Influence of stroke-order learning on Chinese character recognition among Chinese as a second language learners

The effectiveness of stroke order learning in promoting Chinese character recognition among Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners has been a subject of ongoing controversy in teaching practice and empirical research. The present study employed a computer-assisted stroke order learning system to investigate the impact of stroke order learning on Chinese character recognition for CSL learners. We compared the performance of CSL learners in memorizing the orthography, semantics, and pronunciation of Chinese characters with varying stroke numbers under different stroke order learning conditions (correct stroke order, random stroke order, and no stroke order). Both immediate and delayed tests showed that learning correct stroke order exhibited shorter response times and higher accuracy in tasks related to orthographic discrimination and form-meaning matching compared to the other two learning conditions. Furthermore, correct stroke order has a more pronounced effect on the visual orthographic processing of high-complexity Chinese characters. These findings suggest that correct stroke order plays an important role in helping CSL learners form and solidify more accurate orthographic representations and establish long-term memory for orthography-semantics link. Consequently, this study underscores the need to prioritize and reinforce stroke order learning in Chinese character instruction.