Math is not a language. Numbers are the same in any country. Number seven has a small crossing line. Polish use comma instead of point to mark the decimal units position. Other symbols are the same.

the authors challenge the erroneous assumption that mathematics is universal, and thus culturally neutral, by critically investigating diverse cultural meanings and "ways of knowing" that influence individual/social (affective) forms of identity. The authors begin by briefly detailing the structural features of a Polish weekend school and providing an overview profile of the Polish community living in Ireland. The rationale for the "weekend" school is then discussed from both Polish and Irish perspectives.

The weekend school appeared to demand greater investigative problem solving. Students were encouraged to use critical thinking and were not easily coached or supported in finding "easy" routes to the solution. Polish mathematics, it appeared, did not stress rule-based or formula approaches as much as (our knowledge of) Irish classroom practice. For example, the Polish mathematics teacher noted the reliance of students on the BIMDAS rule (Brackets before Indices, Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction) learned in Irish school as limiting a more "natural" approach to solving problems. Moreover, students appeared over-eager to apply formulae to speed, distance, and time problems, instead of "working out the meaning behind them."
Alongside more abstract expectations, Polish students were required to manually "work out" arithmetic problems, as calculators were disallowed for both school and home work use. Additionally, the full range of Real numbers was normalised, as (what might be commonly termed as) irregular solutions frequently appeared, for example 7/125 or 1.33, and so on. Similarly, it was not unusual for Polish students to regularly negotiate square roots and powers and engage with substantially small and big numbers.

Polish students indicated to us that Irish text problems were "much easier" and that they regularly received top marks in exams. Their confidence in Irish mathematics was generally high and they associated this with their exam success, less arduous homework and, as one student put it, the fact that "you don't have to think in Irish maths." (...)
Students indicated to us that homework demands were more challenging in Polish school, as it took longer to do and demanded a greater degree of "working out." (...) Some had noted their feelings of frustration in Polish school at, as one student put it, "having to think and explain my answers."