The Language of Learning Mathematics

This special issue focuses on students’ learning of mathematics with attention to the challenges posed by the academic language of this discipline. Publication of this issue marks a significant milestone for research in this area, revealing that more research is needed. The contributions made by the authors of the papers published here are an important step in that direction. Yet we need to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges for students learning mathematics, as they struggle to master the mathematical register. We observe that this area of inquiry, the language of learning mathematics, is not unknown to the Journal of Mathematical Behavior. In fact, we have published important articles on this topic over the past two decades. Given the significance of this area of inquiry, we decided to publish a virtual special issue that will be dedicated to the issues of mathematics and language/literacy learning.