Analytic Versus Holistic Recognition of Chinese Words Among L2 Learners

In studying the relationship between word recognition and reading development, a distinction is made between analytic and holistic processing of words. These strategies are often assessed in a length effect in an alphabetic language or in a stroke-number effect in a logographic language. Analytical processing is associated with a robust length or stroke-number effect while holistic processing is reflected in smaller or a lack of such effects. Research has shown that skilled readers employ holistic processing while less skilled readers rely more on analytical processing. The present study examined analytic versus holistic word recognition among second language learners by comparing learners of Chinese as a second language (CSL) and Chinese native speakers (NSs) in a lexical decision task. Thirty Chinese NSs and 28 CSL learners were tested on 90 disyllabic Chinese words that varied in stroke number from 5 to 27. A robust stroke-number effect was found among CSL participants but not among NS controls. The findings raised a number of theoretical and pedagogical issues in relation to word recognition and reading development among CSL learners and among second language learners in general.