Abstract:

This study investigated the handwriting age of acquisition (AoA) effects in Chinese written production. The handwriting AoA was objectively defined according to the time when the characters first appeared in handwriting lists of Chinese textbooks (early: Grade 1; medium: Grade 3; late: Grade 5). Thirty-one sixth-grade students performed copying and dictation tasks, requiring rapid and accurate production of 120 target characters respectively. The results indicated: 1) In the copying task, early- and medium-handwriting AoA characters showed shorter writing latencies and durations, with higher accuracy rates compared to late-handwriting AoA counterparts. 2) In the dictation task, early-handwriting AoA characters demonstrated shorter latencies than medium-handwriting AoA items, reduced durations relative to late-handwriting AoA characters, and higher accuracy. 3) Regression analyses confirmed handwriting AoA as a significant predictor of copying latency, copying duration, and dictation duration. These results suggest stable handwriting AoA effects in writing Chinese characters among children.

Key words: age of acquisition, children, handwriting

摘要：

为考察儿童书写汉字过程中的书写习得年龄效应，以小学一年级、三年级和五年级语文教材写字表定义汉字书写习得年龄早期、中期和晚期，选取31名小学六年级学生完成抄写和听写任务。结果发现：(1)儿童抄写书写习得年龄早期和中期的汉字时，其书写潜伏时间、持续时间均比书写习得年龄晚期的汉字更少、正确率更高；(2)听写书写习得年龄早期的汉字时，其书写潜伏时间比中期更少，其书写持续时间比晚期更少，其书写正确率比中期、晚期更高；(3)书写习得年龄是抄写任务中书写潜伏时间和持续时间的预测变量，也是听写任务中书写持续时间的预测变量。结果表明，书写习得年龄影响儿童书写汉字的过程，表现出稳定的书写习得年龄效应。

关键词: 习得年龄, 儿童, 书写