Basic Kanji Learning Strategy of Japanese Language Education Program Faculty of Language and Arts Faculty of Manado State University

Abstract

Kanji serves as ‘the most important element’ in Japanese vocabulary. It can be synthesized from various opinions that all learners of Japanese language must master Kanji to communicate with the Japanese, particularly in the written. The number of Kanji non-native speakers who study Japanese language need to master depends on time allocation and their level. Kanji teaching is commonly considered as difficult because most Japanese learners use language which contains no Kanji “hikanjikei” 悲観字形. They find it difficult to memorize almost identical kanji characters with diverse types of scribbles. Besides, students must study thousands of kanji characters. Takebe (1998:2) explains that most students who study Japanese language as the foreign language admit that the most difficult aspects in learning Japanese language are auxiliaries, polite language, and kanji. Strategies in teaching learning process play as the crucial part in classroom activities because those help teachers to create learning atmosphere suitable for achieving teaching goals. In addition, strategies in teaching learning process which teachers have chosen and used encourage students’ active participation during learning activities in the classroom. Strategy can be defined as one’s internal ability to think, solve problems, and make decision. It means that learning process encourages learners to foster their unique ways to analyze and solve problems which might arise in decision making process. It enables students to solve problems during learning process in the classroom such as memorizing thousand complex kanji characters, and speaking in polite language of saonkeigo and kenjogo in Japanese language. These two problems are the examples of problems encountered by students who learn Japanese language. To solve the problems, students must find the most suitable and effective strategy for them. Learning strategy is personal, so every individual must find different strategies than others. Finding these strategies is the invisible mental process. Learning strategies can be identified from the students’ behaviour manifestation. Therefore, a learning model which introduces the strategies of Japanese letters, especially kanji, is necessary for the beginner. This paper aims at proposing a learning model which is integrated with the courses of Goi Moji. The learning model introduces learning strategies in learning kanji which is appropriate with the students’ needs and characteristics. The goal is to make the students know kanji learning strategies based on Strategy Inventory for Learning Kanji. In the end, the students will be able to decide and use the appropriate kanji learning strategy for them.