Acquisition of Chinese characters: the effects of character properties and individual differences among learners

• We study how Chinese children learn characters with different properties.
• Effect of radical presence on character acquisition varies with visual complexity.
• We study the contribution of individual differences to character acquisition.
• Visual analogical skill contributes significantly to character acquisition.
• The contribution of radical awareness varies with character properties and age.

Drawing upon research on the visual complexity effect and Dual Coding Theory, this study investigated a) the effects of character properties on, and b) the contribution of individual learner differences to Chinese character acquisition. Participants included 325 Chinese-speaking children in grades 1 through 3 in China. Using a novel character acquisition task, the study extended the scope of previous research by investigating the process of acquiring the meaning of new characters. Results showed that for all three grade-groups, a) characters with radicals and with less visual complexity were easier to acquire than characters without radicals and with greater visual complexity; and b) the effect of radical presence was more pronounced with characters with greater visual complexity. Visual analogical skill made a significant contribution to the acquisition of characters varying in properties, regardless of age. The contribution of radical awareness, however, varied with character properties and age.