Usage Worldwide
Pinyin is used in both education and communication. In China, Pinyin is used in elementary school as a first step toward learning how to read. Pinyin has an additional advantage for Chinese schools, because nearly a half of Chinese children do not speak Putonghua as their native dialect or language. Teaching with Pinyin allows them to acquire accurate pronunciation while learning to read.
Pinyin is also used to teach second language learners Putonghua both inside and outside China. It is also used to alphabetically order dictionary entries in Chinese-English, English-Chinese and Chinese-Chinese dictionaries. Beyond the classroom and around the world, Pinyin is used to spell Chinese proper nouns such as the booming city of Shanghai, the Rockets basketball superstar Yao Ming, or household appliance maker Haier. (The main exception you will notice is that foreign newspapers do not use tone markers when the spell using Pinyin conventions.) Finally, Pinyin is used as an input method for typing Chinese characters. The advantages of using this method of inputting Chinese characters for the Chinese language learner is that it is a relatively easy method to learn and using it helps you practice Pinyin spelling and character recognition.