Self‐regulation and the learning of Chinese characters by foreign language learners

Some learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) face difficulties learning Chinese characters ( hanzi ), particularly if they are from alphabetic language backgrounds such as English. Many CFL students need to develop the ability to self‐regulate their learning to cope with the learning of hundreds of characters in the beginner and intermediate stages of learning. This mixed‐methods study explored these strategic actions through a multi‐dimensional lens of self‐regulation. Eight CFL university students at an Irish university were interviewed six times each throughout the course of an academic year to track their self‐regulation as their learning of Chinese characters developed. In addition, 108 students across universities in Ireland were surveyed on their self‐regulation. Learners with higher hanzi knowledge demonstrated stronger self‐regulation, particularly in terms of meeting the commitments of their studies. Metacognitive control was problematic for all learners. Emotion control was more problematic at the earlier levels of hanzi knowledge.