Examining the effects of animated narratives as a pedagogical tool to enhance learners’ learning experiences and outcomes of Chinese characters at the beginner level

Grant program: Teaching and Learning Development Grant (TLDG)

Principal Investigator: Jia Fei, senior lecturer, Department of World Languages and Literatures, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Project team: Xiaotong Zhang, graphic designer, and Pauline Tiong, TILT research assistant

Timeframe: June 2021 to February 2023

Funding: $5,000

Course addressed: CHIN 100 – Beginner Mandarin 1

Final report: View Jia Fei's final report (PDF)

Description:

This project examined the pedagogical effectiveness of animated narrative videos as a learning and teaching tool to support beginner learners’ acquisition of Chinese characters. Learning to recognize and write Chinese characters is widely recognized as a major challenge for learners whose first language is alphabetic, due to the complexity of the logographic writing system and the lack of direct correspondence between form, sound, and meaning. Although research highlights the importance of orthographic knowledge and character narratives in facilitating character learning, such instruction has traditionally relied on individual instructors’ explanations and has lacked standardized, engaging teaching materials within the existing curriculum.

The project had two main objectives: first, to design a set of animated narrative videos that depict the etymology, component structure, and meaning of selected Chinese characters; and second, to investigate the impact of these videos on students’ motivation, learning experiences, and learning outcomes when integrated into a blended instructional environment. A total of 30 animated videos were created for high‑frequency and complex characters in CHIN 100, illustrating character stories, pronunciation, component relationships, and animated stroke‑order demonstrations. The videos were embedded into eight Canvas lesson modules and made available as asynchronous self‑learning resources across three course sections delivered in blended formats.

Data included surveys, focus group discussions, instructor and teaching assistant reflections, and comparisons of vocabulary dictation scores across sections and terms. Findings from surveys and interviews showed that the animated narratives positively influenced learners’ motivation, interest, and engagement with character learning, particularly for students with no prior experience in logographic writing systems. Students reported that the story‑based approach helped them understand character structure, retain meanings, and approach writing as a meaningful rather than mechanical task. Usage patterns indicated frequent and repeated viewing of the videos as part of students’ independent study routines.

Questions addressed:

• Can animated character narratives improve learners’ understanding, recognizing and writing of Chinese characters?
• Can animated character narratives improve learners’ motivation and experiences?
• Can animated character narratives improve and inform instruction?

Knowledge sharing: The animated character videos and research findings have been shared with teaching assistants and colleagues within the Department of World Languages and Literatures through internal meetings. Plans are underway to publish the videos as open educational resources on SFU Summit and YouTube. The project outcomes will likely be shared through teaching and learning workshops and national and international conferences, including the Canadian Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL) Conference.

Keywords: Chinese character instruction, character narratives, character animation, orthographic knowledge, Chinese radicals, blended learning, beginner language learners, technology‑enhanced language learning