Abstract
Learning Chinese characters is a challenge for most English-speaking students. Considering both the learning objective and the learners’ ability, we developed the multiple teaching strategies to make learning Chinese characters more enjoyable. Based on the analysis of 947 Chinese characters without phonetic clues, we have devised some relevant teaching strategies in learning different types of Chinese characters and found that the single-component Chinese characters are best learned through the graphic method while the component-based teaching strategy is effective for teaching structural awareness, meaning, and radical position.
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Notes
- 1.
947 Chinese characters are classified as the phonetically clueless, and this result is based on the agreement of four researchers who annotated the most frequently 1500 Chinese characters and divided them into characters with or without the component-supported phonetical clue.
- 2.
Liu Shu ‘six writings’ is the title to stand for six categories of Chinese characters, pictogram, ideogram, combined ideogram, phono-semantic compound, transfer, and phonetic loan. This classification was first described by the scholar Xu Shen in the postface of his dictionary Shuowen Jiezi in 100 AD to explain the structure of Chinese characters and the radicals representing the principle of Chinese character formation.
- 3.
The animation of 36 Chinese Characters is created by the animation director, A Da, in 1983.
- 4.
The Chinese Character is one of the video series for promoting Chinese culture, which was directed by Dong Yuhui in 2011 and later became well-known after being played in New York Times Square.
- 5.
The picture book is created by the company, 小象汉字 ‘Xiaoxiang Hanzi’, along with relevant 120 flash cards and an animated cartoon.
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Appendix
Appendix
Radical | Characters |
---|---|
口 | 只, 后, 名, 句, 哥, 各, 周, 号, 商, 善, 哭, 嘴, 同, 员, 合, 向, 喜, 品, 告, 司, 命, 古, 台, 器, 吉, 叫, 右, 叶, 君, 呆, 启, 哇, 喊, 含, 唐, 吹, 咖, 唉, 呈, 叹, |
木 | 果, 李, 朵, 某, 条, 杀, 杰, 梁, 林, 检, 梦, 树, 森, 标, 查, 杨, 权, 楚, 杂, 棒, 柔, 染, 概, |
土 | 在, 塞, 场, 坚, 块, 培, 地, 坐, 坡, 环, 坏, 圣, 墙, 填, 埃, 塑, 域, 坛, |
月 | 有, 朋, 能, 脚, 脑, 服, 肯, 朝, 肥, 胡, 股, 脱, 胖, |
日 | 是, 普, 易, 旦, 旧, 明, 早, 时, 星, 春, 暴, 显, 暗, |
贝 | 赛, 质, 责, 贵, 赢, 负, 赞, 贴, 赚, 赖, 赌, 贤, |
心 | 思, 念, 急, 恩, 意, 感, 总, 惠, 悉, 恶, 患, 恋, |
女 | 姓, 好, 如, 她, 始, 委, 妻, 妇, 威, 娱, 娃, |
人 | 以, 会, 介, 今, 金, 令, 从, 余, 众, |
竹 | 第, 算, 策, 签, 等, 答, 筑, 籍, 篮, |
八 | 公, 共, 美, 兴, 六, 具, 兵, 典, |
大 | 天, 奥, 奇, 套, 夺, 奖, 奏, 奋, |
门 | 闻, 间, 闹, 闪, 闲, 闭, 阅, |
又 | 发, 叔, 反, 受, 取, 双, 变, |
力 | 劳, 加, 动, 助, 务, 劝, 勤, |
车 | 轻, 辑, 输, 辉, 软, 载, |
目 | 看, 真, 直, 着, 相, 眼, |
厂 | 压, 原, 厚, 厨, 厉, 厌, |
十 | 单, 克, 南, 千, 博, 协, |
子 | 学, 季, 存, 孙, 孔, |
立 | 竟, 竞, 章, 童, 端, |
田 | 画, 番, 留, 男, 略, |
工 | 项, 差, 巧, 左, |
火 | 烦, 灵, 灰, 灾, |
雨 | 需, 雪, 雷, 霞, |
一 | 表, 丽, 丝, 严, |
王 | 珍, 班, 瑞, |
虫 | 虽, 蛋, 蛇, |
干 | 年, 并, 幸, |
手 | 拜, 拿, 拳, |
方 | 族, 施, 旅, |
儿 | 光, 先, 兄, |
米 | 类, 粗, |
小 | 尚, 尝, |
几 | 凭, 凯, |
止 | 步, 武, |
鸟 | 鸡, 鸣, |
户 | 所, 扇, |
甘 | 甚, 甜, |
二 | 井, 些, |
示 | 票, 禁, |
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Cui, J., Goh, H.H., Zhao, C., Soh, K.C. (2018). Effective Ways in Teaching Chinese Characters Without Phonetic Clues. In: Soh, K. (eds) Teaching Chinese Language in Singapore. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8860-5_8
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