A new series of Chinese math textbooks will be published in the UK following the success of a previous edition, with an expert saying Chinese math textbooks are generally more difficult for UK students.
East China Normal University Press in cooperation with HarperCollins Publishers LLC is bringing its math textbook series 5 Minute Math Mastery to the UK. The series of 24 textbooks cover math teaching content from the first to the sixth grade, with a focus on techniques for calculating numbers mentally, reported Beijing Youth Daily on Friday.
The announcement came after the success of a previously published math textbook series, Shanghai Maths, One Lesson One Exercise, which was also published by East China Normal University Press in the UK in 2015, said the newspaper report.
The news sparked discussions among Chinese netizens, who appear thrilled to see foreigners use Chinese math textbooks because of their alleged higher difficulty.
"We had a hard time studying English, now it is your turn to learn math, in which we, the Chinese students, are proud of," reads one of the comments on Sina Weibo.
The English version of 5 Minute Math Mastery will have the same difficulty as the Chinese version, Ni Ming, president of East China Normal University Press' textbook department, was quoted by Beijing Youth Daily as saying.
Last year more than 400 schools in the UK were using Shanghai Maths, One Lesson One Exercise to teach students, and the UK is promoting China's math teaching style, according to the Beijing Youth Daily.
The English version of 5 Minute Math Mastery contains nearly 20 percent more content than the Chinese edition in order to adapt to UK education standards, said Ni, adding that "it is not just a simple translated version."
