The prevalence of polysemous (multi-meaning) and homophonic (different spelling but same sound vocabulary in English and its relationship to the technical lexicon, the specifi usage of prepositions and relational terms in mathematics, and its lexical density are factors which she suggests present particular problems for working-class and minority students, explaining why indigenous students in Queensland performed significantly worse than non-indigenous students on a state-wide mathematics test (Zevenbergen, 2000, Similar difficulties arise, she suggests, for working-class English speakers: