Errors Analysis in Chinese Character Writing: A Case Study of Chinese Major Students at Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Surat Thani Rajabhat University

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to analyze the errors in Chinese character writing and to identify the causes and propose guidelines for correcting them. The sample group was 13 second-year undergraduate students from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Suratthani Rajabhat University. The study employed qualitative and survey research methodologies. The findings showed that: 1) The highest frequency of errors in Chinese character writing among second-year students was from stroke-related errors, accounting for 57.76% of all errors. The main cause was related to similar stroke structure changes in writing, accounting for 27.59% of all errors. The least frequent errors originated from components of Chinese characters, accounting for 42.24% of total errors. The main cause was related to the addition of components in Chinese character composition, accounting for 1.72% of total errors. 2) From the analysis based on the framework of applied linguistics in second language learning, errors in writing strokes that form Chinese characters, particularly in the sequence of strokes, were associated with negative transfer influence from the mother tongue. Errors arising from components of Chinese characters in terms of phonetic indicators that are pronounced similarly or closely related were associated with “over-generalization – 过度泛化…”; as a result, this study proposed recommendations and precautions for teaching Chinese character writing through a transdisciplinary teaching approach that connects ancient Chinese characters that reflect cognitive maps related to Chinese history and culture.