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http://dx.doi.org/10.7468/jksmee.2022.36.1.73

A Study on Textbooks and Languages Used in College Mathematics Education  

Lee, Sang-Gu (Department of Mathematics, Sungkyunkwan University)
Yoo, Joo-Yeon (Department of Mathematics, Sungkyunkwan University)
Ham, Yoon-mee (Department of Mathematics, Kyonggi University)
Publication Information
Communications of Mathematical Education / v.36, no.1, 2022 , pp. 73-88 More about this Journal
Abstract
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.
Keywords
war of language; Bourbaki; college math education; native language; college math textbook; Fields medal;
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