Bilingual classrooms in Malta : teaching mathematics content and language

Abstract

Maltese classrooms are an interesting example of how two official languages are blended in educational settings. The interweaving of the languages makes it difficult to fit the practice into any well-known model of bilingual education such as immersion and Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). Rather, the Maltese context offers a wealth of possibilities to explore the process of translanguaging and in this article, I focus on the use of Maltese and English in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Furthermore, by assuming the perspective that learning mathematics implies learning the discourse of the discipline, I show how local classroom practices may be adapted to target mathematical language more explicitly. I argue that by doing this, one can target both content and language simultaneously [excerpt].