Acquisition of Chinese characters: the effects of character properties and individual differences among second language learners.
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2015-01
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Abstract
In light of the dramatic growth of Chinese learners worldwide and a need for cross-linguistic research on Chinese literacy development, this study drew upon theories of visual complexity effect (Su and Samuels, 2010) and dual-coding processing (Sadoski and Paivio, 2013) and investigated (a) the effects of character properties (i.e., visual complexity and radical presence) on character acquisition and (b) the relationship between individual learner differences in radical awareness and character acquisition. Participants included adolescent English-speaking beginning learners of Chinese in the U.S. Following Kuo et al. (2014), a novel character acquisition task was used to investigate the process of acquiring the meaning of new characters. Results showed that (a) characters with radicals and with less visual complexity were easier to acquire than characters without radicals and with greater visual complexity; and (b) individual differences in radical awareness were associated with the acquisition of all types of characters, but the association was more pronounced with the acquisition of characters with radicals. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings were discussed.
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Kuo, Li-Jen, Tae-Jin Kim, Xinyuan Yang, Huiwen Li, Yan Liu, Haixia Wang, Jeong Hyun Park, Ying Li, et al. (2015). Acquisition of Chinese characters: the effects of character properties and individual differences among second language learners. Frontiers in psychology, 6. p. 986. 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00986 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/31489.
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Yan Liu
Dr. Yan Liu is an Associate Professor of the Practice in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES) and Linguistics, and Director of the Chinese Language Program at Duke University. She earned her Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition from Carnegie Mellon University and joined Duke in 2013. Dr. Liu served as a board member of the Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA) from 2022-2025, and is currently Vice Chair of the Cultures & Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) Consortium.
In recent years, Dr. Liu has focused on Chinese curriculum design, pedagogy innovation, and teaching material development. She created "Chinese Translation and Interpretation" (CHINESE 332) for third-year Chinese heritage students, as well as two interdisciplinary courses for Chinese international students and advanced-level students: Understanding China and the U.S.: Stereotypes, Conflicts, and Common Challenges (CHINESE 450S) and China and the U.S. in the Age of Climate Change" (CHINESE 451S). She has also developed and taught CLAC (Curriculum across Languages and Cultures) courses in Mandarin, including Voices in Global Health: Mandarin Tutorial (GLHLTH 270T/AMES 270T), Voices in the Environment: Mandarin Tutorial (ENVIRON 269T-3/CHINESE 269T), and Voices in Public Policy: Mandarin Tutorial (PUBPOL 273T-3/CHINESE 273T). In 2022, she offered Chinese Sociolinguistics, cross-listed in AMES and linguistics. Her teaching integrates community-based learning, service-learning, visual arts, games, fake-news analysis, and culturally responsive teaching approaches to foster students' learning and provide an equitable learning environment. For her contributions, Dr. Liu received Duke's "Betsy Alden Outstanding Service-Learning Award" in 2020 and ACTFL’s Klett Award for Sustainable Development Education in the World Language Classroom in 2025.
Dr. Liu’s research centers on teaching and learning Chinese as a second, a foreign language, or a heritage language. Her work addresses L2 reading, heritage language writing, assessment, pedagogy, and curriculum design. She has published journal articles or book chapters, and presented at major conferences, including theose of the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL), the National Chinese Language Conference (NCLC), the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA), and international symposia on Chinese teaching and learning. She also serves as a reviewer for Routledge, Journal of Chinese as a Second Language, International Journal of Chinese language Teaching, and Studies in Chinese Learning and Teaching.
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