The diagnostic test for Chinese character learning provides students with an accurate report on their character acquisition skills, thereby enhancing targeted instruction. This study constructs a cognitive diagnostic Q-matrix for Chinese characters based on the Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education, focusing on the learning skills and cognitive processes of Chinese characters as key assessment areas. A cognitive diagnostic assessment was conducted on 198 Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners in China. The study provides detailed feedback for group and individual levels, supporting personalized instruction. The diagnostic results indicate that students from both grades exhibit better mastery of strokes and structure compared with components and holistic characters, and their mastery of stroke quantity surpasses that of stroke order. Second-year CSL learners outperform first-year CSL learners in all cognitive skills, with the most significant improvement observed in stroke order and holistic character skills. The findings of this study can offer guidance and implications to Chinese character instruction.
BuckGTatsuokaKK (1998) Application of the rule-space procedure to a placement testing: Examining attributes of a free response listening test. Language Testing15(2): 119–157.
2.
ChenHChenJ (2016) Exploring reading comprehension skill relationships through the G-DINA model. Educational Psychology36(6): 1049–1064.
3.
ChenJde la TorreJ (2013) A general cognitive diagnosis model for expert-defined polytomous attributes. Applied Psychological Measurement37(6): 419–437.
4.
Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) (2015) Syllabus for the Chinese Proficiency Test HSK (Level 5). Beijing: People’s Education Press
.
5.
de la TorreJ (2011) The generalized DINA model framework. Psychometrika76(2): 179–199.
6.
de la TorreJDouglasJA (2004) Higher-order latent trait models for cognitive diagnosis. Psychometrika69(3): 333–353.
7.
GaoLMengL (2000) The influence of phonological and graphic information on Chinese character recognition in CSL reading. Chinese Teaching in the World4: 67–76.
8.
GaoS (2017) Eye-tracking study on the chunking advantage in Chinese Reading by native speakers and second language learners. Chinese Teaching in the World34(4): 560–575.
9.
HaoM (2007) The emergence and development of orthographic awareness among foreign learners of Chinese as a second language. Chinese Teaching in the World1: 29–39.
10.
HaoMFanH (2008) The influence of component features and structural types on Chinese character writing by international students. Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies5: 24–31.
11.
HeJFuJ (2018) An analysis of stroke order errors in Chinese character writing by elementary-level international students. Overseas Chinese Education3: 38–42.
12.
JangEE (2009a) Cognitive diagnostic assessment of L2 Reading comprehension ability: Validity arguments for fusion model application to language assessment. Language Testing26(1): 31–54.
13.
JangEE (2009b) Demystifying a Q-matrix for making diagnostic inferences about L2 reading skills. Language Assessment Quarterly6: 210–238.
14.
KimA-Y (2015) Exploring ways to provide diagnostic feedback with an ESL placement test: Cognitive diagnostic assessment of L2 Reading ability. Language Testing32(2): 227–258.
15.
LeeY-WSawakiY (2009) Application of three cognitive diagnosis models to ESL Reading and listening assessments. Language Assessment Quarterly6(3): 239–263.
16.
LiD (2003) Sampling test report on the literacy of intermediate and advanced international students. Journal of College of Chinese Language and Culture of Jinan University2: 12–18.
17.
LiD (2004) Enhancing systematicity and expanding literacy: Reflections and practices on intermediate and advanced Chinese character courses. Applied Linguistics3: 112–119.
18.
LiSWangJ (2017) Diagnostic assessment of L2 Chinese learners’ reading comprehension ability. In: ZhangDLinC (eds) Chinese as a Second Language Assessment. Singapore: Springer Singapore
, pp. 183–202.
19.
LiuHLiY (2023) Constructing a Q-matrix for international Chinese reading tests based on cognitive diagnostic theory. Chinese Language Teaching and Research4: 113–132.
20.
LiuL (2008) The influence of stroke count and structural patterns on Chinese character learning by international students. Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies1: 46–67.
21.
LiuLZhaoJLiY, et al. (2019) The characteristics and construction of the knowledge system of international Chinese education: Insights from the symposium on “the characteristics and construction of the knowledge system of international Chinese education”. Chinese Teaching in the World33(2): 147–165.
22.
LuLZhaoSZhangN (2020) A review and prospect of research on cognitive diagnostic assessment. Examination Research16(4): 60–68.
23.
MaWde la TorreJ (2020) GDINA: An R package for cognitive diagnosis modeling. Journal of Statistical Software93(14): 1–26.
24.
McLeanSKramerBBeglarD (2015) The creation and validation of a listening vocabulary levels test. Language Teaching Research19(6): 741–760.
25.
Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, & State Language Commission (2016) Hanzi yingyong shuiping dengji ji ceshi dagang (2016 nian xiuding) (GF 2002-2016) [Chinese Character Usage Ability Assessment and Testing Guideline (2016 revision) (GF 2002-2016)]. Beijing: Yuwen Chubanshe
.
26.
Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, & State Language Commission (2021) Guoji Zhongwen jiaoyu Zhongwen shuiping dengji biaozhun (GF 0025-2021) [Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF 0025-2021)]. Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press
.
27.
Nation ISP (1990) Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. New York: Newbury House
.
28.
QiSDaiHDingS (2002) Principles of Modern Educational and Psychological Measurement. Beijing: Higher Education Press
.
29.
SawakiYKimH-JGentileC (2009) Q-Matrix construction: Defining the link between constructs and test items in large-scale Reading and listening comprehension assessments. Language Assessment Quarterly6(3): 190–209.
30.
TatsuokaKK (1983) Rule space: An approach for dealing with misconceptions based on item response theory. Journal of Educational Measurement20(4): 345–354.
31.
TatsuokaKK, (1990) Toward an integration of item-response theory and cognitive error diagnosis. In: FrederiksenNGlaserRLesgoldA, et al. (eds) Diagnostic Monitoring of Skill and Knowledge Acquisition. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
, pp. 45–63.
32.
TatsuokaKK (2009) Cognitive assessment: An introduction to the rule space method. New York, NY: Routledge
.
33.
TemplinJLHensonRA (2006) Measurement of psychological disorders using cognitive diagnosis models. Psychological Methods11(3): 287–305.
34.
TuDQiS (2007) Cognitive diagnosis and the reform of large-scale unified examinations. Education and Examination1: 38–41.
35.
TuDLiuYGaoX, et al. (2023) flexCDMs: A web-based platform for cognitive diagnostic data analysis. Chinese/English Journal of Educational Measurement and Evaluation4(1): Article 1.
36.
WangJ (2016) Research on the Chinese proficiency standard from a global perspective. Language Strategy Research1(5): 52–57.
37.
WangMPerfettiCALiuY (2003) Alphabetic readers quickly acquire orthographic structure in learning to read Chinese. Scientific Studies of Reading7(1): 183–208.
38.
WeiW (2019) Research on the cognitive processes in Chinese character acquisition over the past 20 years. Overseas Chinese Education1: 87–97.
39.
WuQHongWDengS (2017) The application of Chinese character recognition in placement testing for Chinese as a second language learners: An empirical study of constructing a simplified proficiency identification index. Chinese Teaching in the World31(3): 395–411.
40.
ZhangH (2018) The influence of proficiency testing methods on research results in Chinese language studies. Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies6: 14–23.
41.
ZhangQBianYChenP, et al. (2019) A diagnostic test in Chinese character learning for pupils in lower grades of primary schools. Educational Research40(1): 76–85.
42.
ZhangHZhangXZhangT, et al. (2021) Research on the development of literacy scales for international students. Chinese Teaching in the World35(1): 126–142.
43.
ZhangJWangH (2001) The influence of the relationship between phonetic components and the whole character on naming phonetic-semantic characters. Acta Psychologica Sinica3: 193–197.
44.
ZhangJZhangH (2001) The relationship between the whole and parts in Chinese character cognition. Applied Psychology3: 57–62.
45.
ZhaoJ (2011) Effective approaches to elementary Chinese teaching: A dialectical view of “spoken before written”. Chinese Teaching in the World25(3): 376–387.
46.
ZhaoWHuKFangK, et al. (2024) Effects of cue and instructor demonstration on the learning of Chinese characters for Chinese as a second language beginners. Acta Psychologica248: 104334.
47.
ZhaoY (2019) Constructing academic discourse power in international Chinese education. Chinese Teaching in the World33(4): 435–442.
