This post is prompted by a recent discussion on LinkedIn between Sean McKenzie, an English teacher in Hangzhou who works with students from age 3 to adults of 60, and me. His observations reminded me of the Tamil fable about the prince who caught a rabbit with three legs and went around insisting that all rabbits have only three legs. Personal observation became “truth,” even though it was factually wrong.
In the same way, dismissing Pinyin as “for foreigners” ignores the reality of how it is taught and used in schools across China and beyond.
