How I learned Pinyin from my children

I was educated in the old school of thought when Pinyin (a system to denote the pronunciation of Chinese words) was not taught. The chance to learn Pinyin and simplified Chinese came when my eldest son entered Primary 1.

I learned together with my child how to pronounce the Pinyin notation. There are about well over 3000 words a Primary School children have to learn in Chinese to be able to read the newspaper and books. Well, I managed to learn all the 3000 odd words, both Pinyin and writing in simplified form.

Now I can pronounce any Chinese word given the Pinyin and read simplified Chinese strokes. I have no regrets spending learning Pinyin because you can use it to type Chinese words with the computer and have the words printed neatly.