Learning mathematics with shackles: How lower reading comprehension in the language of mathematics instruction accounts for lower mathematics achievement in speakers of different home languages

Thinking about numbers in different tongues: An overview of the influences of multilingualism on numerical and mathematical competencies

In an increasingly multilingual and multicultural world, understanding the interactions between language and mathematics is critical, especially when individuals must acquire and exercise their mathematical competencies in multiple languages. Indeed, research shows that, overall, L2 language learners are at an academic disadvantage compared to their L1 peers. The current article briefly overviews how multilingualism influences basic and advanced mathematical skills and interacts with mathematical learning difficulties. We first outline the traditional cognitive models of number learning and language processing. We then discuss the particularities of multilingualism and how it impacts numerical skills such as counting and building lexical-semantic associations, transcoding and arithmetic, mathematical word problems and mathematical performance tests, and dyscalculia diagnosis. We end this review by outlining challenges, recommendations, and solutions for multilingual educational settings. The article is intended as a guide for numerical cognition researchers who work with diverse populations and for mathematics educators and educational policy-makers facing the challenges of a multilingual classroom.

Longitudinal associations between social support trajectories and quality of life mediated by depressive symptoms: A 10-year cohort study of Wenchuan earthquake

INTRODUCTION

Previous studies on associations between social support and quality of life (QoL) have usually employed a variable-centered approach, without considering individual variances in time-varying changes in social support. This study explores trajectories of social support and whether depressive symptoms mediate associations between social support trajectories and QoL 10 years after an earthquake.

METHODS

Seven hundred and forty-four Chinese adolescents exposed to the Wenchuan earthquake were surveyed on social support at 6-, 18-, and 24-months and depressive symptoms at 30-months postearthquake (T30m ). They provided valid data on QoL after 10 years of the earthquake (T10y ). The latent class growth analysis was used to estimate social support trajectories. Mediation analysis was then conducted to test whether depressive symptoms at T30m mediated associations between social support trajectories and QoL at T10y .

RESULTS

Three trajectories of social support were identified: low decreasing (31.6%), moderate decreasing (55.4%), and persistent high (13.0%) groups. Depressive symptoms significantly mediated the effects of social support trajectories (relative to the low support trajectory) on future QoL (95% CIs: 0.70-1.78 and 1.41-3.37 for moderate decreasing and persistent high groups, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Social support shows individual differences over time. Moderate and high social support trajectories improve 10-year QoL partly by reducing depressive symptoms. Therefore, interventions aimed at enhancing social support and reducing depressive symptoms may be more effective in enhancing QoL in the aftermath of disasters.

The importance of spatial language for early numerical development in preschool: Going beyond verbal number skills

Recent evidence suggests that spatial language in preschool positively affects the development of verbal number skills, as indexed by aggregated performances on counting and number naming tasks. We firstly aimed to specify whether spatial language (the knowledge of locative prepositions) significantly relates to both of these measures. In addition, we assessed whether the predictive value of spatial language extends beyond verbal number skills to numerical subdomains without explicit verbal component, such as number writing, symbolic magnitude classifications, ordinal judgments and numerosity comparisons. To determine the unique contributions of spatial language to these numerical skills, we controlled in our regression analyses for intrinsic and extrinsic spatial abilities, phonological awareness as well as age, socioeconomic status and home language. With respect to verbal number skills, it appeared that spatial language uniquely predicted forward and backward counting but not number naming, which was significantly affected only by phonological awareness. Regarding numerical tasks that do not contain explicit verbal components, spatial language did not relate to number writing or numerosity comparisons. Conversely, it explained unique variance in symbolic magnitude classifications and was the only predictor of ordinal judgments. These findings thus highlight the importance of spatial language for early numerical development beyond verbal number skills and suggest that the knowledge of spatial terms is especially relevant for processing cardinal and ordinal relations between symbolic numbers. Promoting spatial language in preschool might thus be an interesting avenue for fostering the acquisition of these symbolic numerical skills prior to formal schooling.