Alphabetic and syllabic system

 

For an alphabetic system, the beginner has to first become aware of individual phonemes in spoken words to subsequently learn that those phonemes are represented by letters.

Mandarin does not use an alphabetic system. It is syllabic. The learner has to be aware that spoken words are comprised of syllables. 

Similarly, when teaching kids Pinyin we should teach them syllables as illustrated in the Pinyin chart on my post at LINK

The question to ask is why are the Chinese from China teaching kids phonemes? Read my posts at Link and Link. 

Why are Pinyin charts using initial sounds of Zhuyin Fuhao (Bopomofo)? LINK and LINK. 

I have repeatedly said that intelligent kids are the ones who disengage from learning to read when they are confused. They shut down/ disengage from learning to read when things don’t make sense. They don’t understand why buh + ah+ tuh sounds out bat. Fortunately, a majority of kids somehow figure out how to read. Read my post to see two university students reading out the sounds represented by consonants wrongly and yet able to read fluently. LINK

What we need to address is the approximately 20% of intelligent kids who disengage from learning and are classified wrongly as dyslexic.

Similarly, the Chinese teachers from China are teaching a syllabic language phonetically and thus disengaging many intelligent kids from learning to read.

Chinese schools are still using Zhuyin Fuhao (Bopomofo) sounds to teach Pinyin. This confuses many of the intelligent kids.

I have explained why kids shut down/disengage from learning to read in my book Shut Down Kids. This applies to Chinese students learning Pinyin too.

I am beginning to wonder if the educators in China are naïve or if this is a ploy by China to prevent intelligent kids from being educated.