Written by Sophie Gao,
Chinese Educational Therapist
除日常教学外，我还会为学习华文有困难的学生做干预前的语言能力评估。工作沟通中，家长最常提出的问题是：
“每次学校听写，孩子明明反复练习，抄写很多遍了，为什么还是记不住？”
也有家长认为，是孩子不用心、不够努力，因此常常责怪孩子，甚至采取惩罚方式，希望逼迫孩子学得更认真。
事实上，这是一种十分常见的误解。许多孩子已经非常努力，只是每个人的认知加工方式存在个体差异，辛苦的付出往往难以直接体现出来。
许多孩子在学习华文时，即使反复抄写，仍然记不住字形和读音。这并不一定代表孩子不努力。对于有读写障碍或华文学习困难的学生来说，他们可能需要更结构化、多感官和有规律的识字方式，才能逐步建立稳定的字形记忆与学习信心。
如果换一种温和的沟通方式：“我知道你已经很努力，识写字对你来说确实很有挑战。不如我们一起找找合适的方法，慢慢学习。” 这样的表达既能保护孩子的自信心，也能拉近亲子距离，一同寻找适合的学习方式。
在评估和教学中，我们常会观察到一些不同的学习表现。以下几种情况，并不是为了给孩子贴标签，而是帮助家长理解：孩子在华文学习中遇到的困难，可能来自不同层面。
第一类：听说能力不错、识字存在困难
这类学生在听说理解和口语表达上表现正常，能听懂简单故事，完成日常交流，但在认读与书写华文字时，会出现明显障碍。
常见表现包括：
第二类：听说与识字均存在困难
这类学生的听说理解与华文字认读能力同时薄弱，难以在语音和文字符号之间建立稳定联系，需要更系统、结构化的学习支持。
第三类：书写结构混乱
部分学生缺乏华文字的空间结构概念，书写不遵循基础笔画规则。
例如，本该从上到下、从左到右的字形，出现反向书写；写字更像是随意画图，而非依照规范结构书写。
常见表现包括：
华文字并不是随机拼凑的符号，而是一套具备规律的结构化文字系统。多数华文字由不同功能部件组合而成，部分部件表意、部分部件表音，规律清晰。
例如：
当孩子理解部件与结构规律后，零散的字会互相联结，形成相互关联的字族网络。
如果只依赖反复抄写机械记忆，每一个华文字都要单独背诵，记忆负担沉重。不仅识字效率低下，还会慢慢消磨孩子对华文的学习兴趣与信心。学会看懂文字之间的关联，才能让华文学习更轻松高效。
课堂教学中，我们会优先挑选高频使用、构字能力强、可拓展组词的核心华文字作为学习起点。
例如：
扎实掌握核心字后，学生更容易举一反三，理解衍生字词。由核心字向外延伸的学习模式，能帮助孩子建立连贯的识字网络，告别碎片化、孤立式记忆。
在 DAS 华文课程中，我们并不只是要求学生反复抄写或记忆字词，而是通过结构化、多感官和循序渐进的教学方式，帮助学生理解华文字的结构、偏旁部首、字音字义之间的关系，并在词语、句子和阅读中反复运用。课程的重点不只是“多做练习”，而是让孩子逐步掌握学习华文的方法，提高识字效率，建立学习信心。
这套教学理念，也与新加坡小学华文教材（2015年版及2024年修订版）的编写方向一致：优先选取高频、构字能力强的文字，循序渐进培养学生建立系统的识字能力。
课堂上，我们会通过多元策略，帮助学生逐渐理解字的结构：
这些方法不只是简单的记忆技巧，核心是帮助学生建立对华文字的结构思维。
当孩子能够主动发现文字之间的规律与联系，识字会更有意义，记忆也更牢固、更持久。
陪伴孩子学习华文时，家长常会关注：
“孩子抄写了多少遍？”
但比起抄写次数，更值得重视的是这几个问题：
当学习重心从机械抄写，转向结构理解，识字过程往往会事半功倍。
同时需要理性看待：部分孩子华文学习吃力，不只是学习方法的问题，也和工作记忆、认知特质等个体差异有关。就算用对学习策略，依旧需要更多时间与耐心支持。
而结构化、科学化的学习方式，能够有效减轻学习负担，逐步夯实基础，帮助孩子重拾华文学习的信心。
对于有读写障碍或持续面对华文学习困难的孩子来说，单靠增加抄写次数，往往不能真正解决问题。他们需要的，可能不是更多压力，而是更清晰的教学步骤、更具体的字形分析、更频密的复习，以及能够看见进步的学习体验。这也是 DAS 华文课程希望提供的支持：帮助孩子用适合自己的方式，逐步建立识字、阅读和表达的基础。
In addition to my daily teaching work, I also conduct pre-intervention language ability assessments for students who experience difficulties in learning Chinese. In conversations with parents, one of the most common questions I receive is:
“Before every spelling test, my child clearly practises repeatedly and writes the words many times. Why does my child still fail to remember them?”
Some parents may assume that their child is not paying attention or not trying hard enough. As a result, they may scold their child or even use punishment in the hope of making the child study more seriously.
In reality, this is a very common misunderstanding. Many children are already trying very hard. However, differences in cognitive processing mean that each child learns and retains information differently. As a result, their effort may not always be immediately reflected in their performance.
Many children continue to struggle to remember the form and pronunciation of Chinese characters even after repeated copying. This does not necessarily mean that the child is not putting in effort. For students with dyslexia or Chinese learning difficulties, a more structured, multisensory, and systematic approach to character learning may be needed to help them gradually develop stable character recognition skills and confidence in learning.
A gentler way to communicate with the child might be:
“I know you have been trying very hard. Recognising and writing Chinese characters is truly challenging for you. Why don’t we look for a suitable way to learn together, step by step?”
Such an approach helps protect the child’s self-confidence, strengthens the parent-child relationship, and encourages both parent and child to work together to find learning methods that are more suitable.
During assessments and teaching, we often observe different learning profiles among students. The following examples are not intended to label children, but to help parents understand that difficulties in learning Chinese may arise from different areas.
Profile 1: Adequate Listening and Speaking Skills, but Difficulties in Character Recognition
These students generally perform adequately in listening comprehension and oral expression. They can understand simple stories and engage in everyday conversations. However, they may face significant difficulties when recognising and writing Chinese characters.
Common signs include:
Quickly forgetting Chinese characters that have been taught
Frequently confusing visually similar or phonologically similar characters
Reading characters slowly and with effort
Profile 2: Difficulties in Both Listening-Speaking Skills and Character Recognition
These students may have weaknesses in both listening comprehension and Chinese character recognition. They may find it difficult to establish stable connections between sounds and written symbols. As such, they require more systematic and structured learning support.
Profile 3: Disorganised Writing Structure
Some students may lack a clear understanding of the spatial structure of Chinese characters and may not follow basic stroke-writing rules.
For example, characters that should be written from top to bottom or from left to right may be written in the opposite direction. Their writing may appear more like drawing freely rather than following the standard structure of Chinese characters.
Common signs include:
Confused stroke order and irregular writing
Reversed writing from top to bottom or left to right
Unstable understanding of the spatial structure of Chinese characters
Chinese characters are not randomly constructed symbols. They are part of a structured writing system with clear patterns.
Most Chinese characters are formed by combining components with different functions. Some components provide clues to meaning, while others provide clues to pronunciation.
For example:
清 = 氵(water-related meaning) + 青 (qīng, pronunciation clue)
情 = 忄(heart or emotion-related meaning) + 青 (qīng, pronunciation clue)
晴 = 日(sun-related meaning) + 青 (qīng, pronunciation clue)
When children understand the relationship between components and structure, individual characters are no longer learnt in isolation. Instead, they become connected through meaningful character families.
If children rely solely on repeated copying and mechanical memorisation, every Chinese character has to be memorised separately. This places a heavy burden on memory. Not only does this reduce the efficiency of character learning, but it may also gradually weaken a child’s interest and confidence in learning Chinese.
Learning to recognise the connections between characters can make Chinese learning more meaningful, efficient, and manageable.
In classroom teaching, we prioritise high-frequency Chinese characters that are commonly used, have strong character-building potential, and can be expanded into related words.
For example:
From 木, students can learn 林, 森, 树, 校
From 口, students can learn 吃, 喝, 叫, 唱
Once students have a solid grasp of core characters, they are better able to transfer their learning and understand related characters and words. This approach helps children build a connected network of character recognition, rather than relying on fragmented and isolated memorisation.
In the DAS Chinese Programme, we do not simply require students to repeatedly copy or memorise characters and words. Instead, we use structured, multisensory, and progressive teaching approaches to help students understand the structure of Chinese characters, radicals and components, as well as the relationship between sound, meaning, and form.
Students are also given opportunities to apply what they have learnt repeatedly in words, sentences, and reading. The focus of the programme is not simply to “do more practice”, but to help children gradually develop effective methods for learning Chinese, improve their character recognition efficiency, and build confidence.
This teaching philosophy is also aligned with the direction of Singapore’s primary school Chinese Language textbooks, including the 2015 edition and the 2024 revised edition. These materials prioritise high-frequency characters with strong character-building potential and support students in developing systematic character recognition skills progressively.
In class, we use a range of strategies to help students gradually understand the structure of Chinese characters. These include:
Developing radical awareness by understanding the relationship between semantic components and meaning
Using phonetic components as clues to pronunciation
Breaking down compound characters into smaller components
Learning characters within meaningful contexts such as words and sentences
Using visual stories and associations to support character form recognition
These strategies are not merely memory techniques. Their main purpose is to help students develop structural thinking in relation to Chinese characters.
When children are able to actively notice patterns and connections between characters, character recognition becomes more meaningful. Their memory of the characters also becomes stronger and more lasting.
When supporting children in learning Chinese, parents may often focus on one question:
“How many times has my child copied this character?”
However, instead of focusing only on the number of times a child has copied a character, it may be more useful to consider the following questions:
Does the child understand the overall structure of the character?
Does the child understand the meaning and function of each component?
Can the child identify common patterns among related characters?
When the focus shifts from mechanical copying to structural understanding, character learning can often become more effective.
At the same time, it is important to view these difficulties realistically. For some children, challenges in learning Chinese are not only related to learning methods. They may also be associated with individual differences in working memory, cognitive processing, and other learning characteristics. Even when appropriate strategies are used, these children may still require more time, patience, and consistent support.
A structured and evidence-informed approach to learning can help reduce the learning load, strengthen foundational skills gradually, and support children in rebuilding their confidence in learning Chinese.
For children with dyslexia or persistent difficulties in learning Chinese, simply increasing the number of times they copy a character may not address the root of the problem.
What they may need is not more pressure, but clearer teaching steps, more concrete character analysis, more frequent revision, and learning experiences that allow them to see their own progress.
This is the support that the DAS Chinese Programme aims to provide: helping children build a foundation in character recognition, reading, and expression through learning methods that are suited to their needs.
