Analysis of data from School A 1 The lessons given by Teacher A

Prior to discussing the lessons given by teacher A1, I want to give some attention to the nature of the class and an impression of the circumstances for learning. Teacher A1 met me by the school entrance, and introduced me to the head teacher of the school who happened to be out on the corridor. We then made our way, via some steep, narrow stairs, to the mathematics department. There were posters outside the room, which indicated the relevance of mathematics to everyday life and further study. After finding a convenient,

and unobtrusive position at the side of the class, I drew diagrams of the seating positions in all classes, the form for which can be seen in the appendix along with the classroom observation pro forma. After the pupils had settled, I was introduced to the pupils who were informed I would be audio-recording the lessons during the week. A1 reassured the pupils about the use of the recorded material. The year 8 group I was observing was the second set out of five possible sets in Year 8. A1 told me that the total number of pupils in the year was about 100. During the week the highest number of pupils in A1’s class was 22. No additional linguistic support was given to pupils in the class, which suggested strongly that the school had assessed the pupils as competent speakers of Welsh. Posters adorning the walls of the classroom included some that were in Welsh. The resources for teaching, however, seemed dated. In particular, the rolling blackboard harked back to past traditions.

The mathematical topic introduced by A1 to be taught during the week of my visit was algebra, set at level 5 of the National Curriculum (NC). Initially, pupils were asked to simplify expressions involving two unknowns by adding or subtracting similar terms. Teacher A1 employed a number line, marked on the side of the board, during the lessons to help the pupils to develop understanding. The first lesson progressed to algebraic expressions involving multiplication, with much of the interaction being of a whole class nature. This lesson was mostly in Welsh, but with some instances of code switching that I recorded on my observation sheet. What was quite noticeable, however, from the audio- recording was the absence of a context to guide the learning of the pupils, I will raise this again during the more detailed description of classroom developments that I now undertake.

At times, during the first Key Stage 3 lesson, it was possible to discern the adherence of the teacher and some pupils to a set of language values in their discourse practices in this classroom. These values meant that some pupils chose English terminology ahead of Welsh terminology more frequently. This adherence to a set of language values can be seen quite easily during a passage of explicit talk about mathematical language from line 148 to 168. Martin’s (2003:35) study of interaction in a multilingual classroom in Brunei reviewed in chapter 2, captured a similar practice, which was described as the ‘positioning’ of English as “the most preferred language”. A1

explained that there were many equivalent words in mathematics to describe the process of “taking away” in both Welsh and English, and that there was no difference between them.

Extract 1 Lesson 1

A1: Ie. Rho dy law lan i fi te. [P] Ie? Os da chi yn cytuno rho dy law lan [Aneglur] reit

good neb yn anghytuno oes e? [P16] hapus? Reit wyth so... ni lan fana yn dechre

tynnu deg... ni mynd lawr i dau minus dau a ni’n tynnu chwech arall. Yr un peth da ti [P1] reit unwaith ti di tynnu y deg bant o’r wyth ti lawr i minus dau yn dwyt ti so wedyn take away dau so... wedyn yr un peth da ti fana

wedyn ti dechre fani take away neu minus chwech a yn dyfe OK. Cofiwch fel dwi di dweud does dim gwahaniaeth yr un gair yw minus a take away jest gair arall am y broses i chi wneud yw e... OK tynnu ffwrdd take away minus minws... oes rhywbeth arall chi’n defnyddio?

P: Subtract.

A1: Subtract ie iawn ydy... mae nhw gyd yr un peth ydyn... ti’n eithaf reit

P: Oes rhywbeth... oes rhywbeth fel wniwns wynws neu rhywbeth? A1: Minws.

P: Ah minws.

A1: Minws ie. Fi ddim yn lecio’r gair minws fy hunan minus wi’n gweud na fe. P: Decrease.

A1: Mm? P: Decrease.

A1: Decrease ie elli ti defnyddio decrease... ie ie... ti’n iawn ti’n iawn ie ...mae’n

anodd i ddweud decrease pan ti’n darllen minus yn dyw e na’r unig beth ond arwahan i hynny ti’n iawn ti’n hollol iawn fel i’n ni’n

Translation:

A1: Yes put your hand up for me [P] Yes? If you agree put your hand up

[inaudible]Right good no one disagrees do they?[ P16] happy? Right eight so... up there to start subtract ten... we go down to two minus two and we take another six. The same thing with you [P1] right once you’ve taken the ten away from the eight you’re down to minus two aren’t you... so then take away two so... then you

have the samething there then you start there take away or minus six a OK. Remember as I have said there is no difference.. minus and take away are the same word they are just different words for the process that you do OK [tynnu ffwrdd] take away minus [minws] is there anything else you use?

P: Subtract.

A1: Subtract Yes correct yes... they are all the same yes... you’re quite right

P: Is there something... is there something like [wniwns wynws] or something?

A1: Minws. P: Ah minws.

A1: Minws Yes. I don’t like the word [minws] myself I say minus there you

are.

P: Decrease.

A1: Mm? P: Decrease.

A1: Decrease Yes you can use decrease... yes yes... you’re right you’re right yes... it’s difficult to say decrease when you read minus isn’t it that’s the only thing but apart from that you’re totally right as we say with a thermometer of course.

As we can see from the extract above, pupils were asked to say other words they used to describe the process of taking away. One pupil volunteered the higher order word “subtract”, which was given several positive evaluations by A1. This was followed by a contribution by another pupil. The pupil asked whether there was something like [wniwns] (sounding like onions). A1 recognised these word plays and supplied the standard Welsh term. However, A1 did not evaluate “minws” positively, contradicting what had been said previously regarding the equivalence of different words. A1 expressed a dislike for the Welsh pronunciation and therefore the standard Welsh term and made clear that his preference was for the standard English term. Following this clarification of the context, another pupil volunteered the word, “decrease” which was given several positive, though less fulsome evaluations by A1.

It is difficult to interpret whether the pupil who proposed the standard Welsh term ‘minws’ was doing so with conviction or in jest. It is possible that it is the latter, because

of the link made with ‘onions’. However, the teacher’s explicit preference for the English term set the tone for the class, since this was a statement from a position of authority. Other similar talk about terminology, at other moments in the three lessons that I observed being taught by this teacher, contributed to the construction of English terminology as having greater value than the equivalent Welsh terms.

Language values were also foregrounded when A1, asked for an English equivalent to the Welsh term “lluosi” [multiply]. In addition to providing the term ‘multiply’ the children favoured the term “times” instead of “gwaith”. A1 then goes along with the children’s language preference, endorsing it. I include the relevant passage below because it illustrates clearly the children’s orientation to English and teacher accommodation of this.

Extract 2 Lesson 1

A1: Pa air y chi’n defnyddio am lluosi?

Which word do you use for [lluosi]?

Ps: Multiply.

A1: Multiply rhyw air arall?

Multiply any other word? P: Times

A1: Times ni’n neud times ydyn ni ydyn

Times we use/say times yes we do

A1: Ni’n neud gwaith yn Gymraeg. Oes rhywun yn gweud pedwar gwaith pump? Na? Clywed hwnna? Eh multiplying. [‘Multiplying’ written on board next to

Lluosi]

We do/say [gwaith] in Welsh. Does anyone say four [gwaith] five? No? Heard that? Eh multiplying.

Despite his orientation to and valuing of English terms, A1’s commitment to bilingual lessons was apparent from his attempts to use English and Welsh terms together, as in setting problems bilingually by producing bilingual worksheets and using

English and Welsh terms together as in the extract above and at other times in lesson 2 and 3.

There was a clear emphasis on oral work during each lesson. At times, A1 appeared to be scaffolding English terms by the use of Welsh, for example, in lesson 1 an assessment routine involved English terminology and was followed by an explanation in Welsh.

Extract 3 Lesson 1