A Study of Methods for Memorizing and Reading Hiragana Letters Through the Self-Assessment of Beginning Japanese Learners

Abstract

This study aimed to explore differences in Hiragana letter memorizing methods and Hiragana reading. There were 154 participants, who were 3^rd-year students enrolled in JPN-301 Business Japanese 5 at the Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology. A questionnaire was used as the research instrument. The statistics used for analyzing the data were mean, standard deviation, and t-test. The participants were divided into two groups; the students in the first group had higher Hiragana reading test scores compared to the score average, while the second group had lower Hiragana reading test scores compared to the average. The findings illustrate the different techniques applied among the two groups. In terms of the memorizing method, listening to the sounds was not paid attention to by the second group as much as other methods; and in terms of the Hiragana reading, in the first group, the reading score and student self-assessment were congruent with their actual ability. Conversely, the second group score was not congruent with their actual ability.