Abstract
This research paper has attempted to present the learning performance of Chinese characters for foreign students. Two consecutive experiments were conducted in order to attain our objectives. A number of participants were subjected to a short lecture using two different methods, “learning with mnemonic” and “learning with radical”. This lecture was followed by a test to assess the effectiveness of the learning. Despite the time and resource constraints that could not allow the possibility of having more than two experiments, two preliminary findings could be concluded: Firstly, learning curve of Chinese is positively related to interest. That is, it was showed that interest of learning Chinese as a factor affected the learning rate of Chinese characters among foreign students. Secondly, teaching method was demonstrated to affect the learning rate. For instance, participants performed better in mnemonic class than in radical class. Limitations and future research were discussed in this research.
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References
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Acknowledgement
This study was supported by the National Nature Foundation of China grant 71601011, the social Science Foundation Beijing grant 16YYC040.
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Appendix
Appendix
Appendix A. What are your feelings about Chinese as a language?
No | Questions |
|---|---|
1 | Chinese is a language with a rich vocabulary |
2 | Chinese is a very difficult language |
3 | Chinese is a language where pronunciation is very important |
4 | Chinese is a language with a lot of grammar |
5 | Chinese is a beautiful language |
6 | Chinese is an amazing language to learn |
7 | Chinese is a boring language to learn |
Appendix B. In what situation would Chinese be useful for you.
No | Questions |
|---|---|
1 | Teaching or learning something in school |
2 | Making new friends |
3 | Watching Chinese movies |
4 | Communicating with friends |
5 | Buying something |
6 | Listening to music |
7 | Reading instruction in cosmetic product |
8 | Chatting with foreigner |
9 | Speaking to your lecturer |
10 | Taking Chinese Examination (HSK) |
11 | Continuing study in University |
12 | Job interview |
13 | Receiving email |
14 | Knowing popular idol |
15 | Searching for something on the internet |
16 | Operating computer |
Others | Please Explain: |
Appendix C. Have you ever used the following medium in studying Chinese? If yes, how useful were they?
No | Activities |
|---|---|
1 | Practicing conversation from a book or internet |
2 | Free conversation with native speakers |
3 | Free conversation with other learners of Chinese |
4 | Memorizing Chinese vocabulary lists |
5 | Google Translator/Baidu |
6 | Studying the Chinese Radical |
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Chen, Z., Kunda, C., Oweke, D., Komolafe, B., Badamsereejid, BE., Zou, Z. (2020). Understanding Learning of Chinese Characters for International Students in China. In: Rau, PL. (eds) Cross-Cultural Design. Applications in Health, Learning, Communication, and Creativity. HCII 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12193. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49913-6_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49913-6_21
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