Mathematics is a way of thinking. To do mathematics means to think mathematically. In other words, mathematics education and mathematics literacy are related. In elementary and secondary school mathematics education in many countries, teaching of mathematics using textbooks is conducted mostly in their native language. So mathematics education takes place while reading, writing, listening, and speaking mathematics. Analysis of mathematics textbooks for the lower grades of undergraduate mathematics shows that most advanced countries in mathematics use excellent undergraduate mathematics textbooks written in their native language. However, the ratio of using imported textbooks from foreign countries is particularly high in the case of textbooks for mathematics majors at Korean universities. In this article, the effect of language used in university mathematics education is analized. In particular, the importance of high-quality leading-edge university mathematics textbooks in native language is introduced by analyzing the case of Bourbaki in France and 'War of language' at the Israel Institute of Technology. The innovation of French university mathematics education in the 20th century began with Bourbaki's 'Fundamentals of Mathematics', a French textbook written in his native language. Israel's Technion and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem continue to teach all subjects in their mother tongue. This has led to produce many Nobel Prize and Fields medal winners in these two countries. This study shows that textbooks and languages used in university mathematics education has affected mathematical literacy.
수학교육은 수학을 읽고, 쓰고, 듣고, 말하면서 이루어진다. 즉, 수학을 한다는 것은 수학적으로 사고한다는 것을 의미한다. 따라서 자국어로 잘 쓰인 수학 교재를 읽고, 자국어로 수학을 토론하며 배우게 되면, 그 내용과 개념을 더욱 깊이 이해하고 자연스럽게 활용하게 된다. 수학 선진국들의 경우, 대학 학부 수학 교재는 대부분 자국어로 쓰인 양질의 교재를 사용하고 있다. 본 연구에서는 대학수학교육에서 사용하는 교재와 언어가 국가 수학 경쟁력에 미치는 영향에 대하여 논한다. 특히 대학의 설립 초기부터 자국어 교재의 중요성을 인지하여 대학수학 교재를 모두 히브리어로 최초 개발한 이스라엘 공과대학(테크니온)의 언어전쟁 사례와 양질의 자국어 대학수학 교재를 발간하면서 수학 선진국에 이르게 된 프랑스, 미국 및 일본 등의 사례를 분석하여 소개한다.
이 성과는 정부(과학기술정보통신부)의 재원으로 한국연구재단의 지원을 받아 수행된 연구임(No.2021R1F1A1046714)
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