Changes in the Acquisition of Kanji Words during the Processing Stage in Chinese Learners of Advanced Japanese: An Experimental Study Using Word Shadowing

This study conducted word shadowing for Chinese level 1 (L1) learners in advanced Japanese to verify whether their knowledge changed during the processing stages before and after word shadowing. We also examined the relationship between individuals’ reaction time and processing patterns. The results show that the post-test and delay-test reaction times were shortened relative to the pre-test reaction time. Analyses of variance determined that phonological similarities were the cause of this promotional effect. However, some advanced learners with a long learning history experienced little change in reaction time after word shadowing. Therefore, to improve visual‒aural connections, we propose that integrating orthographic and phonological information into kanji-word practices should be introduced at the low-intermediate level for Chinese L1 learners of Japanese