“I Get the Math… It’s the Words That Trip Me Up."
- DocHolbrook
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
Why Language—Not Numbers—Is Often the Real Barrier in Math
The other night, I was sitting on the couch watching TV with my daughter.
She’s in seventh grade now. Bright. Thoughtful. A kid who wants to do well.
She was in first grade when COVID hit and spent much of her elementary years learning from home. To further complicate things, she also attended a district grounded in balanced literacy—an approach that left many students without the systematic foundation they needed in reading, spelling, and language.
I’ve always noticed the gaps. Her spelling never fully solidified. By fourth grade, it became clear she also had gaps in foundational math.
So we did what many families do—we hired a math tutor.
And on the surface, it worked.
She earns 90s on most of her tests. She completes her homework. She looks successful. But her screener assessments—given three times a year—fluctuate. And her state test scores consistently fall just below the benchmark.
That disconnect has always lingered in the back of my mind.
Then, the other night, she said something that stopped me cold:
“I’m nervous about my math quiz. It’s like… I get the math—but the words confuse me.”
So I asked her to show me.
She went and grabbed her worksheet.
At first glance, it looked straightforward—introductory algebra. Nothing fancy. But when I looked more closely, I realized something critical:
The math wasn’t the problem. The language was.
Let’s Break This Down
Here are a few examples straight from her worksheet:
Translate each to an inequality (use n for the variable in each case).
Elijah must have more than 40 hours of community service to be eligible.
Mary’s grade must be at least 85% to be on the high honor roll.
The sum of a number and 4 is at most 21.
For adults fluent in academic language, these phrases feel simple—even obvious. But for many students, they are anything but.
To solve these problems, students must interpret phrases like:
More than → greater than ( > )
At least → greater than or equal to ( ≥ )
At most → less than or equal to ( ≤ )
Each phrase carries direction, comparison, and precision. None of that meaning lives in the numbers themselves—it lives in the language.
Before a student ever touches a symbol, they must:
Decode academic vocabulary
Interpret comparison language
Hold meaning in working memory
Translate English into mathematical symbols
That’s a heavy cognitive lift.
Why This Is So Hard for Kids (And Why It’s Not a Math Problem)
What makes these problems difficult is not the algebra.
It’s the linguistic density packed into a single sentence.
Math problems—especially word problems—are not language neutral. They function like short narratives that rely on syntax, vocabulary, inference, and precision. Research on mathematics and narrative has long shown that students must comprehend the story of the problem before they can solve it.
Phrases like at least and at most are not part of everyday conversation. They are discipline-specific terms with exact meanings that students are rarely taught explicitly.
Without instruction, students often guess:
More than feels like addition
At least feels like exactly
At most feels like the largest number
And guessing leads to confusion.
This is why students can:
Do well with isolated equations
Earn strong homework grades
Perform confidently with a tutor
…and still struggle on screeners and state assessments, where the language load increases and scaffolds disappear.
They don’t struggle because they can’t reason.
They struggle because they can’t access the problem.
What Teachers Can Do: Instruction That Removes Barriers
This isn’t remediation.
It’s core instruction.
1. Teach the Language of Math Explicitly
We must stop assuming students “pick this up.”
Comparison phrases should be treated like vocabulary in ELA:
Defined clearly
Connected to symbols
Practiced with examples and non-examples
Revisited often
Anchor charts should be visible and actively used:
More than → >
At least → ≥
At most → ≤
This isn’t extra.
This is the math.
2. Use a Frayer Model to Make Meaning Visible
One of the most effective ways to teach this language is through a Frayer Model.
Term: At most
Definition (Student-Friendly): At most means the number cannot be more than a certain value. It can be that number or anything smaller.
Key Characteristics:
Includes the boundary number
Sets a maximum or ceiling
Signals less than or equal to
Uses the symbol ≤
Examples:
You can have at most 10 minutes of screen time. → ≤ 10
The sum of a number and 4 is at most 21. → n + 4 ≤ 21
Non-Examples:
More than 10
Exactly 10
At least 10
This model separates meaning from calculation, allowing students to build clarity before solving.
3. Model the Thinking Aloud—Slowly
Teachers should narrate their thinking:
“Before I write anything, I’m circling at most. That tells me this number cannot go higher than 21, so I’ll use the ≤ symbol.”
This shows students how mathematicians approach language first, numbers second.
4. Treat Word Problems Like Texts
Word problems should be analyzed, not rushed:
Underline key phrases
Paraphrase the sentence
Rewrite it in simpler language
Then solve
This is disciplinary literacy in action.
5. Change the Narrative for Students
Perhaps most importantly, name what’s happening.
Tell students:
“If the words are confusing, that doesn’t mean you’re bad at math. It means the language is doing heavy lifting—and we’re going to learn it.”
That sentence restores confidence.
The Bigger Truth
My daughter isn’t struggling because she doesn’t understand math.
She’s struggling because no one taught her the language she needs to access it.
That gap didn’t start in seventh grade. It started years ago, when foundational language instruction was inconsistent, interrupted, or assumed. And like so many learning gaps, it followed her—quietly—into new subjects and higher stakes.
What looks like a math problem is often a reading problem in disguise.
So when students say,
“I get it… until the words show up,”
they’re telling us exactly where the breakdown is.
And the good news is this: language can be taught. Explicitly. Systematically. Intentionally.
Conclusion: Words Are the Work
This moment on the couch with my daughter didn’t reveal a failure in math.
It revealed a blind spot in instruction. Math is not just numbers on a page. It is meaning, precision, and interpretation—delivered through language. When that language is left implicit, we create invisible barriers that only show up when the stakes are high. If we want students to succeed—not just comply, not just memorize, not just scrape by—we must teach the words with the same care we teach the skills.
That means:
Naming the language of math
Teaching it explicitly
Modeling how to unpack it
And reminding students that confusion is a signal, not a flaw
Because when students finally understand the words, the math has somewhere to land.
And when that happens, something powerful shifts.
Students don’t just get the answer right.
They begin to believe—maybe for the first time—that they were capable all along.
When we know better, we teach better.
See you next Sunday!
References
Solomon, Y., & O’Neill, J. (1998). Mathematics and narrative. Language and Education, 12(3), 210–221.https://doi.org/10.1080/09500789808666747
Florida Department of Education. (n.d.). Teaching disciplinary literacy in secondary mathematics.https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7539/urlt/Mod4-TDLS.pdf
Moschkovich, J. N. (2015). Academic literacy in mathematics for English learners. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 40, 43–62.https://www.jstor.org/stable/43894855
Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C. (2008). Teaching disciplinary literacy to adolescents: Rethinking content-area literacy. Harvard Educational Review, 78(1), 40–59.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2014). Principles to actions: Ensuring mathematical success for all. NCTM
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