Abstract
This study aims to comprehend how adult beginner Japanese Language learners tackle the challenge of mastering kanji. Six tertiary students with alphabetic language backgrounds underwent ten weeks of paired, one-hour weekly kanji sessions. An inductive analysis identified thematic patterns in kanji learning. The findings indicate that novice learners proficiently self-generated visual or semantic imagery for most introduced kanji, demonstrating an engagement beyond radicals and/or components. Pedagogical implications are discussed in light of these results.