Developing a new teaching approach of Chinese characters for beginner level of Thai students in language training center

Abstract

Learning Chinese languages is crucial because China significantly influences the Thai market and contributes to the country's economy. To better address the demands of Thai students to study Chinese and become proficient in its application, many Thai schools include Chinese as the language of instruction in their academic curricula. Thai students' performance could be better. Previous research has shown that Chinese Radical Literacy can help improve Chinese language teaching. This study included 34 primary-level students from the AILC learning institution who were all Thai. This study aimed to determine the root causes that impact Thai students' learning of Chinese characters and improve learning performance through a radical course; teaching would result in a high YCT pass rate. According to the findings, specific educational strategies related to research-based course design should be implemented in the teaching of radicals to reduce Thai students' frequent mistakes in writing Chinese characters and promote learning outcomes. This study had three strengths: 1) It contributed significantly to the conceptual development of Chinese character pedagogical approaches by offering a course for teaching radicals; 2) The suggested instructional methods were beneficial in Chinese character learning; and 3) It provided guidance and recommendations for Chinese language teachers and specialists on how they could improve.