How does the dual-focus approach enhance learning Chinese characters

The dual-focus approach enhances learning Chinese characters by addressing both the character-level and word-level aspects of the Chinese writing system. This method, rooted in the Character-Word Dual Function model, contrasts with traditional whole-word instruction by emphasizing the systematic structure of Chinese characters and their role in forming words. Here’s how this approach improves learning:

1. Character Pronunciation and Systematic Understanding:

   • The dual-focus approach teaches characters for their pronunciation and words for their meaning. This allows learners to better understand the subword components (characters) and their systematic relationships within the writing system.
   • Research shows that this method significantly improves learners’ ability to pronounce individual characters and transfer this knowledge to new word learning, compared to traditional methods focusing solely on whole-word instruction ^{1, 3}.

2. Enhanced Transfer Learning:

   • By focusing on characters as building blocks, students can more effectively generalize their knowledge when encountering new words. This is particularly important in Chinese, where characters often combine to form multiple words with varying meanings ^{1, 3}.

3. Alignment with Cognitive Models:

   • The dual-focus approach aligns with cognitive theories like the Unified Computational Model, which emphasizes the importance of understanding both subword and word-level mappings for efficient reading and language acquisition. This alignment underscores its theoretical soundness and practical effectiveness ³.

4. Addressing Challenges of Chinese as a Second Language (L2):

   • For learners from alphabetic language backgrounds, the morpho-syllabic structure of Chinese characters can be challenging. The dual-focus approach mitigates these challenges by systematically teaching how characters contribute to word formation, making the learning process more intuitive and structured ^{1, 7}.

Overall, the dual-focus approach provides a comprehensive framework that not only enhances character recognition and pronunciation but also facilitates deeper engagement with the structural intricacies of the Chinese language, leading to more effective learning outcomes.

References

• Acquiring the structure of a writing system is important in learning to read: a test of the character-word dual-focus approach in learning Chinese as a second language

• Developmental dynamics in oral fluency and learner motivation: A dual‐focus approach

• Learning Chinese as a Second Language: Implications of the Character-Word Dual Function Model

• A segmentation-combination data augmentation strategy and dual attention mechanism for accurate Chinese herbal medicine microscopic identification

• Dual Learning of the Generator and Recognizer for Chinese Characters

• MusicMamba: A Dual-Feature Modeling Approach for Generating Chinese Traditional Music with Modal Precision

• Designing a Digital Game for Chinese Character Learning: A Theory-Driven Practice Approach

• Bring the Dual Focus on both Language and Content into ESP Courses through Teacher Collaboration