The Universal Languages of Maths and English

English and maths are both universal languages that are used in workplaces throughout the world. Over more than 30 years, Triple E Training, a leading accredited training provider, has helped thousands of low skilled employees working in many different industries acquire English literacy and numeracy skills.

This is through quality adult literacy training and adult numeracy training that have been designed to efficiently equip your low skilled employees with the basic proficiencies that they need to succeed in the workplace. In this way, our adult literacy training and adult numeracy training is helping companies improve their bottom lines and hone their competitive edge.

English and maths are universal languages that are used extensively inside and outside the world of work. It is for this reason that companies have placed adult literacy training and adult numeracy training high on their agendas as part of their skills development strategies. They know that workers who cannot read and write English or communicate verbally in this language will not be able to perform their jobs accurately and, just as importantly, safely. Employees who do not have sound English literacy skills will also struggle to understand written or verbal instructions from their line managers and supervisors and are slower than functionally literate workers when performing their respective duties.

They also tend to make more costly mistakes; are fearful of assuming additional responsibilities; and lack the confidence and self-esteem that they need to engage constructively with customers and clients. Inefficient English communication also hampers teamwork and the ability to work independently, placing unnecessary pressure on existing supervisory and managerial resources. In this way, illiteracy or semi-illiteracy impacts companies’ bottom lines.

Meanwhile, numeracy skills work hand-in-hand with English literacy to efficiently communicate technical information and concepts. Moreover, numeracy is a skill that helps people to problem solve and facilitates out-of-box thinking – important traits of any successful team. Notably, both English literacy and numeracy skills also lay solid foundations for further learning in the workplace so that companies can retain their competitive edge in markets that are constantly evolving.

ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING OR “ABET”

The various levels of adult literacy training and adult numeracy training

Adults, who have not completed their basic education, including important basic literacy training and basic numeracy training, have the opportunity to do so via adult basic education and training or “ABET”. Adult basic education and training or “ABET” consists of four levels, each of which provides more adult literacy training and adult numeracy training, in addition to other important subjects. These levels are equivalent to the General Education and Training or “GET” of school-goers through to Grade 11. Adult basic education and training or “ABET” is equivalent to a National Qualifications Framework or “NQF” Level 1 qualification.

The NQF levels are provided by the South African Qualifications Authority or “SAQA”. According to legislation, adult basic education and training or “ABET” may only be supplied by an accredited training provider, such as Triple E Training. This ensures that only the highest possible quality of adult literacy training and adult numeracy training is provided to South African citizens who want to complete their basic education to improve their circumstances. By equipping people with essential English literacy and basic numbers skills, Triple E Training is significantly bettering the quality of lives of many South Africans.

Adult education and training or “AET” levels. This encompasses both adult literacy training and adult numeracy training.

NQF	GET	Adult education and training or “AET”
NQF Level 1	Grade 9	Adult education and training or “AET” Level 4
	Grade 7	Adult education and training or “AET” Level 3
	Grade 5	Adult education and training or “AET” Level 2
	Grade 3	Adult education and training or “AET” Level 1

ENGLISH – THE LANGUAGE OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION

English – from a native language of a small island nation to the dialect of an increasingly connected global community

SOUTH AFRICAN ENGLISH

English is the language of commerce and trade in South Africa

Although South Africa has 11 official languages and multilingualism is enshrined in our constitution, English is the preferred language in government, business, academia and media. Moreover, it is the main language for teaching and learning in higher education. This is partly because English is regarded as a more “neutral” language for the majority of the citizens of this country. Bear in mind the politicisation of languages under the formal dispensation. Moreover, it would be impractical to attempt to manage all 11 official languages in politics and government, bearing in mind the significant resources, time and costs involved.

Considering that South Africa’s economy competes at a global level, most employees areal so expected to be fluent in the formal language of business and commerce. This is despite the fact that the vast majority of South Africans do not speak English as a home language. As many as 23% of South Africans speak IsiZulu as a home language; 16% isiXhosa; and 13,5% Afrikaans. English is only spoken as a home language by 10% of the country’s citizens. According to experts, the English skills of many South African employees are, therefore, equivalent to that of Grade 7 at school.

This means that they are unable to efficiently listen, speak, read and write in the workplace. Moreover, they are unable to interact with information, integrate and think in English. While they may be able to use English socially, their ability to deploy the language for problem-solving in the workplace is also limited. Accredited training provider, Triple E Training’s placement assessments continue to corroborate industry’s concerns that many employees’ literacy skills are far below a level of standard that is required by modern businesses. This is despite many of these employees holding a National Senior Certificate – an indictment of the rapidly deteriorating quality of the country’s school system.

Most common languages used on the internet as of January 2020. This is by share of internet users.

Country	Percentage
English	25,9
Chinese	19,4
Spanish	7,9
Arabic	5,2
Indonesian/Malaysian	4,3
Portuguese	3,7
French	3,3
Japanese	2,6
Russian	2,5
German	2
Rest of other languages	23,1

ENGLISH

From England to the world

English is the preferred language of more than 60 countries. By 2020, it was expected that more than 2-billion people would be fluent in English. Three of the top seven economies, namely Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, use English as an official language. Considering the growth of business and commerce in these countries, English will remain the primary means of communicating in business and the world of work for trading partners.

FACTS ABOUT COMMUNICATING WITH EMPLOYEES

• People process visual images faster than words and we retain this information for longer.
• People think faster than they can hear.
• People listen to between 100 and 125 words a minute. Meanwhile,we are able to compute up to 3000 words a minute.
• Employees spend an average of two hours a day worrying and nattering in the workplace.
• People’s emotions can be expressed in at least 21 different facial expressions, which all play an important role in communicating with others.

Employees who believe that managers are really listening to them are almost five times more likely to be enthusiastic and 21 times more likely to be loyal.

THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF MATHS

Maths – a universal language consisting of numbers, symbols and notations

Maths is the language of numbers, symbols and notations. Using these numbers, symbols and notations, one is able to construct “words” and “sentences”. These “sentences” can, in turn, be combined to form maths “stories”, which are the solutions of exercises and problems. Notably, maths also has its own grammar. This is the mathematical logic that determines whether statements are valid or not. Like English, maths is a universal language. This is considering that the same numbers and symbols are used worldwide by billions of people to understand and communicate technical concepts in, among other fields, technology, sciences, business and financial services globally. It is a language that is taught and studied throughout the world, starting from pre-school through to Grade 12.

In fact, many experts agree that maths is a simpler, as well as more consistent and regular language than English. This is especially true for maths facts where numbers represent nouns and operational signs verbs, with both governed by syntax rules. Maths is, thus, used by people with basic numbers skills as a language of communication in all walks of life. Various types of media, for example, use graphs, percentages and other numerical concepts to convey important information. People who do not have basic numbers skills will, therefore, not be able to access this information which could help them improve their lives. Innumeracy can be just as debilitating as illiteracy. There is ample research that has shown that there is a high correlation between poor numeracy skills and unemployment, productivity and even physical health.

BASIC NUMBERS SKILLS IN THE WORKPLACE

Basic numbers skills embedded yet hidden in the world of work

Unlike literacy, basic numbers skills are difficult to identify in the workplace. Basic numbers skills usually appear trivial and non-mathematical in the world of work. This is because they bear very little resemblance to the maths that is taught at school. Firstly, maths in the workplace is seldom used in isolation. Firmly embedded in specific tasks and goals, it is used in combination with a range of other skills by employees. Unlike at school, different maths topics are also usually applied in parallel in the workplace. In school, the various disciplines of maths are taught separately as part of basic numbers skills training.

Advanced technologies incorporated in production processes has resulted in an increase in demand for workers with basic numbers skills. This is because their basic numbers skills will enable them to interpret numeric information that is produced by sophisticated tools and equipment. Workers usually have to learn to use a range of sophisticated tools and equipment that require basic numbers skills over a shorter period. Previously, workers could learn to use a single less-sophisticated tool over an extended period. This is just one example of the rate at which workplaces and skills are changing. The trend will gain further momentum as more economies of the world undergo their Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Although technology can perform calculations in modern workplaces, low skilled employees often only know how to input the information to receive an outcome. They do not have the basic numbers skills that are needed to sense check their results and identify rogue figures. Moreover, they are unable to deal with unexpected situations. This has again been confirmed by the accredited training provider’s placement assessments. Considering the hidden nature of numeracy skills in the workplace, placement assessments help to identify the extent of maths proficiency deficits among employees and the exact interventions required to address them.

MATHS

Maths as a language

There are many definitions for language. Language has been defined as a system of communicating using symbols or sounds. It has also been defined as a set of sentences constructed using a finite group of elements. Other linguists believe that the definition of language should also place emphasis on the ability to represent events and abstract concepts.However, all of these definitions for language have a number of traits in common, namely:

• a vocabulary of words or symbolswith meaning,
• grammar, a set of rules that outline how vocabulary is used,
• syntax, which organises symbols into linear structures or propositions,
• a narrative or discourse, consisting of strings of syntactic propositions, and
• a group of people who use and understand the symbols.

Maths meets all of these requirements, with its symbols, their meanings, syntax and grammar that are similar throughout the world.

The vocabulary of maths comprises many different alphabets and includes symbols that are unique to this subject. A maths equation may be articulated in words to form a sentence that has a noun and a verb. For example, 5 + 2 = 7could be articulated as “five added to two equals seven”.

Nouns in maths include:

• Arabic numerals (0, 5 and 123,7)
• Fractions (1⁄4, 5⁄9 and 2 1⁄3)
• Variables (a, b, c, x, y and z)
• Expressions (3x, x2 and 4 + x)
• Diagrams or visual elements (circle, angle, triangle, tensor and matrix)
• Infinity (∞)
• Pi (π)
• Imaginary numbers (I and -i)
• The speed of light (c)

Verbs in maths include symbols, such as:

• Equalities or inequalities (=, < and>)
• Actions,namely addition, subtraction, multiplication and division (+, -, x or *, ÷ or /)
• Other operations (sin, cos, tan and sec)

Performing a sentence diagram on a mathematical sentence will reveal infinitives, conjunctions and adjectives.Maths also complies with international rules regarding grammar and syntax. The structure of maths language is always the same, for example:

• Formulas are read from left to right.
• The Latin alphabet is used for parameters and variables. To a certain extent, the Greek alphabet is also used. Integers are usually drawn from i, j, k, l, m and n. Real numbers are represented by a, b, c, α, β and γ. Complex numbers are indicated by w and z. Unknowns include x, y and z. Names of functions are usually f, g and h.
• The Greek alphabet is used to represent specific concepts. For example, λ is used to indicate wavelength and ρ means density.
• Parentheses and brackets indicate the order in which the symbols interact.
• The way functions, integrals and derivatives are phrased is uniform.

ACCREDITED TRAINING PROVIDER

Cutting-edge adult literacy training and adult numeracy training for blue collar workers

Triple E Training, a leading accredited training provider, continues to provide cutting-edge adult literacy training and adult numeracy training to industry. We have trained thousands of low skilled employees how to read and write English over more than 30 years. This is in addition to equipping them with the basic numbers skills that they need to excel in the workplace.

Learn more about our quality adult basic education and training or “ABET” that is providing companies with a competitive edge in the market. www.eee.co.za.