John Corcoran’s website says the following which appears to be a copy-paste effort.
His website:
While a small subset of children can learn to read no matter how they are taught, a majority of students require explicit instruction to learn how to decode and encode the written language, skills that the human brain is not naturally wired to do.
In 2010, I approached the dean of the University Malaysia Sabah and requested that researchers investigate my theory that dyslexia is not caused by a phonological awareness deficit. However, the dean was not interested. Fortunately, someone from another country did conduct the research.
We, in Malaysia, are in a unique position to explore why students can read in Malay and Pinyin but struggle with English. I would welcome any research students interested in investigating this phenomenon. They are free to use the materials on my blog, and there is no need to mention my name - I will be more than happy to assist anyone who wants to pursue this as a research project, as it could make for an excellent PhD thesis.
Dyslexia advocates somehow find out that there is a strong objection to their theory and start propagating through whatever means they can. Here is one such YouTube video that surfaced a few days ago. LINK
Interviewer: Ashlie Thomey, A Dyslexia Specialist
Interviewee: Pamela Taylor, Creator of Lexia Heroes.
I listened to the YouTube video by Pamela Taylor who spoke like she is an expert in brain study.
Since 2010, when I started my blog, I have been told numerous times that I should read research reports. Of course, I read research reports but I don’t accept them if they don’t make sense. We should think if research reports make sense and discard those that don’t appeal to our senses.
I am reminded of what Daniel Kahneman wrote in his book ‘Thinking fast and slow’:
“Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.” Carl Jung
Suri Charles
Luqman Michel You’ve mentioned that the children you came across and/or worked with couldn’t read because they 'shut down,' yet you also stated that you taught 80 dyslexic children from 2004 to 2019.
1. How do you reconcile these two positions?
2. Are you suggesting that these 80 children had both emotional or psychological shutdowns as well as dyslexia, or were they misdiagnosed as dyslexic?
In my post about why many schools in China are teaching Pinyin using Bopomofo initial sounds, DrJulie Safri made a comment and this is a short extract that I decided to reply to separately from the rest of her comment.
DrJulie Safri
Good morning Luqman, let me clarify my statement.....Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental condition, meaning it originates from differences in how the brain processes language, particularly phonological information. However, it is important to note that these neurological differences don’t mean a person with dyslexia cannot learn to read, they just require tailored, evidence-based instruction that accommodates their unique learning needs.
My thoughts:
“Tailored, evidence-based instruction that accommodates their unique learning needs” is something I’ve frequently heard from many teachers providing intervention for dyslexic kids.
I don't know how the brain processes languages and would be grateful if DrJulie Safri can educate me and whoever else is interested.
I made a comment on Facebook stating that I have worked in the accounting and auditing field for most of my adult life. Following that, I received a comment from Suri Charles, who is aware of my previous experience teaching dyslexic children before transitioning to teaching their parents.
The phonological awareness deficit as the cause of dyslexia was debunked around 2017. Even with the research reports debunking that theory and my explanation of my students being able to read in Malay and Pinyin how audacious is it for James Chapman to say that he stands by what he and Tunmer wrote in 1996?
In 2021 I wrote to James Chapman again. Here is my email.
Mike Bell @evidence_1st
The following is from his Twitter profile.
Author of ‘Fundamentals of Teaching’. Organiser of Evidence Based Teachers Network. Committed to making the evidence accessible to teachers.
Here are Twitter discussions between Mike Bell and me.
Luqman Michel Dec 2
I researched why kids can read in Malay and Pinyin but not in English by quitting my job and teaching > 80 kids on a one-on-one basis.
The answer to how to reduce illiteracy is simple but the white man who speaks only one language does not want to discuss this.
Over the decade I have been blocked by many. The latest block is by Tom Bennett OBE.
@tombennett71 is the founder of
Founder researched, Behaviour advisor- UK DfE. Professor of School Behaviour, Academica Uni. with 116.5K Followers on Twitter.
(Lihat di bawah untuk terjemahan bahasa Melayu)中文翻译见下文On 24.11.24 my student attended her graduation ceremony at her University.
Chan
Tze Xin was sent by her parents when she was a few months into primary
two and could read well in Malay and Hanyu Pinyin but was unable to read
at grade level as far as English was concerned.
Her mother was at wit's end as she was unable to make headway in teaching her daughter to read in English.
I
taught her for less than one month (less than 8 one-hour lessons)
explaining to her that the sounds of the letters she had learned in
school were incorrect and taught her the correct sounds of the letters.
I am copy-pasting this from another blog-post of mine where I have the testimonials of parents of kids I have taught. This is because I have referred this on my post on David Chalk and would like my readers to read it here. This was first posted in my blog in 2019.
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT REPORT
Date of Assessment: 08.01.2019
Chronological age: 9 years 7 months
Report:
Emmanuel was referred by Dr. Fauziah (Gleneagle Hospital, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah) due to his learning difficulties and to ascertain his cognitive functioning and whether he is dyslexic.
He can read one-syllable simple English words and a few two-syllable Malay words. He is also slow in writing and when asked to copy, he made mistakes easily. However, he is good at memorizing. With regard to his academic activities, Emmanuel is easily bored, but he can spend many hours playing computer games.
Recently I posted a video broadcasted in over 100 countries that teaches the wrong sounds of the letters. Many toddlers listening to this video will shut down/disengage from decoding and blending. Those promoting this video claim it to be an entertainment video.
You can find the video here. LINK
I made a comment
According to some, this is an entertainment programme, not an educational one so it does not matter. These clowns have made many believe that kids can differentiate between what is entertainment and what is academic.
Is this how to teach the sounds of the letters? The British are the main culprits in creating 'dyslexic' kids.
Suri Charles commented as follows:
Question from: The root cause of children being unable to read - Part 1
Why can't we find out the kids who can't read at grade level by the end of grade 1?
Your answers to these questions will be the beginning of a constructive discussion.
This lie that kids who cannot read like most kids in a class cannot be detected by the end of grade one is ludicrous.
This lie was propagated by those with a vested interest. Every other educator repeats it as if it is the Gospel truth. Would any teacher here tell us why kids who can’t read like most kids in a class can’t be determined by the end of grade 1?
Yesterday, 2.10.24, LinkedIn prompted me to request a connection with Dr. Steve Truch.
Sometimes, I request for connections but I seldom read the profile of the members I request connections.
This was an exception and I viewed his profile and was excited to read the videos listed on his profile.
I have said several times that when you want something, the whole universe conspires for you to achieve it.
There are many things that I have done in my life where Mother Nature provided the information I required. Let me share just 3 of many.
The following is a dialogue between Ethan Lynn and me on LinkedIn. I am copying the main points here for posterity.
Ethan Lynn, PhD Illiteracy Eradicator | Published Researcher
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. This is my first 'negative' feedback, and I appreciate you taking the time to engage.
That said, I'm unclear on your main points and what specifically you disagree with. We might be talking past each other, and I don’t think we differ as much as your comments suggest.
I’m always open to meaningful, constructive dialogue, but I’m not sure what your aim is here.
My goal is to collaborate, not contend, and I feel like this particular discussion might be missing that mark.
I asked the same question I asked for many years on Twitter and other social media. I always get evasive answers. Read my question carefully and see if the answer below is appropriate.
This is the question I asked on LinkedIn.
But the question remains. Why don't kids who learn to read in Malay and Hanyu Pinyin effortlessly, have phonemic awareness when learning to read in English?
Emma Hartnell-Baker replied as follows:
My post yesterday was prompted by an article written by Syed Akbar Ali. LINK.
Here are extracts from that article:
Dear Malay brothers and sisters, there is a big difference in understanding, opinion and approach between the Chinese and the Malay-Muslims regarding education.
This is one of the main reasons why young Chinese people grow up to become towkays, managers and owners of companies and businesses, but Muslim Malay children will be chronically dependent on Malay political power to earn a living.
What are some reasons why some people believe that pinyin in Mandarin is not useful?
The above was a question on Quora.
Jojo Dennis Lee answered as below:
Pinyin is hard to read and write specially for English and Spanish speaking people. This is because the letters that are used are pronounced differently. For example, 北京 which was originally named in English as Peking and later changed to Beijing to adopt to Pinyin. But the pronunciation is actually “Pei Ching” or “Pay Tsing”. Another example is 道 (Dào in Pinyin) which means road but is actually pronounced as Tao. There are no B, D, G, J, V, X, Z sounds in Mandarin.
Pinyin was designed for people in China who don’t speak English. But for people who already know English, it is confusing and will mispronounce it.
6 years ago, someone on Quora had asked: Which is better when learning Chinese: characters without Pinyin or Pinyin without characters?
Yong Wen San replied as follows.
If you are serious about learning the Chinese language, then you should aim to shed pinyin from your system as soon as possible.
For the beginner learner, especially one who is not immersed in a Chinese-speaking environment, pinyin does serve as a useful tool for learning the pronunciation of characters and words in Modern Standard Chinese. But that is all it should be seen as - a tool to aid learning pronunciation. I take issue with anyone who makes the sweeping statement that you can “learn Chinese using pinyin”. That will only help you with the spoken modern Chinese language, and even then, it will only take you as far as some basic phrases - ordering food at an eatery, buying something from a grocery store, asking for directions, etc. If your ambitions in “learning Chinese” only go that far, then fine, you can stop reading here.
