Beliefs about Language Learning and their Relationship to the Ability to Integrate Information from Word Parts and Context in Interpreting Novel Kanji Words

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between the strategies second language learners use to interpret unfamiliar words in a target language, and their general epistemological beliefs (i.e., beliefs about the nature of knowledge) and beliefs specifically about language learning. More specifically, this study examines how learner beliefs are related to the ability to combine information from word parts and context in interpreting novel semantically semitransparent kanji compounds (i.e., words consisting of 2 or more Chinese characters). Forty‐seven English‐speaking learners of Japanese completed both a belief questionnaire and a 72‐item multiple‐choice kanji compounds test. Results indicate modest but statistically significant correlations between (a) belief in the simplicity of knowledge and a tendency to overrely on a single source of information, (b) avoidance of ambiguity and overreliance on kanji clues, and (c) perception of the difficulty of kanji learning and greater use of contextual clues. These findings suggest that language learners' word inference strategies at least partially reflect their beliefs about learning in general and language learning in particular.

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