The results offer insights into the functions of other resources in constructing meanings apart from the well-established role of language as well as the vocabulary load of these materials. The paper concludes with a discussion of pedagogical significance of this study for material designers, teachers and learners and implications for further research. | A MULTIMODAL ANALYSIS OF MATHEMATICAL DISCOURSE IN ENGLISH FOR YOUNG LEARNERS Ton Nu My Nhat* Department of Foreign Languages, Quy Nhon University 170 An Duong Vuong, Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh, Vietnam Received 09 October 2017 Revised 02 November 2017; Accepted 27 November 2017 Abstract: Of multiple discourses where the Vietnamese young learners are increasingly engaged to develop their English proficiency, English mathematical discourse (MD) has proved to be more and more popular. This paper explores the materials in this realm from multisemiotic perspective. In particular, it deals with two questions: (1) to what extent each of the three semiotic resources - language, visual images and mathematical symbolism - is represented in the materials of learning mathematics in English (ME) developed for young learners (YL) and (2) how many words the YLs need to know to comprehend the language component of these materials. Data for illustrations and discussions are withdrawn from the printed resources currently accessible in the Vietnamese context. The results offer insights into the functions of other resources in constructing meanings apart from the well-established role of language as well as the vocabulary load of these materials. The paper concludes with a discussion of pedagogical significance of this study for material designers, teachers and learners and implications for further research. Keywords: mathematical discourse, multisemiotic discourse, high frequency word list 1. Introduction Mathematic Discourse (MD) is referred to as multisemiotic as it is constructed from more than one semiotic resource - language, visual images and mathematical symbolism (O’Halloran 2004, ). The view of mathematics as a multisemiotic discourse is significant in a pedagogical context as a better understanding of the functions of mathematical symbolism and visual images permits a re-evaluation of the role of language in the construction of meaning in this naturalized domain. Such an .
