Pnt: A Game to Teach Chinese through Radical

Decomposition
Amanda Anumba, Robin Brewer, Amy Chang, Annica Schjott, Shantaviae Wynn, Michael S. Horn

Northwestern University
2240 Campus Drive
Chicago, IL USA 60201
{amandaanumba2014, amychang2012, rnbrewer, annicaschjott2014,
shantaviaewynn2014} @u.northwestern.edu, {Michael-horn} @ northwestern.edu

ABSTRACT

(Chinese word for puzzle), it is our goal that players will

strengthen their understanding of Chinese radical pairings
and spatial positioning. They will improve their knowledge
of radicals by reinforcing their understanding of how they
can combine radicals to form characters and how to draw
the strokes of the characters they form.

In this paper we describe the design of a touch-screen

mobile game named Pnt, which teaches English-speaking
students how to form Chinese characters. This game is
based on a Text Twist metaphor. It builds upon the
principle of embodied learning and existing Chinese
language learning research, which suggests that writing
characters with ones finger improves language learning.
Our game guides players through a) understanding radicals
as the building blocks of the Chinese language, and b)
recognizing how these building blocks can combine to build
complex compounds, words, and phrases.
Author Keywords

Tangible; game; touch-screen; Chinese; language

ACM Classification Keywords

K.3.1 Computer Uses in Education: Computer-assisted

instruction, H.5.m. Information interfaces and presentation
(e.g., HCI): Miscellaneous.
INTRODUCTION

For foreign language learners, the Chinese writing system is

notoriously hard to learn because pronunciation cannot be
inferred by looking at a character, nor can the character be
easily written by hearing its pronunciation. Inspired by
existing systems designed to make learning to read Chinese
easier [7,9], we have created a game to assist students in
producing and recognizing Chinese characters. We
incorporate the game style of Text Twist in our
implementation. In Text Twist, players are given a set of
letters as building blocks and must form words based on the
letters (Figure 1). Our game guides players through a)
understanding radicals as the building blocks of Chinese
characters, and b) recognizing how these building blocks
can combine to build complex compounds, words, and
phrases. By playing our learning game system Pnt

Figure 1 - The Text Twist game where players use letters to

form words before time runs out

In this paper we describe how we apply previous work to

the design of a radical-focused mobile game, and how we
incorporated feedback from novices into the design of the
game.
RELATED WORK
Chinese Radicals and Characters

We describe two important pillars for the learning process,

the first of which is the importance of radicals. Prior
research suggests the majority of existing designs for
Chinese character learning include memorizing a
characters shape based on individual strokes. However,
research has shown this method to be especially laborious
and ineffective for learners of Chinese who have alphabetic
first languages [2,21,32]. Instead, recent studies in
cognition, linguistics, and Chinese learning all point to the
focus on radicals, the core and the building blocks for the
formation of a Chinese character, as an efficient alternative

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to promote Chinese character learning performance

[10,15,30].

the memorization of letters [20]. Learning through

handwriting has been shown to improve both students
recognition and memorization of graphic forms [17,22].
Our game affords this type of repeated drawing of the
characters in Play mode, and tracing of characters in Learn
mode. In addition, it would enhance learning thanks to its
technological capabilities. It affords scaffolded learning
through the use of features to create and sustain learners
motivation, such as the challenge to find the solutions to the
problem (producing correct characters), and the auditory
cues when the correct solution is found.

Radicals can be as small as a stroke or as large as a

character with multiple strokes. Most of the radicals can
serve as functional cues for either understanding the
meaning or the pronunciation of the characters [10,30].
Radicals such as (neighborhood, li3) and (word,
wen2) are phonographic and called phonetic radicals, while
radicals such as (bug, h1ui3) and (gold, jing1) are
logographic and thus called semantic radicals. There are
approximately 120 basic radicals. Seventy-eight of these
basic radicals account for more than 70% of the 3,500
frequently used characters that are considered as the literacy
threshold [16]. A radical and their hierarchically-lower
derivative characters can be seen as a chunk [3,31]a
collection of elements having strong associations with one
another. Using the chunking strategy with component
radicals, learners can avoid the considerable strain on
working memory learning the characters by stroke.
Additionally, learners can use familiar characters to infer
the meaning and/or sound of those they have not learned yet
if they contain the same radical.

Existing Language Applications

Our game contributes to an interesting research area of

existing games to help Chinese language learners.
SpatialEase [7] is a kinesthetic game developed by fusing
learning principles of Rosetta Stone with the interaction
paradigm of Simon Says to verbally state commands that
players have to follow. This form of learning awards points
for correct movements. It guides players with on-screen
information to the correct movement the first time a
mistake is made for that command. Borrowing from this
approach, we designed Pnt such that it would not
explicitly penalize players for producing incorrect
characters, but encourages them to make another attempt by
providing immediate audio-visual feedback and rewarding
correct attempts within a specific time limit. While
cognitive fatigue was a challenge in designing SpatialEase,
we reduce the chance for cognitive fatigue by using a
micro-learning approach.

With the radical-based rule in mind, learners acquisition of

Chinese characters can be efficiently enhanced. Empirical
studies show that awareness of the individual Chinese
characters internal structures as it relates to meaning and
pronunciation is fundamental to learning Chinese for both
native and non-native Chinese foreign language (CFL)
learners [10,12,18,25,26,27,28,29]. For example, adult CFL
students who had developed semantic radical awareness
were able to guess the meanings of unknown characters
after one year of Chinese learning [18]. Thus, explicitly
emphasizing the radical component function is fundamental
in learning to read Chinese. Therefore, our game is distinct
because it emphasizes cultivating learners radical
awareness.

Tip Tap Tones incorporates micro-learning where players

can learn Chinese in small increments throughout the day as
shorter games have led to improved learning [6]. Tip Tap
Tones borrows from Tetris as players have to match the
sound of a word with 1 of 4 possible intonations that exist
in Chinese. Because intonation is important in preventing
one word from sounding like a different word, they warn
game developers for Chinese to test audio with a native
Chinese speaker. Each level in Pnt is only two minutes in
duration, allowing for short bursts of learning. Moreover we
have discussed principles of our application with a native
Chinese professor, and developed the application with a
native Chinese student.

Embodied Learning

We also recognize the importance of embodied learning.

Classic learning theory [5,23] posits that students learn not
as passive receivers of knowledge, but as active participants
in the learning process through experience, interaction, and
reflection. More recent research has shown that using action
while learning new content may result in deeper, longerlasting learning [24]. Gesturing, for example, provides a
learner with additional cognitive resources that could be
used to reflect on and retain new information and logical
connections, thus diminishing the strain on working
memory. In addition, movement has been shown to promote
the creation of a mental image of the learned information
associated with and evoked by a particular gesture
[1,11,14,19] which in turn makes the associated information
easier to retain compared to information learned only
verbally [4].

Other games that utilize micro-learning are MemReflex [8]

and MicroMandarin [9]. Both games teach important
concepts for designing Chinese language learning games.
MemReflex emphasized 1) the need for quality not quantity
in memorizing vocabulary, 2) adaptive progression using
previous user data, and 3) showing user success early [8].
MicroMandarin researchers raise important questions
people may ask when playing language learning games
such as a) how to say the word, b) was it correct, c) what
words have already been learned, d) what does the word
mean, e) what is the success rate [9]. We use these
questions to better develop the interface for Pnt.

Hand movements are particularly beneficial for language

learning, because performing writing movements enhances
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Hanzi Lamp [13] also teaches Chinese but focuses on the

individual strokes to form characters, rather than the
radicals themselves. Hanzi Lamp provides guidance to
students learning Chinese by using a pen to apply pressure
to correct incorrect movements. We acknowledge the steps
Hanzi Lamp makes in decomposing characters into smaller
forms of information, the stroke. However the unit of
analysis may be too small for a proper association to be
made between characters of the same family. Therefore we
rely on decomposition of a character into different radicals
for Pnt.

Because language learning through handwriting has been

shown to improve both students recognition and
memorization of graphic forms [17,22] our application
affords repeated writing of the characters. The player must
use her finger to draw each character on the screen by
combining the radicals in the range of possible
configurations. With optical character recognition (OCR),
the application would be able to recognize existing
characters. Every time the player creates an existing
character she gets a certain number of points. The player
could toggle the option of hearing the characters
pronounced. If the character is incorrect the program will
communicate this to the player through visual and auditory
input. However, character recognition and pronunciation
was not implemented in the initial prototype testing.

IMPLEMENTATION

Pnt is an Android application that exists in two modes:

Learning Mode and Play Mode. In Learning Mode, players
could interact through Learning by Decomposing where
they learn how familiar characters can be pulled apart into
different radicals, or Learning by Building where they
learn the common, generative radicals that can be used to
compose characters. In Learning by Decomposing, users
are presented with a visual formula that shows how
radicals can be combined to create a specific Chinese
character, enhanced with audio to give the learners the
pronunciation of the characters. The users are then
encouraged to trace it on the screen. In Learning by
Building, users first encounter an explanation of the
meaning and the way in which radicals can be combined to
create a Chinese character, enhanced with audio to give the
learners the pronunciation of the characters and radicals
used as examples. We began by implementing Learning by
Building where users are given examples of different ways
in which the radicals can be combined and are encouraged
to trace the example characters of interest on the screen.

PROTOTYPE TESTING

We tested Pnt with 15 college students, of which some

had no knowledge of Chinese and some were native
speakers. The initial prototype allowed users to interact
with the Learn mode with one character to copy, and the
Play mode with each level including a different set of
radicals. For the initial prototype we focused on visual
feedback.

The Play mode exists in three different levels: Basic,

Intermediary and Advanced. The three levels function
similarly with the difference that characters used for the
basic level represent more commonly used vocabulary and
contain the most pictographic elements. The higher the
level, the more abstract the radicals become.

Figure 3 - Easy Play mode implemented for initial prototype

testing with radicals on the left and the draw canvas in the
middle. The results canvas on the right displays the most
recent character drawn correctly.

Users commented on three key shortcomings of the initial

game design: 1) lack of feedback when the user succeeds or
fails to assemble a character, 2) unclear instructions for how
to play the game and how the points are awarded, and 3)
desire for audio feedback. In what follows, we provide a
detailed account of the feedback received, and proceed with
how we have, or intend to, remediate the shortcomings.
Forms of Feedback
Participants suggested some type of visual or auditory
feedback based on their results in the game: visual feedback
such as the character seemingly coming to life through
animation, fireworks on the screen, or audio feedback, such
as applause or bravo, hurray when a character is
correctly assembled. The implementation of this feature
depends on finding a solution for the OCR so that the
system can determine whether or not the object drawn is an
existing character. Our initial attempt to do so was
unsuccessful because the OCR system was only capable of

Figure 2 - Easy Game mode in progress

The goal of the game is to correctly combine a series of

radicals presented at the left of the screen (Figure 2).

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recognizing typed and not handwritten characters. Further,

existing OCRs that allow handwriting recognition are Javabased standalone tools that do not support embedding into
an Android application.

We added audio feedback to sound the Chinese word

Gngx (congratulations) and display the English word
Correct on the screen when a character is correctly
assembled. If the character is incorrectly assembled the
Chinese words d cule (wrong answer) will sound with
the English word Incorrect displayed. We chose to use
Chinese words for the audio feedback in order to reinforce
the overarching goal of the game - to learn Chinese - while
the visual feedback ensures that even a player unfamiliar
with these terms understand whether or not the answer was
correct or incorrect.

Also, few participants described the absence of a voice

recognition feature, and also suggested that the character be
pronounced once the player has correctly written it. We
have decided that adding a voice recognition feature would
be outside of the immediate scope of the game and not
contribute towards the intended learning goals.
Unclear Instructions
Participants stated they could not understand how to play
the game or that they didnt understand the importance of
radicals for writing Chinese characters. The initial
prototype did not include instructions, as we wanted to
understand if the Text Twist metaphor would be readily
apparent.

Figure 5 - Easy Play mode modified with user feedback to

include explicit instructions.

Unclear Instructions
We have added short instructions (Figure 5) before starting
the game on Play mode such that the instructions appear
before the timer begins its countdown. In addition, on the
main game menu (Figure 4), there is a How to Play
option to give instructions on how to play the game and
help players form a mental model around the connection
between radicals and characters.

Figure 4 - Main menu for Pnt

Point System
Participants questioned how the points were rewarded.
Initially players were awarded 100 points for each
character. However participants expressed it would be
unfair for the same amount of points to be rewarded to a
character formed from only one radical than a character
built from multiple radicals.

Point System
In response to the award concerns we designed each level
of the game with ways to earn more bonus time. For
example, in the Beginner Level of the game, the player is
presented with three radicals and when they successfully
identify five characters (a total of 500 points) the player is
awarded 30 additional seconds in bonus playing time.
Because some characters can be formed from one radical,
this form of positive reinforcement would encourage
players to form more complex characters. At the end of the
game, we intend for the player to be able to see a list of all
the characters they identified and characters they were not
able to identify within the allotted time (similar to the Text
Twist game).

Other participants asked if simply copying a radical that is

also a character should give an equal amount of points
compared to creating a compound character. All correct
characters were weighted the same (100 points per
character).
PROTOTYPE CHANGES
We describe how the prototype was modified to address the
concerns outlined in the initial prototype testing session
highlighted above. In summary we provided an option for
audio feedback on the correct pronunciation of the
character, added instructions to the application window, and
rewarded users after forming five characters with additional
time.

FUTURE WORK AND LIMITATIONS

In the future we will work to create a handwriting-based
OCR system and implement scaffolded learning. The game
could implement just-in-time scaffolded learning through
embedded hints that the learner can access should she get
stuck.

Forms of Feedback

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We realize that one major limitation is the lack of a

handwriting OCR system for Chinese characters. The best
solution to this problem is to develop our own OCR system
that can be embedded into Android applications. The lack
of proper character-based feedback hindered us from
extensive testing with Chinese language learners.
Pnt could better afford scaffolded learning through 1)
embedded hints that the learner can access should she get
stuck, and 2) enhanced visual input with the help of images
illustrating the meaning of each character which would
further strengthen memorization.
Also, we would like to highlight that our game is intended
to supplement classroom instruction, not replace it.
Therefore it is expected that Pnt players have some
knowledge of radicals but may need practice applying the
radicals to character formation.
CONCLUSION
To summarize, we have presented Pnt, a game to teach
English-speaking students how to produce Chinese
characters and recognize their audio representations. Our
game is unique in that it teaches using a more an
appropriate unit of analysis, the radical. We have discussed
the iterative design process applied to a prototype of the
game which helped users form a mental model of Chinese
characters (i.e., radical description in instructions and
inherent game interaction paradigm) and motivates them to
expand their vocabulary to more complex characters (i.e.,
additional time awarded for correct characters drawn). We
await the development of a Chinese handwriting OCR
system that can integrate with the Android mobile platform
to enable rigorous testing with English-speaking Chinese
learners.

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