Al-Baath University 1st year/ 1st term

Higher Institution of Languages

Prepared by: Ahmed Al-Hamood Course: ESP
Supervised by: Dr. Mourice Al-Omar Subject: Numbers & Figures

Why do we use numbers?

Numbers and figures are of great importance in ESP teaching, not just in
those specialisms with a clear numerical or technological basis (e.g.
construction, commerce, science, etc) but also in service-based and people-
based specialisms. Whatever the product or service they are working with,
students will need to use numbers and present number-based data at some
point in their work, and everyone will want to be paid and therefore
understand the figures on their payslip or tax form!
Using numbers helps in knowing quantities, discovering facts, and
telling the time or dates.
– Three books.
- Nine planets.
- Born in January 15, 1929.
It is important to note that numbers are not only essential for those
specialisms that use numbers a lot (like engineering and math), but also for
other specialisms which we might think that numbers are not of great
importance for them at face value (like literary studies).
That is to say, numbers go hand in hand with languages;
independent sentences always contain numbers; a complete sentence does
have a message that tells about the subject.
E.g. - She needs to go to the hospital.
She 1
Needs 1
Hospital 1
 Even if the context does not contain numbers or symbols, the brain
acquires them.

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 For example, let us suppose we have a father narrating a bed-time story to
his three kids. After finishing the story, he told his kids the following:
Sleep. The addressee
So, the brain unconsciously understands that this utterance (sleep) refers to
the THREE kids.
What is the main challenge that hinders learning the English numbers?
We know that numbers are deeply ingrained in the mother tongue. Even
very advanced students will often count in their first language, and for all
levels the gap between the technical knowledge of the subject specialism and
knowledge of English may be greatest when it comes to manipulating
numbers and understanding numerical concepts. So, this can be a main
challenge on the side of EFL students during learning numbers in English.

A Bunch of Definitions:
Numbers: number noun (GRAMMAR):
the forms of words, esp. nouns, pronouns, and verbs, that show whether
they are singular or plural. (Cambridge Dictionary)
(And this justify my claim that numbers are us since WE are nouns; WE
are PRONOUNS, and WE DO actions.)
E.g. - He wants to share his three experiences.
He 1
Wants 1
three experiences 3

Cardinal Numbers: The cardinal numbers are the numbers that

are used for counting something. They are the counting numbers that start
from 1 and goes on sequentially and are not fractions (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4 ,5 …).
Hence, cardinal number are the numbers which give us the exact quantity of
an object. “A number like 1, 2, 3 that represents amount, rather than position
in a list.” (Cambridge dictionary).

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 Ordinal Numbers: They are the numbers which give us the exact
position of an object. Ordinal numbers tell the position of an object rather than
their quantity (e.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd …). “A number like 1st, 2nd, 3rd, that shows the
position of something in a list of items.” (Cambridge dictionary).
***
Graphs and Statistics:
Statistics in definition is a collection of numerical facts or
measurements, as about people, business conditions, or weather. (Cambridge
dictionary)
Examples of graphs of statistics include:

Language of statistics and graphs includes words like trends, verbs of

increase and decrease (rise, drop, fall, grow, etc.), and adverbs (gradually,
steadily, dramatically, etc.).

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 An example of Numbers in Specifications:

Work cited list

1. Harding, Keith. English for Specific Purposes. Oxford.
2. Cambridge University Press. Number. In Cambridge dictionary. Retrieved
April 4, 2022.
3. Cambridge University Press. Cardinal. In Cambridge dictionary. Retrieved
April 4, 2022.
4. Cambridge University Press. Ordinal. In Cambridge dictionary. Retrieved
April 4, 2022.
5. Cambridge University Press. Statistics. In Cambridge dictionary. Retrieved
April 4, 2022.