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Originally Posted by MMM
Do Japanese elementary school students learn romaji before hiragana?
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By 9 or 10 they`re already well into kanji - hiragana is learned during kindergarten, and most kids have katakana out of the way by the time they enter 1st grade too.
Romaji is learned in 4th grade. The main reasoning for it isn`t English, but for the ability to read and write in situations where romaji is used. Building names, plane tickets, product names, etc etc.
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That would require learning a completely new alphabet as well. Wouldn't that be a bit too much? Or is that preparation for when they learn English?
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Most kids learn the alphabet a bit after hiragana and katakana. It`s on the back burner, but there is enough exposure that while they can`t read, they can usually recognize most letters.