UsingMathtoTeachEnglish.pptVIP

A. Hovhannes 2006 Using Math to Teach English Armen. Hovhannes City College of San Francisco ahovhann@ /shovanes CATESOL April 2006 Rationale Relevance: Math is related to everything in life. The so-called “new new” math, or “whole math”, especially emphasizes this. Math is about problem solving in real-world situations. Economics/Finance – Personal/Family/Business/Macroeconomics Parenting – Assisting kids with homework Brainstorm others here: Rationale (cont.) Many students have strong mathematical intelligence. math intelligence is an untapped resource in the ESL classroom Many adult students have a lot of math schema in their L1 Math is an international language that communicates meaning. Many immigrant students in community college have academic/career goals in fields involving math/science/business. Math is largely missing from most ESL courses/curricula/materials Basic Numbers Math Basic math operations vocabulary and expressions Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division How to say “plus”, “minus”, “equals”, etc. How to pose the questions, i.e., “How much is ...?” Percents and fractions Decimals and commas Note that the use of the point as decimal marker varies in different countries. Make sure S’s are clear on the use of the point and the comma in the US. How to say large numbers How to say numbers with decimals Basic Math activity Math Dictation In the classroom, use calculators Or, use Excel in the computer lab. Math Games and other fun stuff for students parents Games with math and numbers Math Bingos Beat the calculator Number guessing games “I’m thinking of a number...” Personal/Family Finance Macroeconomics Budgeting for the larger community How would you spend $100 billion? Basic Business Math Inventory Expense log Payroll and taxes What’s the sales tax? Inventory word problem Mileage Expense Report Payroll – reading the pay stub plus Statistics Class surveys Just Ask Jeeves Create a graph in Excel Demographics I/countries Activities