Teacher Reviews on Abacus

Are you considering encouraging your child to learn the abacus but are unsure about the benefits?

Indeed, learning the abacus can take some time. And you don't want to invest your energy and your child's into something you're not sure is useful.

To help answer your questions on the topic, we interviewed several teachers and asked them a simple question:

Why should parents teach their children the abacus?

The teachers told us about the many benefits of teaching the abacus to children.

But without further ado, here are their answers.

The abacus gives meaning to mathematics

One of the most important things about the abacus is that it helps children understand the logic of calculations. What we mean by this is that children who use the abacus understand numbers in a concrete way and are able to see what they are doing in math and why they got the answer they did.

It is difficult for young people to grasp abstract concepts. According to a study by University College London, children are only able to understand abstract words and concepts from around age 9 or 10. Yet, in the meantime, that child will have still spent four or five years in school struggling with abstract concepts like mathematics and numbers. Without something physical and concrete, the child will rely solely on memorization and have a limited understanding of what they are doing.

However, a student who has studied math with an abacus is different. "The great strength of the abacus is that it really helps children understand numbers," said Ms. Gaillard, a teacher for 15 years (multi-grade class CP - CE1). "Numbers become a concrete idea."

With an abacus, the child understands how they get the answers to their math problems. Once they understand why the answer is what it is, they will know exactly what went wrong if they make a mistake. Furthermore, the student using the abacus will be able to see how each new concept is formed from ones they already know and will therefore be happy to learn it.

The abacus builds student confidence

"Math at school will only become faster and easier for them," said Ms. Durand, a primary school teacher (CE2). We asked her how a student using the abacus would perform in school compared to one who doesn't. (Ms. Durand is a primary school teacher. She has been teaching mathematics for eight years. She can see the difference between students who have learned the abacus and those who haven't.) "The difference is astounding. There are some 4th and 5th graders without the abacus who struggle with multiplication and division, and 1st and 2nd graders with the abacus who can do these problems in their head."

Ms. Gaillard also notices the difference between students using the abacus and those who don't. She sees that the difference is not only in their ability but also in how they view math problems. "The abacus makes the student more confident," she says. "They are no longer afraid to solve a problem."

The abacus reduces pressure on short-term memory

Ms. Marques, a long-time teacher, noticed that "many children at school tend to cram right away and, once they take their exam, they forget everything. But with the abacus, it helped them retain everything they learned."

Using an abacus helps a student's memory in two ways. The first is that the student no longer has to memorize answers to arithmetic problems. Once the student learns the abacus, they will know how to solve any arithmetic problem. They won't have to memorize solutions or steps because it will always be the same process. The second way the abacus helps their memory is that they can see very concretely how they arrived at the answer. By understanding how problems and numbers work, they can see how other problems work. Once the student knows how to solve a problem, they no longer need to keep solutions in their short-term memory. It is now stored in their long-term memory, and they can reuse these problem-solving skills when needed.

As Ms. Marques noted, "at school, they learn [the problems] and simply forget over the course of the school year, then they have to remember them again." However, students using the abacus don't have this problem because they are able to store what they learn at school in their long-term memory. This frees up their short-term memory and reduces the stress and frustration that can build up in them.

The abacus helps the child as they grow.

Additionally, Ms. Durand notes:

"When you're younger and learning math, everything is always hands-on. You use manipulation. But as the student grows, the length of numbers in the problems they face increases; there's no way to manipulate them in their head because they're too big. But with the abacus, the student can manipulate larger numbers just as easily as smaller ones."

Being able to visualize numbers in front of them will always be a useful skill.

As your child grows and the numbers they calculate increase, the usual method of counting blocks or coins won't help them anymore due to the size of the numbers. The abacus also helps students with higher-level math. Students using the abacus are more successful with logical problems, but also with algebra, fractions, geometry, ratios, and much more. The abacus is a true success factor for a child.

These reasons are just the tip of the iceberg regarding the benefits of teaching the abacus. Your child's boost in confidence and desire to learn will be invaluable and will stay with them for the rest of their life.

It is little wonder that the abacus is so highly regarded and is an integral part of many reputable educational methods like Montessori.

Only a few weeks after learning the abacus, I've seen toddlers come out of their shell and first and second graders learn mathematical concepts I didn't have to teach until much later. The effect lasts your child's entire life, no matter what academic and career path they choose; they will have more doors open to them simply by having studied with the abacus.

Ms. Gaillard added, "It significantly improves children's academic success at school, and not just their mental arithmetic level; it's a real shame it's not more encouraged by the Ministry of Education. It's a real pedagogical added value that would be welcome more widely in public schools. Today, it remains an addition at the initiative of a few teachers and educational staff."

The practice is generally a bit more common within private elementary schools, where the pressure from inspection to strictly adhere to the national educational curriculum is lower.

Ms. Durand concluded by sharing her vision:

"I would encourage parents to teach the abacus to their child themselves if their teachers do not. Just because the educational system hasn't decided to integrate abacus learning into the common core doesn't mean parents should refrain from offering this education to their children."

Teaching the abacus is a wonderful educational project, unfortunately, few primary school teachers in the educational community consider it.

We advise you to introduce your child to abacus practice in CP or even in the final year of preschool before tackling elementary math concepts: addition and subtraction. Or, up until CM1 or CM2 if it hasn't been done before, it will be an advantage either way for every student, even beyond in middle school. Of course, at that age, you would teach the Japanese abacus / soroban directly."

To learn more about the benefits of abacus learning, you can read this article.

Benefits of Learning the Abacus

Thanks to Ms. Durand, Gaillard, and Marques for their time and their insightful feedback.