Teaching square roots: conceptual complexity in mathematics language

The article presents strategies for communicating the concept of square roots to limited English-proficient students. Instead of using mathematical terminology, mathematics teachers could communicate the concept of square roots by integrating the literal concept of square to the actual meaning of a square root. Such approach addresses the learning difficulty experienced by limited English proficient students who tend to associate square roots to geometric concepts. Several strategies for illustrating the concept of a square root using square figures are presented.