Students Responses to the Chinese Hanzi Handwriting Application in Learning Hanzi Writing Skills: Evidence from Eleventh-Grade Students at SMKS Ketintang Surabaya

Abstract

Acquiring Chinese character hanzi writing skills remains one of the most challenging aspects of learning Chinese as a foreign language, particularly for beginner and intermediate learners, due to the complex stroke order and logographic structure of hanzi. This challenge underscores the need for interactive learning media that can support more engaging and effective hanzi instruction, such as the Chinese Hanzi Handwriting application. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the Chinese Hanzi Handwriting application in improving students hanzi writing skills and to investigate student’s responses toward its use as a learning medium. A quantitative approach with a True Experimental Design was employed, involving 66 eleventh-grade students divided equally into an experimental group and a control group. Data were collected through classroom observations, pre-tests, post-tests, and questionnaires, and analyzed using an independent samples t-test. The t-test results revealed a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups (p < 0,05), confirming the effectiveness of the Chinese Hanzi Handwriting application in enhancing students hanzi writing skills. Furthermore, the questionnaire results showed an overall average response rate ranging from 81% to 100%, categorized as “Very Good”. These findings indicate that the Chinese Hanzi Handwriting application is both pedagogically effective and well received by students, suggesting its potential as a viable interactive learning medium for hanzi writing instruction in Chinese as a foreign language classroom.