When I was a student maths teacher I worked in a school that was very "local". Almost every pupil was a native English speaker so there were no language problems (or so I thought).

After I graduated my first job was in an international school where for every student English was their second or third language. Suddenly teaching became a whole lot more difficult. Pupils were getting bored with my lessons and not progressing well.

In order to try to address this I studied the teaching methods of some language teachers and sat in on a few of their classes. Their lessons were immediately different to mine because of their focus on words and the meaning of words.

I brought these ideas into my own lessons spelling out the technical mathematical language we were using and making sure that the students understood before moving on. The result - engaged, learning, happy students.

This lesson didn't end here. I've brought it into my teaching of English students and its made me a better teacher all round. Why? Well maths has a language all of its own, and most pupils difficulties with maths stems not from maths itself but from understanding the language of mathematics.

Try it with your own children and pupils (if you are a pupil try it with your friends). Throw "what does isosceles mean?" (substitute some other mathematical terms as necessary) into your questions and conversation.

Why did this effect my English maths students? Well maths has a language all of its own. Its also a pyramidal subject so lessons build on each other, and if you miss out on lessons you miss out not just on practice but also on language. This makes future lessons doubly difficult.

Remember back to Sesame Street? Todays lesson was brought to you with the word "isosceles" and the color ....