Survey of Native English Speakers and Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners in Tertiary Introductory Statistics

• Published in: Statistics education research journal Vol. 12; no. 2; pp. 6 - 31
• Main Authors: Lesser, Lawrence M, Wagler, Amy E, Esquinca, Alberto, Valenzuela, M. Guadalupe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Association for Statistics Education and the International Statistical Institute 01-11-2013
• Subjects: Case Studies; Classification; College Students; Comparative Analysis; Context Effect; English; English (Second Language); Introductory Courses; Language Usage; Language Variation; Literacy; Measures (Individuals); Mexican Americans; Native Speakers; Second Language Learning; Spanish Speaking; Statistics; Surveys; United States (Southwest)
• ISSN: 1570-1824; 1570-1824
• DOI: 10.52041/serj.v12i2.302

The framework of linguistic register and case study research on Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) learning statistics informed the construction of a quantitative instrument, the Communication, Language, And Statistics Survey (CLASS). CLASS aims to assess whether ELLs and non-ELLs approach the learning of statistics differently with respect to the distinctive linguistic features of the field of statistics and with respect to language resources they bring to the class. The CLASS was administered to all (n = 137) students in an introductory statistics literacy course at a university with a majority Mexican-American student body. Findings suggest ELLs often have distinctive patterns in how they experience aspects of statistics instruction (e.g., wait time) as well as movement between mathematics/statistics and everyday registers. (Contains 5 tables.)