A Study on ESL Students’ Problem-Solving Process of Math Word Problem in English—Analysis of Interviews in International Baccalaureate Accredited School—

Abstract

In Japan, the International Baccalaureate has become widespread due to globalization. In this study, I focused on process of students who have studied mathematics in English for seven months at a public high school in Japan.

The results of the analysis showed writings on the problem texts, drawings of diagram, and influences on the affective aspects. First, the “slash reading method” and “adding Japanese” was observed in the questionnaire. Students were carefully reading English and trying to understand it accurately using their native language. Second, students tried to understand the situation of the problem by composing their own images and drawing diagrams. Since both imagining and drawing can improve reading ability, students can acquire English language skills through solving mathematical problems. Third, regarding the negative influence on the affective aspect, students have had many experiences in which whole numbers are the correct answers, so they may become more anxious about answers that are not integers. This study examined the process of solving math word problems in English. In the future, another unit of study will be analyzed, and a discussion on the advantages of learning mathematics in English based on various examples will be required.