Tackling the Kanji Hurdle: An investigation of kanji order and its role in facilitating the kanji learning process by Simon Regin Paxton B.A. Asian Studies (University of Queensland) M.A. Japanese and Asian Studies (Saitama University) A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of International Studies Macquarie University April 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. v STATEMENT OF CANDIDATE ................................................................................................ vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... ix PAPERS PUBLISHED WHILE PREPARING THIS THESIS .................................................... xi LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF FIGURES..................................................................................................................... xv DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................... xvii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Statement of the problem ............................................................................................... 1 1.2 Aim of the study ............................................................................................................ 3 1.3 Significance of the study ................................................................................................ 4 1.4 Overview of the study .................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Conventions used in this thesis ...................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND ................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 The origins and history of the Japanese writing system .............................................. 10 2.2.1 Origins of the writing system ................................................................................11 2.2.2 History and development ..................................................................................... 12 2.2.3 The impact of technology on the Japanese writing system .................................. 13 2.3 The Japanese writing scripts ........................................................................................ 14 2.3.1 Kanji ..................................................................................................................... 17 2.3.2 Kana ..................................................................................................................... 23 2.3.3 Rōmaji .................................................................................................................. 25 2.4 The difficulty of learning kanji .................................................................................... 26 2.4.1 The number of kanji ............................................................................................. 27 2.4.2 Multiple readings for each kanji ........................................................................... 28 2.4.3 Large number of homonyms ................................................................................ 28 2.4.4 Kanji typology ...................................................................................................... 29 2.4.5 Challenges for JFL learners .................................................................................. 30 2.5 The importance of learning kanji ................................................................................. 31 2.6 Teaching and learning kanji ......................................................................................... 35 2.6.1 Kanji education in Japan ...................................................................................... 35 2.6.2 Kanji education abroad ......................................................................................... 37 2.6.3 Kanji and Japanese language tests ....................................................................... 39 2.7 Kanji ordering strategies .............................................................................................. 46 i 2.7.1 Pictographs/etymological-based instruction ......................................................... 46 2.7.2 Component-based criteria ..................................................................................... 48 2.7.3 Frequency-based order ......................................................................................... 52 2.7.4 Form-based order .................................................................................................. 55 2.7.5 Context-based order .............................................................................................. 57 2.7.6 Overview of kanji orders ...................................................................................... 57 2.8 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................... 61 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 61 3.2 Second language acquisition ........................................................................................ 62 3.2.1 Non-kanji background learners ............................................................................ 62 3.2.2 Kanji processing ................................................................................................... 63 3.3 Cognitive theory ........................................................................................................... 71 3.3.1 Short and long term memory – the dual storage approach ................................... 71 3.3.2 Level of processing ............................................................................................... 72 3.3.3 Meaningfulness..................................................................................................... 73 3.3.4 Component analysis .............................................................................................. 73 3.3.5 Encoding ............................................................................................................... 74 3.3.6 Organisation and recall ......................................................................................... 74 3.3.7 Elaboration/Association ....................................................................................... 75 3.4 Kanji learning strategies ............................................................................................... 77 3.4.1 Rote learning ........................................................................................................ 77 3.4.2 Mnemonics ........................................................................................................... 78 3.4.3 Contextual............................................................................................................. 80 3.5 Self-study kanji textbooks ............................................................................................ 80 3.6 Methodological framework of the study ...................................................................... 89 3.6.1 Research questions ............................................................................................... 89 3.6.2 Overview of research procedures ......................................................................... 90 3.6.3 Ethical considerations ........................................................................................... 92 3.7 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 93 CHAPTER 4: TEXTBOOK ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 95 4.1 Introduction to Stage 1 of the research......................................................................... 95 4.2 Analysis of Japanese Language textbooks ................................................................... 97 4.2.1 Materials ............................................................................................................... 97 4.2.2 Procedures .......................................................................................................... 103 4.2.3 Analysis .............................................................................................................. 104 4.2.4 Results ................................................................................................................ 106 4.2.5 Discussion of findings ........................................................................................ 123 ii 4.3 Research question 1: .................................................................................................