Number words in ‘her’ language, dialogism and identity-work: the case of little Mariah

Abstract

Based on an ethnographic study, we explore the potential of experimenting with multiple languages for number words as part of young children’s mathematical activity. Data from a preschool classroom activity on ‘number words in “other” languages’ exemplify a complex process of discursive identity-work and dialogism amongst children, parents, teacher, and researchers. The focus is on the case of little Mariah, a Pakistani immigrant girl in Greece, who experiences participation by sharing number knowledge in her mother tongue Urdu, and highlights how gendered, racial, or language-related discourses weave her learner identity in a multilingual preschool classroom. © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.