Predictors of Chinese character acquisition as a second language among kindergarteners: A three-wave longitudinal study

Abstract

This three-year longitudinal study investigated Chinese character’s orthographic knowledge development in relation to lexical development among 56 ethnic minority kindergarteners learning Chinese as a second language. The study examined relative contribution of two orthographic knowledge (i.e. component knowledge and radical awareness), and mental lexicon in Chinese character meaning identification over a three-year period, i.e. K1-K3. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that component knowledge at K1 and radical awareness at K2 were significant longitudinal predictors to later character meaning identification at K3, the associations were significant after controlling age and mental lexicon. Both component knowledge and radical awareness were concurrently significant predictors to character meaning identification at K3. The results illustrated that the component knowledge laid foundation for learning Chinese characters, however radical awareness explained the variance in character meaning recognition. The findings supported “learner framework for processing Chinese as a second language”; and further extended the evidence from adults to younger leaners.