Japanese text comprehension by Chinese and non-Chinese background learners

Abstract

This research investigates the role of kanji in second language learners' reading comprehension of Japanese text. It explores how two subgroups of Japanese learners, with Chinese and non-Chinese backgrounds, approach text. Fourteen intermediate level learners of Japanese were recruited for each subgroup. They performed vocabulary and reading comprehension tests, and were interviewed immediately after the tests. Three sets of tests in the same format examined subjects' kanji vocabulary comprehension with and without context and text comprehension. The interviews were held to obtain insights into their difficulty in reading Japanese particularly in relation to both their kanji and text comprehension. The Chinese background subgroup scored substantially higher in kanji comprehension both with and without context thanks to their L1 knowledge. However, the non-Chinese subgroup performed better in text comprehension. The two subgroups used similar text comprehension strategies. The interviews after the tests suggest that relationships between kanji and text comprehension scores can be explained in terms of the initial schema settings for the two subgroups' Japanese reading.