Double Cognitive Load: How English Language Proficiency Shapes Students' Engagement with 3D Dynamic Geometry Software
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Fidan Sadigli
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Three-dimensional (3D) dynamic geometry environments, such as GeoGebra 3D, are increasingly used to build spatial reasoning in secondary mathematics classrooms, yet these tools typically operate in English regardless of students' first language. This conceptual article examines how English proficiency, described through CEFR levels A2, B1, and B2, interacts with the cognitive demands of manipulating three-dimensional objects in ICT-based geometry environments. Drawing on Cognitive Load Theory, the conversational/academic language distinction, and research on the trainability of spatial skills, it develops the double cognitive load hypothesis: learners with lower English proficiency must simultaneously decode linguistic input and perform spatial reasoning, drawing on the same limited working-memory resources. No new data are reported; the article synthesizes the relevant literature, proposes scaffolding strategies, and closes with a design for the empirical study the hypothesis requires.
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Authors
Fidan Sadigli
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References:
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