Language Culture and Curriculum
Editor and Book Reviews Editor: Eoghan Mac Aogain (St Patrick's College)
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Volume: 17 Number: 3 Page: 181–195
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An Investigation into the Use of Setswana to Teach Primary School Mathematics
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Theophilus Mooko
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This study examined language-related challenges that arise as a result of the use of Setswana to teach mathematics at primary school level in Botswana. Data were collected from the mathematics textbooks that were used for Standards 1–4 in Botswana primary schools during the period
1995–2002. The second source of data was the Standard 4 mathematics attainment tests, which are written by all the pupils at this level in Botswana Government-owned schools. The results revealed that Setswana has not been adequately developed to handle mathematical ideas. Some of the
problems related to the use of Setswana for this purpose included the generation of ambiguous statements, inconsistencies in the presentations as well as some incorrect statements. The findings also suggest that the use of Setswana in the mentioned documents may not be facilitating the development
of children's literacy in the language. The difficulties that pupils who are second-language speakers of Setswana may face in the learning of mathematics are also highlighted.
Keywords: LANGUAGE, MATHEMATICS, SETSWANA, TEACHING
© 2004 Multilingual Matters
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