Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Launches Online Multilingual Math Glossary

The U.S. Department of Education's data speaks for itself: The number of English-language learners (ELL), now estimated at 5.5 million, is growing at an explosive rate. In fact, this population increased by 95 percent from 1992 to 2002. That growth is particularly pronounced in states like California, where one out of four students is an English- language learner. As a result of that growth, there are more students than ever who need special resources to help them learn. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, the nation's leading provider of secondary school electronic and print products and services, is responding to this need by launching an online multilingual glossary specializing in math terminology, at http://www.math.glencoe.com/multilingual_glossary.

"This new glossary demonstrates Glencoe's commitment to providing tools that enable educators to customize learning to meet individual student needs, "said Art Block, senior vice president and publisher of Mathematics and Science. "We believe this unique service will help English-language learners improve their ability to read and solve word problems, which are such an important part of mathematics curricula and assessments," Block added.

From "acute triangle" to "zero exponent," the math glossary contains more than 700 mathematical vocabulary terms commonly used in grade 6 through Algebra 2. Users can select from among 12 languages -- Arabic, Bengal, Chinese, English, Haitian, Hmong, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Urdu and Vietnamese. If a language other than English is chosen, users will see the English term along with the word and its definition in the selected language. Many terms include diagrams that illustrate the term with labels in the appropriate language.

The glossary provides a number of benefits to students, teachers and parents:

  * Students -- The tool is free, easy-to-use, and available 24/7 for those
    looking to better understand mathematical terms and their definitions.

  * Teachers -- To communicate with students speaking many languages within
    the same classroom, teachers can find help in one place. There is no
    need to maintain a variety of print resources.

  * Parents -- Parents are better able to help their children with math
    homework even if they do not read English. The tool is available to
    anyone with Internet access.

"This useful Internet-based service has the potential to benefit so many students and help them meet the challenges that come with mastering a second language." said Block. "We're very proud to be one of the first publishers to offer it." Glencoe will launch a similar online glossary for science in 2005 and greatly expand the number of languages that are available in its glossary for social studies in the near future.

Glencoe/McGraw-Hill is a unit of McGraw-Hill Education, a leading global provider of electronic and print products that enhance teaching and learning in the pre-K through 12th grade, higher education and professional markets. McGraw-Hill Education is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, a global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, Business Week and McGraw-Hill Education. Founded in 1888, the Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2003 were $4.8 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

SOURCE: McGraw-Hill Companies/Education

CONTACT: April Hattori
McGraw-Hill Education
(212) 904-2078
april_hattori@mcgraw-hill.com
Darlene Leshnock
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
(614) 430-4256
darlene_rae_leshnock@mcgraw-hill.com
Tom Stanton
McGraw-Hill Education
(212) 904-3214
tom_stanton@mcgraw-hill.com

Web site: http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/
http://www.math.glencoe.com/multilingual_glossary