Context effects on recognition of an erroneous Kanji character Comparison between Japanese and L2 Learners of Japanese

Abstract

For successful　reading, differentiating very minor graphic features of a Kanji character is crucial. It is an obstacle for L2 learners from non-Chinese character areas to learn complex and similar Kanji orthography. On the other hand, context effects are well known in sentence recognition. This study examined context effects on recognition of an erroneous Kanji character. An erroneous Kanji which was not either 未 nor 末was used as a stimuli. We compared correct rates of recognizing the erroneous Kanji when it was presented solely and presented in a sentence. Participants were 19 Japanese and 44 JSL (Japanese as a second language) learners, 12 Chinese, 9 Korean and 23 JSL-NC (JSL learners from non-Chinese character areas). Fisher’s exact tests showed that context effects were found only in Japanese. Chinese participants were advanced learners. This result might suggest that it is very difficult for L2 learners to utilize context.