Impact of spoken language on ability to do math?
I recently came across an interesting book that devoted a chapter to the impact of language on learning math. It didn't come as a surprise to me that the author slated Chinese (and other Asian) students as having a natural advantage in math, because of the language they learn it in.
According to Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers, the Chinese language is much more literal when it comes to math. If we were to ask an English-speaking student "what is 37 + 22?" he or she would (most likely) convert the words to numbers: "2 + 7 is 9, 30 + 20 is 50, so the total sum is 59". The author claims that the way the Chinese language is spoken, a Chinese student would have to add three-tens-seven plus two-tens-two to equal five-tens-nine, and they would come to the answer much quicker than the English-speaking student. In the same line, for fractions, English-speakers say "three-fifths". The Chinese version is literally "out of five parts, take three". Because he language is "telling you conceptually what a fraction is, it makes the numbers easier to work with."
So now that I have gotten the author's explanation out of the way, my question is: does it add up? Do Chinese students or students of other Asian languages really have the advantage over English-speaking students? Are there are any other languages that you feel advantage or disadvantage a student when it comes to mathematics?
In short, is there any truth behind the stereotype that Chinese students are better at math than American students?
I apologize for the length of this post; likewise, if there are any errors, it was mine alone that I was unable to properly communicate the ideas set forth in the book (which I also encourage anyone to read, it's very interesting.) I look forward to reading your answers. Thank you kindly for your time!
Edit: Thank you very much for your feedback. Your input was really insightful for me and I learned loads! I really appreciate it.
According to Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers, the Chinese language is much more literal when it comes to math. If we were to ask an English-speaking student "what is 37 + 22?" he or she would (most likely) convert the words to numbers: "2 + 7 is 9, 30 + 20 is 50, so the total sum is 59". The author claims that the way the Chinese language is spoken, a Chinese student would have to add three-tens-seven plus two-tens-two to equal five-tens-nine, and they would come to the answer much quicker than the English-speaking student. In the same line, for fractions, English-speakers say "three-fifths". The Chinese version is literally "out of five parts, take three". Because he language is "telling you conceptually what a fraction is, it makes the numbers easier to work with."
So now that I have gotten the author's explanation out of the way, my question is: does it add up? Do Chinese students or students of other Asian languages really have the advantage over English-speaking students? Are there are any other languages that you feel advantage or disadvantage a student when it comes to mathematics?
In short, is there any truth behind the stereotype that Chinese students are better at math than American students?
I apologize for the length of this post; likewise, if there are any errors, it was mine alone that I was unable to properly communicate the ideas set forth in the book (which I also encourage anyone to read, it's very interesting.) I look forward to reading your answers. Thank you kindly for your time!
Edit: Thank you very much for your feedback. Your input was really insightful for me and I learned loads! I really appreciate it.