There Are Pros in Both Methods
When it comes to learning to read in Chinese, we really think you should start the process with ㄅㄆㄇㄈ. This will give you a leg up on pronunciation when you need to present your reading skills by presenting them orally for discussion or debate. However, as an adult, it should also be learned alongside 拼音so that you will be able to communicate through typing on the computer that you already own.
That being said, children probably benefit more from first learning to read with BoPoMoFo solely, and then progressing to pinyin down the line if they choose at a later date. Yes. You can definitely type using BoPoMoFo. It's not exactly right, but we assume adults wouldn't want to learn a new typing system in addition to this language.
Why?
When you learn a new language it's important to try and dive right in. Many people are a bit apprehensive to simply do as the Romans when it comes to language learning, because languages like Chinese comes in a completely different shape and form. We believe that when you use the English alphabet to learn something else, it can delay the process of acquiring the correct pronunciation.
English has some sounds that Chinese doesn't and vice versa.
Examples:
Take a look at this:
bang should be 帮, meaning to help.
You probably read that as "BANG!" and that is completely incorrect. It's more of a 'bahng'. If you would have been learning bopomofo, you would have known from jump by reading it as ㄅㄤ.
Reading with BoPoMoFo:
Reading with Pinyin:
This is technically the 'Phonics VS Names' argument that many get into in regards to learning or teaching their children English. If you can’t tell by now, we're #TeamPhonics. It has worked well for many students. Still, in private lessons you are free to choose whichever way you like.