A combination of powerful political and economic factors has led to increasing interest in learning languages such as Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, and those of the Indian sub continent across Europe.  A particular challenge for those Europeans from an alphabet-based background can be learning the different script. Whilst there has been considerable research into the strategies adult students use to learn English and other European  languages, little is known about learning Mandarin Chinese, and more specifically about the strategies  beginner students use to tackle memorising the characters. This paper reports on a study of students aged between 11 and 15 years learning Chinese as a Foreign Language in an inner London school. In the first introductory part, it outlines the Language Learner Strategy research tradition in which it situates itself. There is also discussion of memorisation strategies in languages with alphabetic script, and the particular problems that Chinese characters pose for memorising them. These areas are underpinned by a discussion of cognitive theoretical approaches to language learning, which are also addressed in terms of didactic process. The following questions frame the research study:

1. What are the strategies used by Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) adolescent learners of Mandarin Chinese in order to recognise and produce characters in written form?
2. To what extent are they generic or unique to CFL?
3. Which strategies do students use most frequently? Are they more likely to use graphic based strategies for example? Whilst frequency of strategy use may not lead to successful learning, it may indicate if students simply transfer their existing strategies or need to develop those unique to CFL.
4. What are the possible factors underlying their use of Vocabulary Learning Strategies? Do some imply a greater depth of processing than others?  How do they relate to the difference between identifying the overall shape 

The methodological plan used to answer these questions employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Drawing on the results of a ‘think aloud’ activity carried out with 10 students, a questionnaire was developed to indicate frequency of strategy use. Completed by 180 students of varying  ages, the findings suggest that as well as using ‘generic’ strategies common to learning any language, students develop strategies specific to the challenges of Mandarin Chinese.  Factor analysis then reveals the importance for these young learners of physical resemblance and prior knowledge to identify a ‘way in’ to the characters.  The cognitive burden involved limits their ability to deploy some of the strategies likely to enhance the depth of processing . The study argues that a similar methodology might be used to explore the strategies used to learn other languages with non-alphabetic scripts. It concludes by suggesting that explicit strategy instruction could facilitate students’  progress.

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