Year: 2026 | Month: April | Volume: 13 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 304-315
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20260430
Translation of Representation: Capturing of Mathematical Errors in Verbal to Symbolic Representation Translation
Ika Santia
Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics Education, Faculty of Health and Science, Universitas Nusantara PGRI Kediri, Indonesia.
ABSTRACT
Students often face difficulties when translating mathematical problems from verbal statements into symbolic forms, a process that is fundamental to problem solving and mathematical reasoning. Understanding how such translation errors occur is important for strengthening both theory and classroom practice in mathematics education. This study aimed to analyze junior high school students’ translation errors from verbal to symbolic representations in solving a contextual arithmetic problem. An exploratory qualitative design was employed, involving 32 students who completed the task, of whom 26 exhibited identifiable errors. Two focal participants were selected through purposive sampling for in-depth analysis, combining written work with interview data. The analysis identified two main categories of translation errors: implementation errors, which involved failures in coordinating or verifying representational attributes, and interpretation errors, which involved misidentifying the characteristics of elements during translation. The findings further revealed that intermediary visual representations played a dual role—supporting translation accuracy in some cases but also introducing additional sources of error in others. These results refine existing frameworks of error analysis by clarifying the role of verification stages and by distinguishing between implementation and interpretation errors in representational translation. Practically, the study high lights the need for instructional scaffolds that help students coordinate verbal, visual, and symbolic forms more effectively. Future research should expand the analysis across diverse mathematical topics and larger samples.
Keywords: mathematical translation errors, verbal to symbolic representation, multiple representations, error analysis, mathematics education
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