What do the two numbers in a multiplication statement mean and how does this differ across nations.
I teach my students to translate the multiplication symbol as the preposition "of", which means a multiplication statement becomes "this much of that amount." So the first number is the multiplier (or scale factor) and the second number is the multiplicand (or the original amount, or the "this per that" quantity). Because of the commutative nature of multiplication, these roles can easily be reversed. But this is the way that seems natural to me.
[For comparison across regions or nations: I grew up and still live in the American Midwest.]
