Do pictures influence memory and metamemory in Chinese vocabulary learning? Evidence from Russian and Colombian learners

Abstract

Despite the increasing interest in learning non-alphabetical languages such as Chinese, research about its learning process for alphabet users is scarce. Research conducted on Latin alphabet users on learning languages written in Latin alphabet, or on Chinese language learning in Chinese native speakers, users is undoubtedly useful but it does not inform about the peculiarities of leaning Chinese language by other alphabet users. Additionally, several authors have highlighted the need to inform and extend the current second language acquisition theories on the particular challenges of learning a language that uses another script. In this research we aim to contribute filling this research gap and studied the learning process of Chinese vocabulary by users of scripts different from Chinese. In particular, we examined the role of pictures and translations as learning aids for Chinese language vocabulary learning in participants familiarized with either one or two alphabetical scripts (different from the Chinese logographic script). One hundred thirteen participants studied word-aid pairs in different conditions: Hanzi (Chinese in Chinese characters)-picture; Pinyin (Chinese in Latin alphabet)-picture; Hanzi-translation; Pinyin-translation. Participants evaluated the future recallability of the words and their meanings (i.e., judgements of learning) and completed two recognition tests. Words in Pinyin and words-translation pairs were judged to be easier to remember than Hanzi and word-pictures pairs. Participants remembered the meaning of words written in Hanzi better than in Pinyin, and word-translations pairs better than pictures, but they were more confident about word-picture pairs. These results suggest that pictures boost confidence in learning Chinese, but do not affect performance. These findings suggest that while pictures may boost confidence in learning Chinese, they may not necessarily lead to better performance. Our study provides valuable insights into the interaction of learning aids and writing system in (meta)memory during vocabulary acquisition.

Understanding the impact of foreign language on social norms through lies

“…Two-sample t tests for linguistic control variables between native and foreign language groups showed a significant difference for foreign language proficiency (t[1373.4] = 9.093, 95% CI [.42, .66], p < .001), with the participants reported higher proficiency (on a Likert scale from 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest) in the foreign language after completing the experiment in the foreign language (M = 8.37, SD = 1.04) compared to in the native language (M = 7.83, SD = 1.23); and for foreign language exposure (t[1360] = 7.646, 95% CI [5.91,10.00], p < .001), with the participants reported higher exposure to the foreign language after completing the experiment in the foreign language (M = 67.81, SD = 18.04) compared to in the native language (M = 59.86, SD = 21.64). There may be several speculations as to why this occurred related to metamemory (Martín-Luengo et al, 2023), for instance, the self-confidence of the participant about their English proficiency may have increased after having successfully completed the task in English. Since this difference was irrelevant for the purpose of this study, we took the increased self-reported foreign language proficiency as an indication that participants had no problem understanding the scenarios in the foreign language and no further analysis regarding foreign language proficiency was performed.…”