YE Minghui, QU Shaobing
Journal of Guangzhou University (Social Science Edition). 2025, 24(5): 111-126.
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The perception that Chinese characters are difficult to learn is widespread within the international Chinese language teaching community, and Chinese character input has been a persistent challenge in Chinese language research. In the context of the digital and intelligent era, there remain perceptual and application issues in the field of international Chinese education concerning how to view the role and impact of Chinese character input. Findings from a survey of 358 international students indicate that Chinese character input methods are gaining popularity within the international student community. The surveyed students exhibit a tendency to rely primarily on pinyin input with handwriting as a supplementary method, demonstrating an attitude of ″preferring digital writing while acknowledging the value of handwriting″ in learning Chinese characters. There are differences in the acceptance of different input methods at different stages of Chinese language learning. Nationality distribution, linguistic background, and ethnic Chinese identity have marked influences on the preferences of international students in selecting Chinese character input methods. Chinese character input methods have a positive and constructive impact on the Chinese language learning of international students, with pinyin input offering more advantages than handwriting. A preference for pinyin input helps students with their Chinese pronunciation, vocabulary, and reading, leading to positive learning perceptions that increase with the duration of study. A tendency to use handwriting input can reduce the interference of stroke order and character components in Chinese character learning for international students, helping them with their writing. We should attach importance to the opportunities and challenges brought by Chinese character input methods in the digital and intelligent era and formulate corresponding strategies in multiple areas, including the development of international Chinese education resources, updating Chinese character teaching programs, researching Chinese character input, and expanding the language industry, to promote the effective integration of Chinese character input methods with international Chinese education.