Speakers: Yuanyuan Lin, Dana Reijerkerk Mastery of the Chinese characters could probably be considered as one of the most difficult and strenuous tasks for Chinese language learners. The present research is designed to address how Chinese characters are processed and organized in the cognitive approaches between memory and reasoning. In this session, presenters will share the findings, which divulge how fuzzy-trace theory benefits Chinese character learning and helps students to become more independent and effective language learners. The research also suggests that providing assistance to the students to form traces and visual-spatial analysis of the Chinese characters would significantly increase students’ performance. The research procedure, method, data, and results will be shared during the session. This session has implications for the daily classroom practices of using certain techniques to best acquire vocabulary in a second language.

1. How Trace Theory Affects
Chinese Language Learning
Dana Reijerkerk and Yuanyuan Lin
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Pembroke, NC

2. Activity: Kahoot
For a short survey
https://getkahoot.com

3. Purpose and rationale

4. 照

5. 1. Mastering the Chinese characters is always the most difficult
obstacle for the beginning Chinese learner.
2. By using the method of employing pictographs as memory cues
it should increase the efficiency of learning Chinese characters.
3. Using a physical response based test compared to a standardized
paper and pencil test it will significantly decrease the level of
stress that the participants will be under for this experiment.

6. What is Fuzzy-Trace Theory

7. A fuzzy trace is an imprecise memory representation that is easily accessed and
remembered (Fuzzy trace). Fuzzy Trace Theory postulates that cognitive information lies
on a continuum of precise traces to fuzzy traces (Fuzzy Trace theory)
According to Kuo et al. (2015) the amount of strokes influences the relative easiness
of acquirability; characters with the fewest strokes are stored in one’s working memory,
which has a limited capacity for knowledge. The brain processes visual forms of words a
component at a time thus the larger number of strokes a character has the more strain it
puts on one’s working memory

8. Physical response
Second variable
students hand matched characters and translation together.
TPR Vs. physical response
● TPR requires students to listen to a command in a target language and then obey it
with physical movement (Asher, 1969, p. 4)

9. Literature Review

10. ● According to Kuo et al. (2015), in comparison to an alphabetic language, such as
English, in a logographic writing system each character “represents one morpheme
instead of an individual phoneme of the spoken language” (P4)
● Yeh, Li, Takeuchi, Sun, and Liu (2003) found that American students compared to
Taiwanese and Japanese students view characters as pictures.

11. ● Kuo et al. (2015) argue that comprehending the radical’s position and meaning
influences Chinese character processing in that it “contributes to accurate
identification within a character and its semantic function” (p. 8)
● Therefore, even though radicals are positively related to Chinese character
recognition, a higher level of radical knowledge is required to have significant impact
on the vocabulary recognition (Su & Kim, 2014, p. 144).

12. ● Kuo et al. (2015) argues that one of the major components to reading is associative
processing in which the initial activation within a verbal code creates a connection to
a personal comprehension in the brain (p. 6)
● Yongming (2014), if the forms and rules of the word do not conform to the
psychological space one has created, meaning the word is not aesthetically pleasing to
the eye, the sensory organs will miss certain parts of the word or ignore it all together
(p. 296)

13. ● Whereas language is usually processed in the left hemisphere the authors of this
particular study found that the right brain hemisphere had the highest P1 component
and P1 ERP response (Wang et al., 2013, p. 6)
● Shen (2005) states that previous studies have found the most common character
learning strategies for non-native Chinese learners to include rote memorization,
graphic and context cues, and a basic knowledge of radicals (p. 53).

14. ● Liu and Jiang (2014) argue that using fuzzy clustering-based Chinese character
recognition, CCR, has better accuracy and precision compared to other Chinese
character recognition approaches.(P427)
● Davis (1977) notes that there is increased awareness of movement’s value as a
medium for learning concepts, such as art and music, as better models of learning
than traditional modes of instruction (p. 209).

15. Hypothesis

16. Hypotheses
1.
2.
3.

17. Research Design

18. Research Design
•
Table 1: 2x2 Factorial Design:
Cues No Cues
PR Control 1 Normal 1
No PR Control 2 Normal 2

19. •
•
•
•

20. Results

21. Figure 1

22. Figure 3 & 4.

23. Figures 5 & 6

24. Figure 7 & 8

25. Figure 11.
Variables in the Equation
B S.E. Wald df Sig. Exp()
Step 1a
Cue .919 .172 28.724 1 .000 2.507
PR .160 .163 .960 1 .327 1.174
CuexPR -.391 .240 2.654 1 .103 .676
Constant -.040 .115 .120 1 .729 .961
Classification Tablea
Observed Predicted
Correct Percentage Correct
0 1
Step 1 Correct 0 153 332 31.5
1 147 568 79.4
Overall Percentage 60.1
Omnibus Tests of Model Coefficients
Chi
Square
df Sig.
Step 1 Step 39.621 3 .000
Block 39.621 3 .000
model 39.621 3 .000

26. Discussion

27. Discussion
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•
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•

28. •
•
• 人,” “美,” “哥,” and “十” were the most recognized characters in all four
experimental
• 想” was not consistently matched to the English translation when just cues or
just PR were
•
•

29. Implication

30. Implication
•
•
•

31. Activity
学 照 电 看 聪 哥

32. Q&A

33. Thank you
dfreijerkerk003@gmail.com
yuanyuan.lin@uncp.edu

34. References
Asher, J.J. (1969). The total physical response approach to second language learning. The Modern Language Journal, 53 (1), 3-17.
http://www. jstor.org/stable/322091
Brainerd, C.J. & Reyna, V.F. (2004). Fuzzy-trace theory and memory development. Developmental Review, 24, 396-439.
Carrier, L.M., Rosen, L.D., Cheever, N.A., & Lim, A.F. (2015). Causes, effects, and practicalities of everyday multitasking.
Developmental Review, 35, 64-78. Retrieved from http://www. sciencedirect.com/full/url
Davis, M. (1977). Movement and cognition. Theory Into Practice, 16 (3), 207-210.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1475606?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference_tab_contents
Hsu, J.F. (2012). Learning chinese characters : A comparative study of the learning strategies of western students and eastern asian
students in taiwan (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Colorado State University, Colorado.

35. Kuo, L., Kim, T., Yang, X., Li, H., Liu, Y., Wang, H., & Park, J.H. (2015). Acquisition of chinese characters: The effects of character
properties and individual differences among second language learners. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 1-38.
Liu, W.Y., & Jiang, J.L. (2014). A new chinese character recognition approach based on the fuzzy clustering analysis. Neural computing
and applications, 25, 421-428. Fuzzy trace. (n.d.) In Psychology Dictionary. Retrieved from
http://psychologydictionary.org/fuzzy-trace/Fuzzy trace theory. (n.d.) In Psychology Dictionary.
Ni, H. (1948). Zhungguo pinjin wenz yndung de giandand lish (Zhongguo Pinyin Wenzi Yundong Shi Jianbian) [A Short History of the
Movement for Alphabetical Writing in Chinese] (Shanghai: Shidai Shubao Chubanshe).
Reyna, V.F., & Brainerd, C. J. (1995). Fuzzy-trace theory:an interim synthesis. Learning and Individual Differences, 7(1), 1-75.
San, D. ( 2007). The phonology of standard Chinese. Oxford Linguistics, 5-6
Schmidt-Kassow, M., Kulka, A., Gunter, T.C., Rothermich, K., & Kotz, S.A. (2010). Exercising during learning improves vocabulary
acquisition: Behavioral and ERP evidence. Neuroscience Letters, 482, 40-44. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.06.089
Shen, H.H. (2004). An investigation of chinese-character learning strategies among non-native speakers of chinese. System, 33, 49-68.

36. Su, X. and Kim,Y. ( 2014). Semantic radical knowledge and word recognition in Chinese for Chinese as foreign language learners.
Reading In A Foreign Language, 26( 1), 131-152.
Sur, S., & Sinha, V.K. (2009). Event-related potential: An overview. Industrial Psychiatry Journal, 18 (1), 71-73. doi:
10.4103/0972-6748.57865
Tan, L.H., & Perfetti, C.A. (1997). Visual chinese character recognition: Does phonological information mediate access to meaning.
Journal of memory and language, 37.
Wang, J., Inhoff, A., and Chen, H. (2010). Reading Chinese script: A cognitive analysis, 1-91.
Wang, X.D., Liu, A., Wu, Y., & Wang, P. (2013). Rapid extraction of lexical tone phonology in chinese characters: A visual mismatch
negativity study. PLoS One, 8 (2), 1-9.
Yeh, S., Li, J., Takeuchi, T., Sun, V.C., & Liu, W. (2003). The role of learning experience on the perceptual organization of chinese
characters. Visual cognition,10 (6), 729-764.
Yongming, Z. (2014). Neuroaesthetics research in the construction of chinese character art. Leonardo, 47 (3), 294-296.