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I have to teach someone whose English isn't her native language (and her English skills aren't advanced) the concept of negative numbers + exponents, and how to read scientific / engineering numbers. Do you know of any good website for beginners / children that uses simple English to achieve this?

I googled and couldn't find any website that is simple enough and uncluttered by ads (she might not be able to differentiate the ads from teaching text).

I should mention that I am not a teacher. I'm an expat computational engineer who, in addition to my contractual engineering tasks, has to perform some kind of "technology transfer" to local engineering trainees who don't use English as a first language. Their main skills are CAD / engineering design. They help me with engineering analysis while they learn on the job, but I am tired of having to explain simple math concepts to them. I hope this community might be able to lead me to the resources I need.

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    $\begingroup$ If ads are a problem, she should download adblock for free on her browser. This will enable her to focus on content without looking at ads. $\endgroup$
    – Amy B
    Commented Oct 18, 2015 at 20:10
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    $\begingroup$ It seems to me (unless I am misunderstanding something) that you are trying to ask about two different mathematical topics at the same time. Perhaps it would be easier for the learner, and for MESE, if the two topics were separated out? $\endgroup$
    – mweiss
    Commented Oct 18, 2015 at 21:56
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    $\begingroup$ Hi mweiss. You are right. I didn't mention that I am not a teacher. I'm an expat engineer who has to perform some kind of "technology transfer" to local engineering trainees (I will not state which country). Some of them are talented at CAD / engineering design, and they help me with engineering analysis while they learn on the job, but I am tired of having to explain simple math concepts to them. I was hoping this community might be able to lead me to the resources I need. I love Mathigon website but they have recently changed their layout... $\endgroup$
    – braaains
    Commented Oct 19, 2015 at 4:13
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    $\begingroup$ You comment adds a lot of relevant context. It could make sense to edit this into the question. $\endgroup$
    – quid
    Commented Oct 20, 2015 at 12:50
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    $\begingroup$ Thank you quid! I have added parts of my comment the original post. $\endgroup$
    – braaains
    Commented Oct 21, 2015 at 4:32

2 Answers 2

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Consider Khan Academy: they offer high-quality ad-free math videos and exercises in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Turkish, and Norwegian. (The content is more limited in non-english languages.)

For negative numbers, start here: Negative Numbers and Absolute Value

For scientific notation, start here: Scientific Notation

It may interest the teachers here to know that Khan Academy offers support for teachers to monitor their students work via the "coaching" feature, which may be also helpful for the OP as he helps these folks learn.

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    $\begingroup$ Thank you Petehern! I didn't know Khan Academy offers videos in these languages. Although none of the languages listed is native here in my current country of residence, it's always good to have more info. $\endgroup$
    – braaains
    Commented Dec 7, 2015 at 10:56
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You can find lots of information on this site for mathematics:

http://www.webmath.com/sn_convert.html

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