The impact of Chinese calligraphy instruction on learners' motivation and effectiveness in learning Chinese characters
List of Authors
  • Chan Jie Yan , Muhamad Zaidi Zakaria

Keyword
  • Chinese calligraphy, Chinese characters, motivation, effectiveness

Abstract
  • Chinese characters are widely recognized as one of the most challenging aspects for learners of Chinese as a second language (Zhang, 2024). Enhancing the effectiveness of Chinese character learning requires a focus on increasing learners’ motivation. Previous studies have demonstrated that Chinese calligraphy is both a fun and interactive activity (He & Liu, 2024). Therefore, this study investigates the impact of Chinese calligraphy instruction on learners' engagement, motivation, and effectiveness in learning Chinese characters. A one-hour calligraphy workshop was conducted with 25 participants aged 8 to 18 years at an orphanage in Malacca all of whom had no prior background in Chinese. The workshop featuring Chinese calligraphy demonstrations, practice sessions, and a memory retention test. The research aimed to determine the relationships between age and attention sustainability, the influence of calligraphy instruction on motivation, and the correlations between writing duration, the number of characters written, and recall accuracy. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 29 and Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationships between variables. Findings revealed a strong positive relationship between age and the ability to maintain attention in writing. Instruction in Chinese calligraphy was found to enhance motivation and improve character learning outcomes. Results indicated that greater writing duration and a higher number of characters written were positively associated with better recall accuracy. The implications of these findings suggest that Chinese calligraphy is not only an effective method for increasing engagement and improving Chinese character learning, but it may also be better suited for older learners, such as university students, who benefit from longer and more immersive sessions. These findings support the integration of Chinese calligraphy into language learning curricula to foster deeper motivation and improve retention of Chinese characters, aligning with existing literature.

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