We use common sense knowledge, or schemas, to understand what is happening in our daily lives. These schemas also exist when learning foreign languages. The Japanese and Chinese languages are both written in kanji, or Chinese characters, however, there are differences in the meanings of the words between the languages. When studying Japanese, Chinese students do not realize this and believe that it is easy to learn Japanese, because it is represented by kanji. However, there are isomorphic synonyms between Japanese and Chinese, which hinders the learning of Japanese. The first and most important step in studying isomorphic synonyms between Japanese and Chinese is to remedy this misapprehended schema. To do so, Chinese students must experience the contradictions and assumptions they hold and acknowledge that their preconceived ideas are misguided. This study aims to prepare language students to be aware of the differences between Japanese and Chinese isomorphic synonyms.
