Unlocking the Potential of China's Dyslexic Students (Part 1)

 

Global Times:

Since 2010, a campaign has been afoot in Chinese schools to improve children's literacy, as educators have warned that young people are increasingly having problems writing and reading Chinese due to their extensive use of electronic devices. LINK

 

My thoughts:

Are the Chinese looking for an excuse as the Western World has been for decades? Instead of examining the root cause of kids disengaging from learning to read which is confusion due to being taught letter sounds wrong, educators in the Western world keep barking up the wrong tree.

Similarly, rather than addressing the root cause of the problem, the Chinese are quick to blame factors like technology use. It appears that the Chinese are ‘borrowing’ excuses from the Western World.

Curious intelligent kids in China are confused when they cannot blend pinyin finals with bopofomo initials. Schools in China should do away with Bopomofo sounds completely and use only Pinyin sounds.

 

Global Times:

A survey conducted by the education bureau of the Wuchang district indicated that the ongoing campaign has been successful, with more than 75 percent of 50,000 students aged 6 to 12 able to write Chinese characters correctly.

 

My thoughts:

The recurring figure of around 20-25% of students struggling with literacy is quite concerning.

This may be linked to curious, intelligent children disengaging due to instructional confusion which aligns with the pattern in the Western World.

If the issue of teaching Pinyin with Bopomofo initials is indeed widespread, then there is a clear need for education authorities in China to reform the way Pinyin is introduced and taught. Aligning Pinyin instruction with the proper sounds and blending could be a crucial step.

The article does not provide much detail on the specific teaching methods or approaches used in the "Get Close to the Mother Tongue" campaign. More transparency around the instructional practices employed would help evaluate the efficacy and address any potential shortcomings.

 

Questions that need answers.

Since when has Pinyin in China been taught using Bopomofo initial sounds?

Who introduced teachers to teach Pinyin with Bopomofo initials?