Timing the Introduction of Kanji in the Study of Japanese as a Second Language

Authors

Kerilee Grames, Brigham Young University
Dr. Robert A. Russell, Brigham Young University

Keywords

Japanese language, kanji, second language, character alphabet

College

Humanities

Department

Asian and Near Eastern Languages

Abstract

The Japanese language has a reputation of being difficult for native English speakers to master as a second language because of kanji, a complex, character alphabet that the Japanese borrowed from China. One of the greatest struggles for teachers of Japanese as a second language (JSL) is knowing when to introduce these foreign characters to their students. As a student who has struggled to learn kanji, and one who intends to also teach it, I proposed to study the research that has already been done in this area, to observe teachers of JSL in both Japan and America, and to examine current Japanese texts to determine the authors’ philosophy on when to teach kanji.

Recommended Citation

Grames, Kerilee and Russell, Dr. Robert A. (2014) "Timing the Introduction of Kanji in the Study of Japanese as a Second Language," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2014: Iss. 1, Article 565.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2014/iss1/565