Learning Chinese as a Second Language: Implications of the Character-Word Dual Function Model

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Learning new words is fundamental in both first and second-language reading. There are, however, divided opinions on the best instructional approaches. Two widely used approaches across languages are whole-word focus and word-constituent focus. The appropriateness of each approach has varied historically, even within a single language (e.g., the debate between whole-word instruction and phonics in English). In teaching Chinese, both approaches are applied but to different learner groups. Whole-word instruction predominates in teaching Chinese as a second language (L2), while instruction for Chinese children focuses more on character-level mappings. It may seem reasonable in L2 Chinese instructions to focus on direct mappings between Chinese words and their L1 equivalent words. However, this raises a question: Is whole-word instruction the most efficient approach in L2 Chinese instruction? Based on an analysis of the Chinese writing system, we proposed a Character-Word Dual Function model of Chinese and tested its application of a dual-focus approach on both characters and words in L2 Chinese classroom instruction. Empirical findings support the advantage of this new approach compared to conventional whole-word instruction. We discuss the alignment between our findings and the Unified Computational Model and its implications for word instruction across languages.