Chinese As A Foreign Language Learners Research Articles

The influence of Chinese character handwriting diagnosis and remedial instruction system on learners of Chinese as a foreign language

This study designed and developed a Chinese character handwriting diagnosis and remedial instruction (CHDRI) system to improve Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) learners’ ability to write Chinese characters. The CFL learners were given two tests based on the CHDRI system. One test focused on Chinese character handwriting to diagnose the CFL learners’ errors in the stroke order and their knowledge of Chinese characters, while the other test focused on the spatial structure of Chinese characters. Sixty-five participants, who had a strong desire to learn Chinese characters, voluntarily participated in this study. The results revealed that the CHDRI system enhanced the CFL learners’ ability to write Chinese characters and to understand the spatial structure of Chinese characters, especially Sinosphere CFL learners. Moreover, it was found that remedial instruction materials not only reduced the amount of time the teacher spent coaching CFL learners in Chinese language learning but also facilitated the teacher's ability to provide feedback to individual learners.

Designing interaction tasks in Second Life for Chinese as a foreign language learners: A preliminary exploration

<p>The aims of this research were to develop guidelines for designing interaction tasks for learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) and to investigate the attitudes of CFL learners toward a full CFL class in Second Life (SL). Three research questions were addressed in this research: (1) what are the attitudes of CFL learners toward the language learning tasks in SL? (2) what kinds of social interactions emerge from learning activities in a CFL class in SL? (3) how do those activities benefit CFL learners in the learning of Chinese in SL? Two studies were conducted to tackle these questions. The cognition, usage, and expansion (CUE) model was proposed based on the findings obtained from study 1 and then implemented and evaluated in study 2. The findings of study 2 indicated that the activities run in the CUE model were effective at motivating CFL beginners and improving their oral communication and social interactions. Based on the video data analysis, three criteria were proposed for designing learning activities. Suggestions are also made for future research on CFL teaching/learning in SL.</p>

Variability in Chinese as a Foreign Language Learners' Development of the Chinese Numeral Classifier System

ABSTRACTThis study examined variability in Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) learners' development of the Chinese numeral classifier system from a dynamic systems approach. Our data consisted of a longitudinal corpus of 657 essays written by CFL learners at lower and higher intermediate levels and a corpus of 100 essays written by native speakers (NSs) of Chinese. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was employed to analyze the fluency, diversity, and accuracy of learners' and NSs' classifier use. Usage by 4 focal learners from the higher immediate level was then closely examined to discover inter‐ and intraindividual variability in learners' development of these dimensions and to reveal the patterns of interaction among these dimensions. Learners exhibited varied, nonlinear developmental paths for all three dimensions, with different degrees of fluctuation and regression for each path. The three dimensions did not always develop in parallel, but interacted with each other in divergent ways. Pedagogically, we advocate for a collocational approach to presenting and teaching classifiers and recommend that tailored assistance be provided to individual learners.

Emerging development of semantic and phonological routes to character decoding in Chinese as a foreign language learners

This study examines the effects of semantic and phonetic radicals on Chinese character decoding by high-intermediate level Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) learners. The results of the study suggest that the CFL learners tested have a well-developed semantic pathway to recognition; however, their phonological pathway is not yet a reliable means of character identification. Semantic radicals that correctly pertain to character meaning facilitated reaction time in semantic categorization tasks, while radicals that had no immediately interpretable relation to character meaning had a strong inhibitory effect. The relative accuracy of phonetic radicals (for predicting the whole-character’s pronunciation) did not measurably improve homonym recognition. In a lexical decision task (Experiment 3), the subjects were significantly slower in identifying pseudo-characters when the phonological component was blurred, indicating that, despite having unreliable phonological pathways to character recognition, the subjects were still using phonological radical analysis as their default recognition strategy; however, the author argues that the radical is likely being used for orthographic disambiguation more than for phonological properties.

The challenges of Chinese: a preliminary study of UK learners' perceptions of difficulty

This study aims to highlight aspects of difficulty encountered by Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) learners and to explore the factors underlying these aspects. Data were gathered through a Chinese Language Learning Difficulty Survey from 164 CFL learners, mostly in British higher education. The survey data provided useful exploratory findings. Factor analysis of 34 aspects of difficulty drew out six major factors: grammar; aural reception; words; oral production; pronunciation; and recall. Further analyses suggested that the variables of proficiency level and learning style interact strongly with some of these factors, but not with others.

Metacognitive beliefs and strategies in learning Chinese as a foreign language

The study investigates the effects of second-year university students’ metacognitive beliefs and strategies on learning Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL). The analysis shows that metacognitive beliefs, which identify students who are confident about their ability to learn a foreign language, are positively associated with students’ CFL achievement results. Successful students are found to have confidence in their abilities. Metacognitive strategies also influence students’ CFL achievement results. Students who show self-regulation by monitoring their progress, persevering at tasks and setting realistic goals are more successful. These are strategies that are essential for learners who wish to assume responsibility for their language learning. The study confirms Shen’s (Shen, H.H., 2005. An investigation of Chinese character learning strategies among non-native speakers of Chinese. System, 33, 49–68) conclusion that students should be encouraged to analyse their own learning processes in order to improve their metacognitive learning strategies, which will reinforce motivational aspects of self-efficacy. The pedagogical implications of the study are that teachers can help students to think about what happens during the CFL learning process and identify effective strategies, leading to improved language learning and higher levels of self-esteem and confidence.