Mathematics Education English Program Given at Chilpancingo

This Program is intended for Mathematics Education Professionals.

1. Objectives
2. Activities
3. Evaluation
4. Conclusion

1. Objectives

The Mathematics Education professionals, as many other groups, have a globalized presence. It is necessary to speak a common language, and English seems to fit the bill. Professional associations like the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, have addressed this problem with Technical English Programs for their members (below). This program is for Mathematics Education professionals. The objective of this program is English fluency; to achieve this goal there are sub-objectives described here. Before writing one has to speak English even if at an elementary level. The Internet provides communication opportunities in English.

a. Novice

• Speaks English on Mathematics Education
• Writes abstracts
• Reads articles in the field
• Understands short video presentations on science and technology
• Uses translation tools online (Google Translate)

b. Intermediate

• Presents Mathematics Education results in English
• Writes articles for professional magazines
• Understands live presentations on the subject
• Discusses research results with colleagues
• Presents mathematics lectures to students

c. Advanced

• Invites and hosts non-Spanish speaking professionals
• Participates in review boards for English speaking organizations
• Stays for extended periods in non-Spanish speaking countries
• Fluency beyond disciplinary subjects

2. Activities

Meetings every other day for an hour and a half. Elementary conversation in meetings, viewing and discussing short science and technology videos. After reading articles in the area, present the contents, also for the videos watched. Weekly quizzes on assigned material. Written exams every other week.

Every language has a syntactic structure, English has a different one from other languages. The activities of English as a Second Language, acknowledge the fact that students are literate in their first language. Grammar and syntactic structure are parts of the general education of English speaking students; a good scholarly written paper follows the rules of educated professionals. Some native speakers do not understand academic English, and cannot write academic papers. Part of the activities in this program lead to good writing. The book by E. B. White; ``The Elements of Style,'' will be used in the Intermediate and Advanced sections of this course.

Students present short papers. Instructor corrects grammar,syntax,and style.

Students present their work in spoken English, instructor corrects presentation.

3. Evaluation

There are written and oral examinations at each level of the course.

From level to level the expected proficiency has to be demonstrated. The ability to perform at the last level ends this course of study.

Quizzes and tests are important because a foreign language is learned through practice, total immersion is best, but during the course, efforts are made to obtain as much practice as time allows.

Each level is estimated to last three months.

4. Conclusion

Materials are obtained online, either from IEEE (ieee.tv) or other sources, articles from clame.org, Springer Publishing, and other online sources. There are books and articles in our Centro de Investigación en Matemática Educativa (CIMATE), the libraries in other Mexican institutions where this discipline is cultivated are available as well. There are Internet connections allowing some of this work to be done online, and some face to face. As mentioned before the need to communicate with peers appears fortunately at the same time that technological means open up for members of this global community.