A language is a system of communication, consisting of a set of sounds or written symbols that enable people to communicate. In chemistry, a particular language is required in order to represent the phenomenological world by means of symbols. Choosing the right words and knowing the precise definitions for chemical concepts is needed for avoiding…

When the social boundaries between groups are breached, the tendency for people to erect and maintain symbolic boundaries intensifies. Drawing on extant perspectives on boundary maintenance, we distinguish between two strategies that people pursue in maintaining symbolic boundaries: boundary retention--entrenching themselves in pre-existing…

The ability to apply mathematical concepts and procedures in relevant contexts in engineering subjects sets the fundamental basis for the mathematics competencies in engineering education. Among the plethora of digital techniques and tools arises a question: Do the students gain a deep and conceptual enough understanding of mathematics that they…

Much of the language at academic conferences is purely metaphorical, so it is important to understand the cultural-historical significance of the metaphors used in constructing organizational gatherings, especially the metaphor invoked by the town hall meeting. Town halls/meetings were spaces where members gathered for democratic rule in a…

One of the main questions regarding Dutch primary education in our secularised and religiously diverse society--both with regards to public and religiously-affiliated schools--is how to get students acquainted with the symbolic language of religious and worldview-affiliated life narratives. Teaching literacy in symbolic language has become less…

Fox argues that the poetic function of language fulfils the human need to symbolise. Metaphor, simile and analogy provide examples of the ways in which symbolic language can be used creatively. The neural representations of these processes therefore provide a means to determine the neurological basis of creative language. Neuro-imaging has…

The purpose of this study is to present a multimodal languaging model for mathematics education. The model consists of mathematical symbolic language, a pictorial language, and a natural language. By applying this model, the objective was to study how 4th grade pupils (N = 21) understand the concept of division. The data was collected over six…