Improving Mathematics Problem Solving Skills for English language learners with Learning Disabilities

Improving Mathematics Problem Solving Skills for English language learners with Learning Disabilities

By: Diane Torres-Velasquez and Diane Rodriguez (2005)

The Problem

Not all students with learning disabilities struggle in mathematics. They do however have some characteristics in common. By definition, the term "specific learning disability" means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. Such term includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Such term does not include a learning problem that is primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, or mental retardation, or emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. (IDEA amendments of 1997, P.L. 105-17, June 4, 1997, 11 stat 37 [20 U.S.C. §1401 (26)]).

Students with learning disabilities tend to experience academic difficulties, yet they have average to above average intelligence (Friend, 2005).

The academic language difficulties that are characteristic of students with learning disabilities are very similar to those of students learning a second language. For example, both may have difficulty retrieving words. In the case of a student with a learning disability, this may be due to a perceptual, processing or memory disorder. With English Language Learners (ELL), it is more a matter of learning a new word. In both cases comprehension may be slower due to the effort taken to remember words and their concepts. What strategies are useful for a teacher of mathematics whose student has a true learning disability and is also learning English as a second language?

In this article, we will specifically address the area of problem solving because of the strong emphasis it has been given by the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (2000). With the strong demand for language and conceptual development in problem solving, we will highlight aspects of the teacher and student's roles and the importance of discourse. We will provide some strategies for working through mathematical problems, questioning, and assessment. We are making the assumption that the determination of a learning disability was made using best possible assessment practice. We are assuming that the learning disability exists in both languages and that the student is being provided with a rich native language development curriculum.

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