Radical Awareness in Chinese as a Second Language Education – a Bibliometric Review of International Publications

The interest in Chinese as a second language education has grown exponentially worldwide. This research seeks to bibliometrically review the current international literature that focuses on radical awareness – a Chinese character's sub-component – in Chinese education. It aims to discover the research topics regarding it, what roles it plays, how it develops, and how it can be facilitated. The results of the keywords hotspot indicated that the research primarily concentrates on the relation of radical awareness and other metalinguistic awareness, such as morphological and phonological awareness, with the development of literacy. Regarding the specific roles, radical awareness can positively or insignificantly forecast character recognition and reading development, and it develops gradually after emerging early. The development trajectories of each subskill of radical awareness varied across learners with different proficiency levels and backgrounds. Furthermore, the findings reveal that interventional training, teaching strategies, or incorporating technology can significantly enhance radical awareness. The review points to the need to standardize the definition and measurement of radical awareness, and highlights future research directions.