[tropo]

I object to both.

The whole-word method is required for Chinese languages. Phonics is obviously proper for Spanish and Russian.

English is not so extreme. Phonics is useful, but it falls short. I've seen the disaster that is pure phonics with English, leading to a kid who mostly couldn't read at age 14. On the other hand, it will be hard to develop a decent vocabulary with the whole-word method. A hybrid approach works nicely.

See phonics fail on The Chaos: https://www.learnenglish.de/pronunciation/pronunciationpoem....

[camelite]

One part of the solution is to introduce exceptions early. The whole thing is a more complicated business than a one-to-one sound-letter correspondence. But it is a problem that has been solved for a long time now[1]. Cognitive science is not required. The only mystery is how this is not more widely known.

[1] teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons, and associated school curricula from the same author