The language of numbers. The development of numerical and arithmetical competences with reference to linguistic abilities
Andrea Biancardi, Enrica Mariani, Manuela Pieretti
Language, in the world of numbers, is crucial in order to allow us to organise all situations where we manage quantities: well before counting, reciting the nursery rhyme of the multiplication tables or reading numbers, children use language to describe the numerosities of the world they live in. Developmental models of numerical processing and calculation identify three main sets of factors in learning basic maths: an innate component, a linguistic component and a visual-spatial component. In children up to five years of age a motor component can also be identified, which is gradually abandoned when the learning is formalised through teaching. It is knowledge of the developmental trajectories of competence and the specific elements that encourage it that leads to the real possibility of offering activities aimed at enhancing early arithmetic skills.
Keywords
Numbers, Language, Learning.