Exploring Pedagogical Strategies for Developing Orthographic Knowledge: A Case Study of the Critically Endangered Manchu Language

ABSTRACT Pedagogical strategies employed for developing orthographic knowledge are intricately tied to how learners approach word reading across writing systems. This empirical case study utilized thick description to document a teacher's pedagogical strategies for developing fundamental writing and reading (decoding) skills among novice learners of the Manchu language at a Chinese university. The teacher implemented a structured instructional procedure involving presentation, demonstration, and, in particular, manipulation to teach the specifics of orthographic writing. In addition, teacher‐led chanting, transliteration, and segmentation of symbol blocks were extensively applied to instruct the ways in which phonology is mapped onto orthography and to facilitate reading the mixed grain sizes of the writing system. This study reports for the first time the pedagogical practices documented in other visually complex scripts applied to the instruction of the endangered Manchu language with distinctive orthographic characteristics. In light of the pressing challenges faced by learners and instructors of endangered languages, our findings demonstrate how locally adapted pedagogical strategies are informing language revitalization efforts.