Learning To Write Chinese Characters Among Non-Native Chinese Learners

Ting Hie-Ling
Academy of Language Studies,
Universiti Teknologi MARA (Sarawak), 96000 Mukah, Sarawak.
tinghieling@gmail.com

Ch’ng Looi-Chin
Academy of Language Studies,
Universiti Teknologi MARA (Sarawak), 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak.
looichinchng@gmail.com

Norseha Unin
Academy of Language Studies,
Universiti Teknologi MARA (Sarawak), 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak.
uninnors@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Learning to write Chinese characters is often challenging for non-native Chinese learners
mainly because the writing system is completely different from the alphabetical system.
Traditionally, rote learning is commonly used in the teaching and learning of Chinese characters
but it is often considered as laborious. Studies indicate mobile applications (MAs) can facilitate
the learning process better (Shinagawa, 2012; Wong et al, 2010) especially for non-native Chinese
learners. This study is designed to compare the use of both learning methods to promote the
correct order of writing Chinese characters. A hundred Level 2 Mandarin undergraduates
participated in this study. They were given a Pre-Test before they were divided equally into
Treatment group (TG) and Control group (CG). The CG used traditional method of rote learning to
practice writing, while TG used three differrent MAs to practice for three weeks. Later, all of them
were required to complete a Post-Test. The scores for pre-test and post-test were analyzed and
compared. The results suggest that traditional and MA method give significant and positive
impacts on the improvement of writing order. Futher studies are needed to seek participants’
preferences in learning writing order as a way to cater for their personal needs in writing chinese
characters.

Key Words: Chinese character writing order, non-Chinese learners, mobile applications, traditional
learning

INTRODUCTION

The interest of people in learning Mandarin language has increased since the blooming of
China’s economy and its modernization. Similarly, in Malaysia, the interest in learning Mandarin as a
foreign language among the non-native Chinese learners is also growing especially at tertiary level
(Tan, Hairul, Hoe & Ho, 2016). It is mainly due to the tight diplomatic and economic relationship
between Malaysia and China since 1976. Many public universities in Malaysia offer Mandarin
language courses for non-Chinese learners. At University Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Mandarin
language courses are offered to students in both the diploma and degree programs. These
students are mainly non-Chinese students. The number of students enrolled in Mandarin language
courses is increasing each year. However, the increase in number of students is not reflected in the
rate of achievement among these students.

1 | Page E-Proceeding LEC 2019 Full Paper

 Malaysia government is currently planning to improve the education system that includes
Mandarin in the syllabus (Nadia Majid, 2017). The then Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin
Yassin who was also the Education Minister said that Mandarin is a highly recognised language in
Malaysia and Mandarin is taught not only as a foreign language but rather as a mother tongue.
Those who are not of Chinese descent are also encouraged to learn Mandarin (Nadia Majid,
2017).Thus, the urgency to conduct more research on the effective teaching and learning methods
is deemed as necessary to provide more alternative strategies or to improve the students’ mastery
of the language.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Non-native Chinese learners usually face difficulties in learning Chinese language because
they do not have a supportive learning backgroud for them to use the language (Goh Ying Soon,
2016). Moreover, the writing system for Chinese characters is totally different from the alphebatical
writing system of the learners’ first language, either English or Malay, which may contribute to a
slow progress in their learning.

Rote learning has been traditionally a method of teaching and learning Chinese characters
since thousand of years ago. Learners are used to copying and memorizing the characters (Goh,
2016). While some researchers found that this traditional technique was perceived as most
effective by learners to write the characters in the correct order (Wang, 1998; Yin, 2003), other
scholars (Shinagawa, 2012; Wong et. al., 2010; Chung, 2013) argued that learners may learn
Chinese language best with the assistance of modern tecnologies. For instance, Shinagawa (2012)
described how mobile apps helped learners to pick up non-western characters. Wong et al (2010)
illustrated how learners are able to engage themselves with Chinese Idioms in collaborative
activities with the use of mobile apps. Chung (2013) also claimed that students are more motivated
to practice the basic strokes of the writing order using iPad because it allows the integration of
learning Chinese into the students’ daily lives. However, research on the use of mobile apps for
writing Chinese characters in the correct order is rather scarce. Therefore, this research is timely
essential to explore the impact of both, mobile applications and traditional learning methods for
the learning of the basic strokes of writing Chinese characters among non-native Chinese learners.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Traditional Method for teaching and learning of Chinese characters

Each Chinese character has its phoneme and each phoneme carries a different meaning.
Hence, Chinese character is considered as one of the toughest language to be learned especially
among non-native Chinese learners (Goh Ying Soon, 2016). Most of the time, it can be very
demotivating for students to learn Mandarin due to the difficulty of recognizing, reading and
writing the Chinese characters. Xie (2000) mentioned that “Learning Chinese character is difficult
because there are too many difficult characters to remember, too many difficult strokes to write,
and too many difficult phonemes to read”. These difficulties led to slow learning process in reading
and writing. They might need to spend more time to recognize, to read and to write Chinese
characters. Traditionally, the Chinese instructions are mainly based on Liu Shu (six writing) Approach
and Semantic Approach. Additionally, students are often introduced to the high and frequently
used characters, as well as, they are often advised to practice repetitively on characters to
promote character recognition and memorization. Despite the highly rigorous effort, students do
not necessarily perform well in their writing of Chinese characters.

2 | Page E-Proceeding LEC 2019 Full Paper

Traditional Chinese characters learning strategies

Many studies have been carried out to investigate learners’ Chinese character learning
strategies. Rote learning is perceived as the most powerful method to learn Chinese characters by
the participants in many research.

McGinnis (1995) is the first to conduct the research on Chinese character learning strategies
among the novice learners (JiangXin & ZhaoGuo, 2001). In the study, 29 students’ self-reported their
characters learning strategies used during a five-week summer immersion programme. The result
indicated that the frequently used strategy in the programme was copying repetitively.
Wang’s (1998) and Yin’s (2003) surveys on the Chinese characters strategies also found the
similar result as McGinnis (1995) in which rote repetition was the most frequently and preferred
strategies used by the learners.

In addition, Shen (2005) synthesized others’ research (Taft & Zhu, 1995; Craik & Tulving, 1975;
Stein & Bransford, 1979; Taft & Chung, 1999; Shen ,2000;Cohen, 1998) and summarized that “rote
memorization, graphic cues, context cues, and knowledge of radicals are all used in learning
characters” (as cited in Jing Wang & Robert B. Harris, 2016).

Some researchers took a further step to investigate the effectiveness of the chosen or
preferable Chinese characters learning strategies among learners. For example, Ke’s (1998) studied
the influence of language background on the impact of Chinese character learning among first-
year non-native Chinese learners who have just completed a one year of study in Chinese
language course. The findings revealed that the use of paying attention on characters component
(radicals, characters stroke sequences), repeat copying, and pay attention on the graphic
structure and semantic of the characters are the effective strategies for Chinese character learning
perceived by the majority of participants.

Wang & Leland (2011) studied the novice learners’ perceptions of character learning
strategies also supported Ke’s (1998) studies in that the knowing orthographic features (radicals &
rules of characters) helped them to acquire Chinese characters learning.

Furthermore, Sung (2012) conducted a study to investigate the relationship between most
frequently used strategies, factor underlying the use of these strategies used and students’ Chinese
characters performance. 95 students from beginners through advanced learners participated in
this study. The study reported orthographic-knowledge-based strategies are the most heavily used
and accounted 6.8% for learners’ character learning performance. In 2004, Sung replicated the
study among 88 first-year Chinese learners. This study found that 30.22% of variance accounted by
the participants’ report strategy use, which was higher than the 6.8% found in Sung’s (2012) study.

The studies mentioned above have shown that learners tend to rely on the mechanical
copying and mindless memorization of characters at the beginning stage of Chinese characters
learning while they tend to focus on orthographic-based strategy after they have learned Chinese
characters for several weeks. However, repeat copying characters does not seem effective in
students’ Chinese characters learning (ZhaoGuo & JiangXin, 2002).

Mobile learning assisted language learning (MALL)

Technology is useful for creating new ways of learning and teaching (Bertini & Kimani, 2003).
Technological advancement is leading to the development of an increasing number of computer-
based devices and software applications that might be used in teaching and learning Mandarin as
Foreign language (MFL).

3 | Page E-Proceeding LEC 2019 Full Paper

 The 2016 NMC Horizon Report describe annual findings from on-going NMC Horizon
research project which designed to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have an
impact on learning, teaching and creative inquiry in education. One of the latest learning trends
mentioned in the 2016 NMC Horizon Report is bringing your own device (BYOD), i.e., students
bringing their own laptops, tablets, or smartphones to classroom (as cited in Chuang, 2016).
According NMC Horizon report, at least 42% of colleges and universities in the US had implemented
BYOD strategy since 2014. The use of learning media in Language learning produce a more
effective learning and improving the quality of learning. Hence, encouraging the use of mobile
devices in teaching and learning activities has crystalized in recent years.

Mobile assisted language learning (MALL) enhances student’s acquisition of skills and
content knowledge while providing them the benefits to learn the targeted language at anywhere
and anytime. Such learning compensates busy people who lack of time to further their language
learning in conventional classroom-based courses. Martin & Ertzberger (2013) reported that
students with the assisting of mobile learning showed significant improvement in the attitude survey
and post-test result. Others studies (Chang & Hsu, 2011; Kim & Kwon, 2012; Rahimi & Miri, 2014;
Soleimani & Mustaffa, 2014) also suggested that students in the MALL group demonstrated higher
achievement and motivation (as cited in Chuang, 2016).

Research done by Shinagawa (2012) provided a clue that MA might be useful to develop
learners’ character writing and improve their writing order as the research indicated that MA
assisted learners to pick up non-western characters. Besides that, Wong et al (2010) described that
MA encourages the engagement of the learners with Chinese Idiom in collaborative activities.
Chung (2013) cocluded that learners are more keen to practice basic stroke order using iPad and
iPad promoted the integration of learning Chinese into students’ daily lives.

With the significant increase usage of mobile assisted language learning applications, there
are more than 40 Mandarin language learning applications have been developed and make
available in iOS or Android system at the moment (Chuang, 2016). These Mandarin learning
applications can be categorized as dictionary, flashcard, Chinese alphabet (pinyin), game and
Chinese characters. Meanwhile, more than 20 Chinese character learning applications are
currently available in Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Nonetheless, what kind of
application features meet learners’ needs and why the integration of these features into their
Chinese characters learning are the important issues to be addressed. Thus, attention from the
Mandarin language instructor as well as the app developers to design a mobile application of
Chinese characters are needed as to substantially provide positive impacts in Chinese characters
learning.

METHODOLOGY

Selection of participants

All undergraduates who enroll to TMC151 Foundation Mandarin (Level 2) will be taken in as
the participant of the study. They are approximately 100 of them. They will be divided into 2 groups
equally, about 50 participants in each respective groups – control group (CG) and treatment
group (TG).

Selection of existing mobile applications

The selection of existing mobile application is based on the first top 3 ranked mobile
application available in both Google Playstore, which cater for Andriod mobile phone user and
Apple App Store, which cater for I-Phone series users. Since the top 3 MAs in both Google Playstore
and Apple App Store are the same, thus, 3 MAs would be chosen for TG in this study. Existing

4 | Page E-Proceeding LEC 2019 Full Paper

 mobile application for Chinese characters writing order learning or practice as shown below:

Name Rankings Downloads

No
1 Chinese Skill-Learn Chinese 4.8 1 million
2 Chinese Writer 4.2 100 thousands
3 Learn Chinese (Mandarin) Free 4.0 100 thousands

Pre-test

Complete 20 items of character writing test.

All participants are required to show the step-by-
step writing for each item when they write.

Participants are divided equally to 2 groups.

Control Group (CG) Treatment Group (TG)

Practice writing Practice writing using

conventionally using predetermined top 3
exercise book for 3 ranked mobile apps for 3
weeks weeks

Post-test

Both groups needed to complete 20 items of

character writing test as in Pre-test.

Figure 1 Data collection framework

Pre-Test

All participants are required to complete a character writing test. 20 Mandarin characters
from the vocabulary list of Level 1 and 2 are ramdomly selected as the test items for the pre-test. In
this test, they are instructed to write the items in the form of a series of sequence or steps (example
refers to Appendix 3) as to allow the reserchers to identify their problems or errors of their order in
character writing.

5 | Page E-Proceeding LEC 2019 Full Paper

Control group (CG)

50 participants in this group are asked to practice character writing in a usual and traditional
way (rote learning method), in which, they need to do their character writing practice routine using
the writing exercise book (example refer to Appendix 4) pre-determined by the course for 3 weeks.

Treatment group (TG)

Another 50 participants are asked to use top 3 ranked mobile applications pre-determined
by the study to do their character writing practice routine for 3 weeks.

Post-Test

A Post-test will be completed by both CG and TG participants. The test instructions and test
items are exactly the same as in Pre-test. The test scores of both pre-and post tests will be analysed
and compared.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The results of the study are reported and discussed according to the objectives of the study.

The impact of Mobile Applications on learning to write Chinese characters in correct order

The first objective of this study is to determine the impact of mobile application on learning to
write Chinese characters in the correct order. Figure 1 illustrates the performance of learners from
the treatment group. These are learners who learnt character writing from the selected mobile
apps. The results indicate that the use of mobile apps there is an increase in the number of learners
who passed the post-test (n=40) compared to the pre-test (n=28). In comparison, the number of
failures in the post-test is lower (n=8) when compared to the pre-test (n=20). From the above results,
it can be inferred that the use of mobile apps has positively influenced their learning of character
writing. Accordingly, the treatment has successfully reduced the failure rate in the post-test. The
result of this study shows that mobile apps provide added-value in helping learners to write Chinese
characters in the correct sequences. The finding is consistent with existing literature that supports
the integration of mobile phones in and out of the classroom to enhance students’ learning and
academic performance (Ng, Luk & Lam, 2016). Ng, Luk and Lam (2016) found that there is a
positive relationship between social mobile application usage and academic performance. To
address objective 1, this study shows a positive impact of mobile applications on learning to write
Chinese characters in the correct order. In other words, the use of mobile applications improved
and enhanced the learners’ performance in the post-test.

6 | Page E-Proceeding LEC 2019 Full Paper

 Figure 2 Performance of treatment group in pre and post-test

The impact of traditional method on learning to write Chinese characters in the correct order

Second objective of this study is to investigate the impact of traditional method on learning
to write Chinese characters in the correct order. Figure 2 demonstrates the achievement of Control
group who learnt character writing via traditional classroom instructions. The figure shows that there
is an increase in the number of learners who passed the post-test. The results indicate that
traditional classroom teaching has improved the number of passes in the post-test (n=35) as
compared to the pre-test (n=25). The results also indicate that the traditional classroom teaching
has reduced the number of failures in the control group. The learners in the Control Group utilized
the traditional Chinese characters learning strategies that resemble rote learning. The students
practice writing the Chinese characters stroke orders by copying repetitively. The result also shows
a positive outcome on the use of traditional learning strategies to improve or enhance strokes order
of Chinese characters. This finding is aligned with McGinnis’s (1995) and Ke’s (1998) study which
revealed that repeat copying is perceived as effective strategies for Chinese character learning.
For objective 2, the findings from the control group also shows a positive impact of traditional
method on learning to write Chinese characters in the correct order.

7 | Page E-Proceeding LEC 2019 Full Paper

 40

35

30

25

20 Pass
Fail
15

10

0
Pre Test Post Test

Figure 3 Performance of Control group in pre and post-test

The comparison of performances for both mobile applications and traditional method on learning
to write Chinese characters in the correct order

Objective three is to compare the pre-test and post-test results for both traditional and
mobile app in the learning of Chinese character writing. Figure 3 shows the comparison of
performances for both the control and treatment groups in learning Chinese character writing. In
general, the instructions received by the learners in both groups are effective as shown by an
increase in the number of passes in both post-tests. The post-tests for both the control and
treatment groups also indicate a reduction in the number of failures.

Although, there is a general sense that both the traditional and mobile apps learning
produced positive results in the post-test, Figure 3 shows that the increase in the number of passes
for the treatment group is higher i.e. pre (n=28) and post-test (n=40) than the control group i.e. pre-
test (n=25) and post-test (n=35). Also the number of students who failed in both post-tests is lower
for treatment group i.e. pre (n=20) and post-test (n=8) than the control group i.e. pre (n=23) and
post-test (n=13). The results show that the numbers of students who failed in both tests are lesser in
treatment group than in control group.

The figure demonstrates that the improvement in Treatment group is approximately 25% and
20.8% for the Control group. Thus, the difference in passing rate is only 4.2 %. The results for
comparison of Treatment and Control Group show a minimal difference in improvement for the
passing rate. While mobile apps have been linked to improved performance, the effectiveness of
teaching method in the treatment group does not significantly boost their learning to write Chinese
characters in the correct order.
The results for comparison of both TG and CG are somehow consistent with Chang and Hsu
(2011), Kim and Kwon (2012), Rahimi and Miri (2014), and Soleimani and Mustaffa (2014) who
suggested that students in the MALL group demonstrated higher achievement and motivation (as

8 | Page E-Proceeding LEC 2019 Full Paper

cited in Chuang, 2016). Moreover, Shinagawa (2012) also argued that MA can be useful in
developing the learners’ writing of Chinese character and improve their writing order. However, the
difference in passing rate for both the treatment and control group in this study shows ony a small
improvement of 4.2%. The small difference in the passing rate suggests that the traditional learning
strategies are equally important in the learning of Chinese characters stroke order among some
non-Chinese students.

Figure 4 Comparison of performance for both control group and treatment group in their pre and
post-tests

CONCLUSION

Overall, the results of the study reveal positive impacts in the improvement of the
participants’ writing order either using traditional method or mobile apps. However, the
improvement rate of participants who used traditional method is 25%, which is slightly higher than
those who used mobile apps, 20.8%. Though the differences of improvement rate between these
two methods is not huge, it is only 4.2 % but it is significant enough to tell which method might
provide a better outcome. In comparison, traditional method is laborious and less effective
(ZhaoGuo & JiangXin (2002) and a repetitive process for an educator whenever a new set of words
is introduced to the students. Practically, since the set of vocabulary is fixed for each learning level,
and mobile apps has shown to provide more motivation and improvement (Chang and Hsu (2011),
Kim and Kwon (2012), Rahimi and Miri (2014), Soleimani and Mustaffa (2014) & Shinagawa (2012) ).
Therefore, more mobile apps that suit the learning level of the learners need to be produced. When
students use mobile apps for self-learning time, more time in the classrooms can be spent on other
teaching components, such as to improve learners’ comprehension, accuracy and mastery of the
target language. Future studies can also seek to explore personal preferences of learning methods
for writing orders as a way forward to cater for the individual needs of each learner.

9 | Page E-Proceeding LEC 2019 Full Paper

REFERENCES

Azjen, I. (1988). Attitudes, personality and behaviours. New York: Springer.

Chang, C. K., & Hsu, C. K. (2011). A mobile-assisted synchronously collaborative translation

annotation system for English as a foreign language (EFL) reading comprehension.
Computer Assisted Language Learning, 24(2), 155-180.
Chuang, H. Y. (2016). Mobile Assisted language learning apps for the Chinese classroom. Journal of
Technology and Chinese Language Teaching, 7(2), 113-119.

Chung, C. (2013, May). Integrating iPads into intensive university level Mandarin Chinese courses.
Paper presented at calico conference: Navigating the Complexities of Language Learning
in the Digital Age, Manoa, Hawaii.

Goh, Y.S. (2016). Empirical Study on the use of Pleco for improving Chinese character instruction:
The perception of non-native Learners of Chinese. E-Academia Journal UiTM, 5(2), 23-31.

Helen H. Shen. (2005). An investigation of Chinese character learning strategies among non-native
learners of Chinese, System,33, 49-68.

Ke, C. (1998). Effects of language background on the learning of Chinese characters among
foreign language students. Foreign Language Annals, 31(1), 91-102.

Kim, H., & Kwon, Y. (2012). Exploring smartphone applications for effective mobile assisted
language learning. Multimedia-Assisted Language Learning, 15(1), 31- 57.

Martin, F., & Ertzberger, J. (2013). Here and now mobile learning: An experimental study on the use
of mobile technology. Computer & Education, 68, 76-85.

McGinnis, S. (1995). Students’’ goals and approaches. In M. Chu. (Ed.) Mapping the course of
Chinese language field: Chinese Language Teachers Association Monograph Series, Vol.
III (pp.151-168). Kalamazoo, MI: Chinese Language Teachers Association.

Nadia Majid. (2017). The future of China-Malaysia trading relationship. Chinadaily.com.cn.

Ng, K. K., Luk, C. H., & Lam, W. M. (2016). The Impact of social mobile application on students’
leraning interest and academic performance in Hong Kong’s sub-degree education. 2016
international Syamposium on Education Technology.

Rahimi, M., & Miri, S. S. (2014). The impact of mobile dictionary use on language learning. Procedia-
Social and Behavioral Sciences, 98, 1469-1474.

Shinagawa, S. (2012). Adapting the iPhone for Language Teaching and Learning. In F. Zhang (Ed.),
Computer-enhanced and mobile-assisted language learning: Emerging issues and trends
(pp. 188–201). Hershey, pa: igi Global.

Soleimani, E., Ismail, K., & Mustaffa, R. (2014). The acceptance of mobile assisted language learning
(MALL) among post graduate ESL students in UKM. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 118, 457-462

Sung, K. (2014). Novice Learners’ Chinese character learning strategies and performance.
Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 11(1), 38-51.
10 | Page E-Proceeding LEC 2019 Full Paper
Sung, K. (2012). A study on Chinese-character learning strategies and character learning
performance among Ameican learners of Chinese. Chinese as a Second Language
Research, 1(2), 193-210.

Tan, T. G., Hairul Nizam Ismail, Foo, T. H., & Ho, C. C. (2015). The motivation of undergraduates
learning Mandarin as a foreign language. Academia Journal UiTMT, 4(1), 1-16.

Wang, D., & Kirkpatrick, A. (2012). Code choice in the Chinese as a foreign language classroom.
Multilingual Education, 2 (1). Retrieved from
http://www.multilingualeducation.com/content/2/1/3

Wang, J., & Christine H. Leland. (2011). Beginning students’ perceptions of effective activities for
Chinese character recognition. Reading in a Foreign Language, 23(2), 208-224.

Wang, J., & Robert B. Harris. (2016). Effective learning strategies for the recognition of characters
and words by learners of Chinese with varying proficiency in different learning
environments. Journal of National Council of Less Commonly Taught Language, 20, 73-106.

Wang, S. C. (1998). A study on the learning and teaching of Hanzi-Chinese characters. Working
papers in Educational Linguistics (WPEL), 14(1), 69-101.

Yin, J. (2003). Methods used by American college students in memorizing Chinese characters.
Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, 38(3), 69–90

江新,& 赵果. (2001). 初级阶段外国留学生汉字学习策略的调查研究 [A Survey on the Strategies for

Learning Chinese characters among CSL Beginners]. 语言教学与研究,(4), 10-17.

康英华. (2014). 初级阶段留学生汉字学习策略研究 [ A study on the Chinese characters Learning

Strategies] . 赤峰学院学报（汉文哲学社会科学版）, 35(5), 163-164.

柳 燕 梅 ， & 江 新 . (2003). 欧 美 学 生 汉 字 学 习 方 法 的 实 验 研 究 — 回 忆 默 写 法 与 重 复 抄 写 法 的 比 较 [ An
experimental study on the methods of Chinese character learning by European and
American learners]. 世界汉语教学, (1), 59-67.

赵果，&江新. (2002). 什么样的汉字学习策略最有效？：对基础阶段留学生的一次调查研究 [ What is the

Most Effective strategy for Learning Chinese characters: A survey Among CSL Beginners]. 语
言文字运用, (2), 79-85.

11 | Page E-Proceeding LEC 2019 Full Paper