ABSTRACT

The reversal error is a prevalent phenomenon that consists of reversing the relationship between two variables when writing equations from comparison in verbal language. A study with 169 Basque/Spanish bilingual pre-service teachers examined whether this error is mainly due to the students’ tendency to employ a direct-translation strategy based on the syntax of statements. By using Basque and Spanish the factor of syntax was studied since in Basque, unlike Spanish (or English), the natural way of expressing comparisons prevents students from using direct-translations strategies. Results show a significantly lower number of reversal errors in sentences written in Basque compared with those in Spanish. This finding confirms the importance of syntax statement in the translation from words into equations and suggests that teachers should have awareness of this fact and should design lesson plans devoted to work on word problems accordingly.

摘要

反向误差是一种普遍的现象，当通过口头语言中的比较公式编写方程式时，就包括反转两个变量之间的关系。与169位巴斯克语/西班牙语双语服务前教师进行的研究调查了该错误是否主要是由于学生倾向于采用基于陈述语法的直接翻译策略。通过使用巴斯克语和西班牙语，自从巴斯克语开始就研究了语法因素，与西班牙语（或英语）不同，表达比较的自然方式阻止学生使用直接翻译策略。结果显示，与西班牙语相比，巴斯克语中的句子反转错误数量要少得多。