Isn't this purely English problem?

I never heard about any other language culture encouraging children to guess words. They have natural tendency to do so, which pretty much anyone understands, is counterproductive to reading and must be suppressed. The most common "in the moment" instruction for a kid learning to read, when they try and fail is "Don't make stuff up! Read!" (In their respective language of course). Encouraging kid to guess what's on paper seems absolutely idiotic.

Is Ken Goodman the Andre Wakefield of education, just without the ulterior motiv?