Paper long abstract

Kanji acquisition presents a central challenge for learners of Japanese as a foreign language, particularly for students from alphabetic language backgrounds. While a wide range of learning methods—such as visual associations, component analysis, and mnemonic techniques—have been discussed in previous research, comparatively little attention has been paid to the role of explicit structural understanding in supporting learning of Kanji.

This study examines how learners conceptualize Kanji structure and how structural awareness interacts with learning strategies, motivation, and prior knowledge. Based on Kerres’s (2018) didactic framework, a qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with fifteen undergraduate students of Japanese Studies at a German university. Participants were drawn equally from three semesters, representing different stages of Kanji acquisition, resulting in a cross-sectional comparison. They were asked to reflect on their learning habits, infer the meaning and reading of one unfamiliar Kanji from each of three structural categories (shōkei-moji, kaii-moji, and keisei-moji), and describe their concrete learning approach for a set of Kanji systematically selected across the same structural categories and varying in complexity.

The findings show that while most learners are intuitively aware that Kanji follow structural principles, explicit knowledge of Kanji categories, semantic radicals, and phonetic components is limited and often inconsistent. Visual associations were predominantly used for pictographic characters, especially among beginners, whereas component analysis was applied inconsistently and often without a clear distinction between radicals and other graphemes. The ability to infer readings and meanings of unfamiliar Kanji was strongly linked to learners’ implicit recognition of semantic–phonetic patterns, but rarely to a systematic understanding of Kanji formation.

The study concludes that structural awareness supports Kanji learning across proficiency levels, but its effectiveness depends on learners’ motivation and prior knowledge. Rather than promoting a single “optimal” learning method, the findings suggest that teachers can learn alongside their students by engaging with learners’ emerging interpretations of Kanji structure and supporting them in reflecting on their own approaches. This shared process encourages active learner involvement and responsibility in the classroom and helps learners adapt their strategies to different types of Kanji over time.

________________________________________________________________

References

Kerres, Michael (2018). Mediendidaktik: Konzeption und Entwicklung digitaler Lernangebote [Media didactics: Design and development of digital learning environments]. Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH.