French as their mastery of French is weak, but the many differences concerning logical structures might be a source of difficulty for students, when they use the three languages. Some research questions are stated together with how to validate them in a further research.