A Study on the Background Factors Involved in Kanji Writing Difficulty in Relation to Kanji Reading Difficulty and Low Vocabulary Attainment for Japanese Second to Sixth Graders

Abstract

In the study, background factors involved in Kanji writing difficulty in Japanese second to sixth graders (N=1398) were investigated. Children with both Kanji reading and writing difficulties were grouped into those with low vocabulary attainment (Group A) and those without it (Group B). Children with only Kanji writing difficulty were classified into those with low vocabulary attainment (Group C) and those without it (Group D). Because of the small number of children, Group C was removed from the analysis. In Group A’s third and fourth graders, the contribution of verbal working memory was observed by employing multiple logistic analysis; Group A’s odds ratio values were larger than those of Groups B and D. In Group B, the contribution of fluent Hiragana reading was observed, which was not observed in Group D. These results reveal that background factors involved in Kanji writing difficulty might depend on a combination of Kanji reading difficulty and low vocabulary attainment.