Chinese, Japanese and Korean all have simpler number words. They express math concepts (概念) more clearly than English. The language difference has drawn lots of attention. Several recent studies have connected weaker math abilities of English-speaking children with English number words.
Chinese, for example, has just ten basic number words. English, however, has more than two dozen (一打). The trouble starts at 11. English has a word (eleven) for that number. Chinese, Japanese and Korean have words that can be translated as ten-one—spoken with the ten first. That makes it easier for these children to understand the place value (位值). And the students can easily see the number system comes from units of 10.
English number words over 10 don't make the place value clear. Words for numbers 13 to 19 change the order of the ones and tens. Children often mix 17 with 71. As a result, children working with English number words have a harder time doing difficult calculations (运算). They make more mistakes.
It also feels more natural for Chinese speakers than for English speakers to use the make-a-ten method. When adding two numbers, Chinese students often break down the numbers into parts and regroup them into tens and ones. For example, 9+5 becomes 9+1+4. This method greatly helps students work out math problems. Many teachers in America are teaching their students the make-a-ten method. However, they are still having trouble because of the unclear and difficult English number words.
Now, you should feel lucky that you are learning math in China. Thanks to your mother language, all the math problems have become clearer and less difficult.
