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Kanji Acquisition Techniques For L1 And L2 Japanese Studies, Amber Richardson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Kanji are ideograms, a morphographic system borrowed from the Chinese language and used in Japanese writing. 2,136 kanji are used in the average Japanese newspaper, required for academic certification and for expat job placement. A qualitative study was conducted to observe the optimum methods to learn and acquire kanji. Japanese native speakers who were educated by the Japanese school system grades 1 through 12 are classified as L1 or first language speakers. American students, L2 or second language speakers, must have been educated in the American education system grades 1-12. L1 speakers were students attending Central Washington University (CWU) study …