Apr 04 2008
Week 6 Readings
The English language contains terms of expression which on a simple surface level appear odd, however they make sense when the commonly accepted meaning is understood. Such an example is a river going “down” stream when it is flowing north which is generally thought of as going “up”. Similar examples exist within the mathematics world of expression, such an example is: which is smaller -1000 or 0.00001? Mathematics uses words from the English language and redefines them to describe a particular meaning, idea, or concept. So while English is used it has certain ulterior meaning, dependant upon the math context.
A problem that arises here is that students who are learning new a “maths language” are not yet familiar with the commonly understood meaning of specific terms. This results in students creating misunderstandings as they incorrectly apply their current understanding of “English Words” to “English Maths Words”.
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