[Blindmath] Verbalizing Math

Wed Apr 22 15:28:09 UTC 2009

Dear Missy and Neil,
I recently developed audio scripts for some math tests.  I used the Handbook for Spoken Mathematics (Larry's Speakeasy) by Dr. Lawrence A. Chang with assistance from Carol M. White and Lila Abrahamson, (c) 1983, The Regents of the University of California.  I agree with Neil's comments and suggestions.  When I developed the audio scripts, I did not know the audience and what they were familiar with hearing nor did I know if they were able to read/write any braille.  Therefore, I wrote some basic instructions regarding conventions followed in the audio version.  However, the customer ended up not wanting or using these instructions.

I really like Neil's method for reading a/(b+1) as "fraction a over b plus one end fraction."  The Handbook for Spoken Mathematics did not include a guideline to say "end fraction."  Therefore, I could not tell how the audio user would know if the math problem was a/b plus whole number one, or if it was the numerator "a" over the denominator "b plus one".  Your language is much simpler and easier to follow, Neil.  I ended up indicating the numerator and denominator.

As I was working on this project, I could not imagine needing to take this math test without hard copy.  Some of the equations were very long and complex.  I could not see how an audio user would be able to retain the item and the four or five answer choices in his or her head, and be calculating the response, too.

If I ever need to prepare audio scripts for math tests again, Neil, what guidelines would you recommend I use?
Thank you for your insights and information.

Debbie Willis, Director
Accessible Tests Department
American Printing House for the Blind

-----Original Message-----
From: blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Neil Soiffer
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 1:37 AM
To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Verbalizing Math

There is one basic rule of thumb when verbalizing math to someone who can't
see it vs someone who can:  make what you say unambiguous.  This comes down
to two things:
1.  for any 2-d math notation, say something to indicate when it starts and
when it ends
2.  speak any bracketing character such as a parenthesis

There are lots of refinements on these rules.  For example, MathSpeak is
geared toward someone who is a Nemeth code reader/writer.  If you follow the
MathSpeak rules, they will let the student braille what you say without much
thought... but at the cost of some verbosity and unfamilarity of speech for
the rest of the class.

The "Simple Speech" rules of MathPlayer and some other systems have an
implied rule that if a 2-d notation is spoken without bracketing words, then
the parts of the notation are single characters or numbers.  Eg, the simple
2-d fraction a/b is spoken as "a over b" and the "complicated" 2-d fraction
"a/(b+1)" is spoken as "fraction a over b plus 1 end fraction" -- it is
bracketed because the denominator is not trivial.  The advantage to this
system is that common simple expression are less verbose and more
understandable.

There are lots of variants to rules like these, including the words you use
for bracketing.  And there are lots of complications.  Eg, reading
"1000000000" might vary depending on whether you were teaching kids
scientific notation, how many zeros in a "billion", etc.  But most of the
time, it doesn't matter.  For example, in most cases, it doesn't matter
whether you say "one over two" or "one half"; most kids will understand what
you mean.

The big picture is to work out a system with the student so they are
comfortable with it and so that the teacher is comfortable saying it and
that it is clear about what is being said when it needs to be clear.
Ideally, it should be natural enough that the other students in the class
are comfortable with it.  Although I work on speech alot with MathPlayer,
I'll be the first one to admit that it isn't rocket science.

Neil Soiffer
Senior Scientist
Design Science, Inc.
www.dessci.com
~ Makers of MathType, MathFlow, MathPlayer, MathDaisy, WebEQ, Equation
Editor ~

On Tue, Apr 21, 2009 at 7:03 PM, Missy Garber <mgarbertvi at comcast.net>wrote:

> Can anyone recommend a good web resource to help a general education math
> teacher best verbalize math to a class that contains a student who is
> blind?
>
> I've looked into the Handbook for Spoken Mathematics and MathSpeak but
> wasn't able to find a good workable link to share with the teacher.
>
> Any help with this or other ideas would be appreciated.
>
> Missy
>
>
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