Disentangling the relationship between mathematical learning disability and second-language acquisition

Several studies have established that the mathematical achievement of language minority students (students whose first language differs from the language of instruction) is poorer than that of native speakers (students whose first language is the academic language of the instruction; Haag et al., 2015; Paetsch & Felbrich, 2016; Vukovic & Lesaux, 2013; Warren & Miller, 2015). However, despite the expanding literature on the mathematical learning of language minority students and of native speakers, very little is known about the relationship between mathematical learning disabilities and second-language acquisition. More detailed research on this topic is important for several reasons: Gonzáles and Artiles (2015) report that Latina/o students in the United States who perform below expectations in literacy tests are often diagnosed as having learning difficulties, which, in turn, often leads to their exclusion from mainstream education. Further, language minority students with low mathematical achievement in Switzerland – and probably also in other countries – often receive special second-language support, but they do not receive support for mathematics because it is assumed that their mathematical problems are caused by their language background. Therefore, it is important to investigate the extent to which the problems of language students with mathematical learning disabilities may be caused by math-related, as opposed to language-related, factors. This study investigates whether the relationship between selected language variables and mathematical achievement gains is similar for native speakers with mathematical learning disabilities and language minority students with mathematical learning disabilities. The research was conducted by evaluating grade 3 students (students who are in the third year of school after attending kindergarten) over the course of a school year.