Compiling data for investigating language use in classroom discourse: A corpus-driven method

Language serves as an essential medium in teaching and learning, including in the field of mathematics education. Much research has focused on examining how language impacts the teaching and learning of mathematics knowledge during lessons. With the advent of technology, particularly in computer science, it is now possible to compile classroom discourse data to explore the ways in which verbal communication between teachers and students during lessons reflects and influences teaching and learning processes. Additionally, bilingual and multilingual classrooms have become increasingly common. To gain deeper insights into the nuanced complexities of language use in the teaching and learning of mathematics, it is essential to utilise classroom discourse corpora that encompass longitudinal, bilingual and multilingual data. This paper aims to elucidate the methods employed to compile a junior mathematics classroom dataset: A longitudinal bilingual corpus of primary school mathematics classroom discourse conducted in both Chinese and English. Furthermore, it aims to provide suggestions on how longitudinal bilingual discourse data in mathematics classrooms can be leveraged to investigate the impact of bilingual interactions between teachers and students on teaching and learning. Through such investigations, teachers can enhance their instructional plans, ultimately leading to improved learning outcomes. Overall, this paper elucidates,•the procedures involved in recording junior mathematics lessons, spanning from Primary One to Three.•the methodological approach employed in compiling these recorded lessons as a longitudinal bilingual corpus encompassing both Chinese and English languages.•the potential applications of this longitudinal bilingual corpus and similar resources, in scrutinising bilingual interactions between teachers and students during lessons, with the aim of refining teachers' instructional plans and pedagogical approaches.