A study of the structure of Chinese characters and science learning

The purpose of this study is to find out if Chinese characters can facilitate the understanding of science among Grade Four pupils, or on the contrary, lead to alternative concepts. A questionnaire designed to probe children's understanding of selected Chinese words was sent to three local primary schools. Four hundred and ninety five pupils participated in the study. Results showed that radicals of the Chinese characters related to names of organisms did have an influence on pupils' understanding of biological classification. The paper concludes that teachers may give more consideration to the characteristics of Chinese language in designing science-learning activities and incorporate the learning of science language into science learning.