skkn TEACHING SAYING NUMBERS IN ENGLISH

Throughout my time teaching English, I have noticed that most Vietnamese students have been taught saying numbers since they began learning English at school.. I have read English textbo

TEACHING SAYING NUMBERS IN ENGLISH

PART A: INTRODUCTION

I am writing this paper deriving from my teaching experience Any secondary

students are certain to know well about numbers in written forms but when

several of my students are asked to tell me their email addresses so that I give them information or exercises relating to my subject A few numbers in their addresses such as nguyennam_1995@gmail.com , thuy_77@gmail.com bluestar.94@yahoo.com , … are talked as the year they were born nineteen ninety five, double seven or ninety four… The similar situation is telling

telephone numbers, serial numbers, or ID numbers… Every new school year I often ask the telephone numbers of some key students in case I need them for schoolwork A few of them separate the phone number freely The number is

059 3824380 in which 059 is known as the code of Gia Lai, but it is inattentively dictated “oh five, nine three, eight two, four three, eight oh” by

some students Another notice of being unable to read a certain number I have

taken when I am teaching Unit 13 (Sea Games) or Unit 14 (International

Organizations) to Students Grade 12 Most of my students seem to get confused

when saying “zero, nought, nothing, nil or love” for figure 0 in football, tennis,

and other games Also, several students unconsciously read seven April for the foundation day of United Nations instead of the seventh of April, and so on

That numbers are differently talked in various contexts is taught in a short

Throughout my time teaching English, I have noticed that most Vietnamese students have been taught saying numbers since they began learning English at school I have read English textbooks Grades 6, 7, 8, 9 for Vietnamese schools,

I am convinced that a variety of lessons and skills relating to numbers written

basically and repeatedly in each higher level, but why students cannot read the

number language correctly while their period of learning is gradually rising Is it

the memory no longer available? -what they learned on the previous day is replaced by today’s input Or because the memory is still stored in the memory system but, for some reason, it cannot be retrieved due to lack of consolidation Either of these, the classrom teacher has been willing to help students revisie or provide new language for them in the relevant lessons

II Scope of the study

Within the limited range of the next few pages, this paper attempts to present a snapshot of important features in the general area of numbers whose rules of reading high school students could not grasp Its central focus is on the use – where and when each form may be read or talked appropriately within the scope of the study on verbal communication Writing or listening forms of numbers are merely mentioned in the role of supporting students in their demand for reading numerals properly

The data description is mainly taken into account of a number or symbol that expresses an amount or a quantity, a number used to identify something or communicate by telephone, fax, etc The material for research is, therefore, in the form of language used in different communicative contexts It is not concerned with such mathematical calculations, chemistry symbols, scientific numbers and so on

- Objective of the study

The main objective of the study is to support high schools students in their efforts to eliminate a potential source of misunderstandings and mistakes of saying certain numbers in English so that they are able to receive foreign information more easily Additionally, the study aims to help learners of

English as a foreign language recognize some differences in written forms between Vietnamese and British English or between British English and American English Further, they can avoid unexpected errors in doing scientific research Moreover, the paper introduces a source of information and techniques revising or teaching saying numbers for secondary teachers who are concerned with

III Methodology of the study

For this study, the following approach has been carried out First, English textbooks for Grade 6 7 8 9 are reviewed in order to get information on students’ syllabus for making a suitable plan of revising or teaching new language of numbers to upper secondary students Second, relevant literature, publications and studies are searched to access to in-depth knowledge of saying numbers The next step is checking again number language obtained from literature and other sources More importantly, what the study presents is arranged scientically and logically The styles and techqines of teaching, suggestions of practice are regarded as the final collection

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

This part describes the content of the study The way of teaching students to

name numbers in English is not in fact teaching counting skills It is assumed

that students have already known how to do this in their native language It is also noted that they are literate in the Latin alphabet and "Arabic" numerals

Therefore, the definition of numbers is neglected in teaching saying numbers

which has merely been based on different practical uses: telling the time, giving dates, going shopping, doing arithmetic, paying bills, identifying something, or communicating by telephone, fax, etc In my own view, clear presentation will help students to acquire mastery of the English number system in the most economical way, that is with a minimum of effort in the shortest time

I Refering to the forms of saying numbers

Learning numbers in English can be confusing Is Valentine’s Day on February

14 th , or February 14? Did the runner come in 1, or did he come in 1st in the race?

This paper researches on how to pronounce numbers, including: ordinal

numbers, fractions, decimals, dates, height, big numbers, telephone numbers, measurements and even the numbers that appear in the names of Kings and Queens It explains the grammar rules we use for saying numbers and sentences

with numbers as well as highlighting some irregularities

Cardinal and ordinal number:

The numbers one, two, three, four etc., are called cardinal numbers whereas the numbers first, second, third, fourth etc., are called ordinal numbers

Ordinal numbers are used before nouns After a noun, we use cardinal numbers

the fourth chapter – chapter four

the third act – Act Three

I 1 Ordinal Numbers

Ordinal numbers are numbers used to referred the position of something, for example: 1st, 2nd, 3rd Most of them are formed by adding ‘th’ to the end of regular numbers, for example: fourth (four-th), sixth (six-th), seventh (seven-th) However, there are a few irregular ones: first (1st), second (2nd), third (3rd), fifth (5th), ninth (9th) and twelfth (12th) Here is a list of the ordinal numbers from 1st

For multiples of ten, the ‘y’ at end of the word changes to ‘ie’ and the suffix

‘eth’ is added For example, ‘twenty’ becomes ‘twentieth’ Here is a list of the multiples of ten from 20 to 90:

 25 twenty-five 57 fifty-seven 89 eighty-nine

Numbers over 100 are generally written in figures However if you want to say

them aloud or want to write them in words rather than figures you put 'and' in front of the number expressed by the last two figures For example:

 203 two hundred and three (AmE: two hundred three)

 622 six hundred and twenty-two (AmE: six hundred twenty-two)

Numbers between 1000 and 1,000,000 is usually said or written in words as:

 1,803 one thousand, eight hundred and three

(AmE: one thousand, eight hundred three)

 1,963 one thousand, nine hundred and sixty-three

(AmE: one thousand, nine hundred sixty-three)

 2,840 two thousand, eight hundred and forty

(AmE: two thousand, eight hundred forty)

 123,000 a hundred and twenty three thousand

Four-figure numbers ending in 00 can also be said or written as a number of

hundreds For example, 1800 can be said or written as "eighteen hundred"

We do not make hundreds, thousands and millions plural when the number in front is more than one For example:

 200 – two hundred

 1000 – one thousand

However, when there is no number in front, we have to add an ‘s’ For example:

 Hundreds of pounds

 Thousands of eggs

 Millions of dollars

When the first figure is 1, we can say other ‘one’ or ‘a’ For example:

 “He lived for a hundred years”

 “You owe me one hundred dollars”

When is a billion not a billion?

In British English billion traditionally means a million million =

1,000,000,000,000 = 1012

In American English billion means a thousand million = 1,000,000,000 = 109The American billion has become standard in technical and financial use

However, to avoid confusion it is better to use the terms "thousand million" for

109 and "million million" for 1012

Milliard " is French for the number 109 It is not used in American English but

is sometimes, but rarely, used in British English

I 3 Fractions, ratios and percentages

In order to say a fraction, we say the top number (numerator) as a regular number and we say the bottom number (denominator) as an ordinal number For

example, 1/8 is spoken as ‘one-eighth’

If the top number is more than 1, then we pronounce the ordinal number as a

plural For example, 3/8 is spoken as ‘three-eighths

Here are some examples:

 ½ = one half 1/3 = one third ¼ = one quarter

 1/8 = one eighth 7/12 – seven-twelfths 2/5 = two fifths

 99/100 – ninety-nine one hundredths

 1.5% = one point five percent

 0.3% = nought / zero point three percent

 2:1 = two to one

 3/4 hour = three quarters of an hour

More complex fractions are usually expressed by using the word over

 218/576 = two hundred and eighteen over five hundred and seventy six

There are two irregular fractions: half is used in place of second and quarter is used in place of fourth For example, ½ is not said as ‘one-second’, it is called

‘one-half’, ‘a half’ or just ‘half’ Likewise, ¼ is not spoken as ‘one-fourth’, it is called ‘one-quarter’ or ‘a quarter’

 1 ½ – one and a half

 2 ¼ – two and a quarter

Decimals

To pronounce decimals, we use the word ‘point’ for the dot and pronounce figure by figure For example:

 0.5 - nought point five (British English) / zero point five (American English)

 0.124 – nought point one two four (British English) / zero point one two four

(American English)

 4.25 – four point two five

 0.67m – nought point six seven metres (or nought point six seven of a metre)

 0.3L – nought point three litres (or nought point three of a litre)

 1.8kg – one point eight kilograms

I 4 Telephone numbers, serial numbers, registration numbers, box numbers, E-numbers…

These numbers are pronounced like poems

Each figure is said separately There is usually a pause after groups of three or four figures If the same figure comes twice, three times British people usually

say “double” or “triple”

 657 4481 – six five seven, double four eight one (British)

 255 7989 – two double five seven nine eight nine

 657 4481 - six five seven, four four eight one (US)

English speakers often say the letter "oh" for the number "zero" When "oh" is

combined with some numbers, it is difficult to hear It is recommended to say

"zero" and "double zero"

Example: 237-0980 is usually said as two - three - seven, oh - nine - eight - oh

3 Extensions are part of many office phone numbers To show an extension

number, the abbreviations Ex, Ext, or X are often used: 520-447-9821, Ex

213 (or Ext 213 or X 213)

4 If extension numbers have three digits, they're usually said as single-digit

numbers: X 517 = extension five - one - seven

If extension numbers have two digits, they're said with single digits or like

normal two-digit numbers: extension 15 = extension one - five OR extension

fifteen

by Dennis Oliver

I 5 Dates

In English, we can say dates either with the day before the month, or the month

before the day: For example: The first of January / January the first (1/1)

 15th March – the fifteenth of March / March the fifteenth

 12th September – the twelfth of September/ September the twelfth

Remember to use ordinal numbers for dates in English

(The first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the twenty-second, the thirty-first etc.)

I 6 Years

We normally say a year in two parts In the case of years ending in "00", we say

the second part in "hundred":

 1058 - ten fifty-eight

 1865 - eighteen sixty-five

 1900 - nineteen hundred

 1999 - nineteen ninety-nine

If there is a 0 in the ten position, we usually pronounce it ‘oh’ For example:

 1908 – nineteen oh eight 1409 – fourteen oh nine

For years after 2000, we usually pronounce the whole number:

 2002 – two thousand and two

 2010 – two thousand and ten (a more informal way is to say twenty ten)

I 7 Flight numbers

We pronounce a flight number in two parts or digit-by-digit For example:

 VN 7427 – VN seventy four twenty seven (or seven four two seven)

 VN 1248 – VN twelve forty-eight

 SYD 2503 – SYD twenty-five oh three

 HKG 3050 - HKG three oh five oh (or 'three zero five zero', 'thirty fifty')

I 8 Height

Height can be said in centimetres or feet

If we write in feet, a comma comes after the number of feet and quotations come after the number of inches For example:

 5’10 – five foot ten or (five feet ten inches)

 6’3 – six foot three or (six feet three inches)

Notice that you can say either ‘foot’ or ‘feet’

Here are some examples of height in centimetres:

 163cm – one hundred and sixty-three centimetres

 158cm – one hundred and fifty-eight centimetres

I 9 Ways of saying the number 0 (Nought, zero, nil, love, nothing)

to refer to freezing point (0°

Celsius, 0°

Fahrenheit)

0 = nought

in mathematics

(AmE:

zero)

0 = oh for telephone numbers

0 = oh (or zero) for flight numbers

Depending on the context, we can pronounce zero in different ways: The figure

0 is usually called nought in British English, and zero in American English

- We use zero to express some numerical values such as temperatures, taxes,

and interest rates in both British and American English

- We can pronounce "oh" like the letter "o", when we are reading out numbers

figure by figure such as telephone number, flight number, bus number, room

number, credit card number, ID number, e-mail and Web addresses etc

e g My phone number is ( 0914087833) oh nine one four oh eight seven eight

three three

 Room 101 = Room one oh one

 Bus 602 = Bus six oh two

 0C (temperature) = zero degrees

 thuypk1995@gmail com = thuypk one nine nine five at gmail dot com

Zero scores in team games are called nil In tennis and similar games, the word love is used for zero

I 10 Time

What's the time?

There are two common ways of telling the time

Formal but easier way

Say the hours first and then the minutes

 7:45 - seven forty five

For minutes 01 through 09, you can pronounce the '0' as oh

 11:06 - eleven (oh) six

More popular way

Say the minutes first and then the hours Use past and the preceding hour for minutes 01 through 30 Use to and the forthcoming hour for minutes 31

through 59, but

 7.15 - fifteen minutes past seven

 7.45 - fifteen minutes to eight

Another possibility of saying '15 minutes past' is: a quarter past

Another possibility of saying '15 minutes to' is: a quarter to

Another possibility of saying '30 minutes past' is: half past

 5:30 - half past five

Note

Use o'clock only at the full hour

 7:00 - seven o'clock (but 7:10 - ten past seven)

In English ordinary speech, the twelve-hour clock is used

For times around midnight or midday you can use the expressions midnight or

midday / noon instead of the number 12

Beispiel: 00:00 - midnight

Beispiel: 12:00 - midday or noon

To make clear (where necessary) whether you mean a time before 12 o'clock

noon or after, you can use :

 3:15 - a quarter past three in the morning OR a quarter past three at night

More formal way of telling the time

 3:15 - three fifteen a.m

American English

Beside past Americans often use after

 06:10 - ten past / after six

But: in time expressions with half past it is not usual to replace past by after Beside to Americans often use before, of or till

 05:50 - ten to / before /of / till six

The chart below shows you two different ways to tell someone what the time is

Question: What's the time, please? - Answer: It's three o'clock

3.02 just gone three o'clock three oh two

3.03 three minutes past three three oh three

3.09 nine minutes past three three oh nine

3.15 a quarter past three three fifteen

3.20 twenty past three three twenty

3.21 twenty-one minutes past three three twenty-one

3.25 twenty-five past three three twenty-five

3.35 twenty-five to four three thirty-five

3.45 a quarter to four three forty-five

3.57 three minutes to four three fifty-seven

3.58 nearly four o'clock three fifty-eight

I 11 Roman numerals

Saying Roman numerals is a basic skill that every student needs to acquire Roman numerals, though not used in arithmetic, show up in many places, such as clock faces, chapter headings in books, official documents, video games and copyright notices If you watch an old movie and want to know what year it was made, you will have to decipher the Roman numerals that appear at the end, such as MCMLVIII Difficult though they may seem, Roman numerals are still a part of our culture, and therefore it is necessary to learn how to read them

- Years in old documents and on statue inscriptions If you were reading one of

these out loud, you would say the year as if it were in Arabic numerals If it is written as, "The First day of January mdcclxxvii," you would substitute

"seventeen seventy-seven."

- Pages of the introduction to a book, where if there are 12 pages of

introduction, they are i through xii, followed by page 1 of the first chapter In that case you would refer to page iii as "Roman three."

How are Roman numerals used today?

People use Roman numerals

- to make writing look fancy (on clocks and official documents),

- to avoid confusion with ordinary numbers (in outlines and the introductions

of books.)

- The names of Kings and Queens are still written in Roman numbers

 It was built in the time of Louis XIV.

 Queen Elizabeth II

 Henry V

Actual Latin speakers or more truthfully writers used Roman numerals instead

of the Arabic system English speakers use today The following table shows you the basic numbers, the Latin, and the pronunciation:

III tres (trays) three

L quinquaginta (kween-kwah-gihn-tah) fifty

You can dictate Roman numerals by saying "Roman numeral" and the number

I is said Roman Numeral one

IV is said Roman Numeral four

V is said Roman Numeral five

TIP: Don’t pause after the word “Roman Numeral” when you are dictating it Below is Roman Numeral

For large numbers, say the number in small combinations (as in the examples shown here)

IV Roman Numeral four

V Roman Numeral five

X Roman Numeral ten

L Roman Numeral fifty

C Roman Numeral one hundred

D Roman Numeral five hundred

M Roman Numeral one thousand

XXIV Roman Numeral twenty four

However, when Kings and Queens have numbers after their names, we pronounce them as ordinal numbers with the word ‘the’ in front For example:

 It was built in the time of Louis XII (Louis the twelfth)

 Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth the second)

 Henry V (Henry the five)

The case is not similar when we pronounce Chapter VI (chapter six or the

sixth chapter - not chapter the six)

I.12 Letters as Numbers

~ k ~

The letter k is often used to denote a thousand So, 1k = 1,000

If you see a job advertised and it offers a salary of £12k it means £12,000.00

~ m ~

The letter m is often used to denote a million So, 1m = 1,000,000

If you see a job advertised and it offers a salary of £12m, apply for it!

~ bn ~

The letters bn denote a billion So, 1bn is usually 1,000,000,000 (see above)

If you see a job advertised and it offers a salary of £12bn, it's probably a misprint

II Writing Numbers

Why do we need to mention writing numbers in this paper?

Teachers of English as a foreign language are generally assumed to develop the students´ abilities in the language It is the application of an integrating approach for the development of learners’ communicative skills, in which the four skills in the acquisition of knowledge of a foreign language can be taught

in a coherent way, and practiced together, with a distinction of the importance

of one upon the other We are in agreement that English is not just an object of academic interest nor merely a key to passing an examination; instead, English becomes a real means of interaction in real situations Referring to my paper,

that is to say, we should teach or review how to write numbers accompanied

reading it

Here are rules of writing English numbers extracted from Chapter V- The

Blue Book of grammar and punctuation by Jane Straus-2008)