Traditionally Chinese educators have held the view that the repeated writing of characters and the detailed memorisation of the shape and strokes of each character is the most effective way for children to learn Chinese. The danger is that there is often insufficient emphasis on using the characters in a meaningful context, with many students forgetting the meaning of the characters and losing interest in learning. The study looked at the effect on learning of encountering Chinese characters within semantic networks that emphasise the meaning of the words and the acquisition of a Chinese lexicon of clusters of related words. 181 students aged 3-6 years in Kindergarten 1,2 and 3 took part in the study, evidence about the impact of the new approach and lesson activities on learning being gathered using quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative analyses involved comparing pre-and post test scores using dependent t-testing to examine prior and after learning knowledge and skills. The qualitative evidence was assembled from interviews with teachers and through the systematic observation of lessons. Students in all three age groups significantly increased their mental lexicon of groups of associated words. Qualitative analyses indicated that all of the students had improved their interest in learning Chinese characters and had become more active learners. They were more efficient language learners and knew much more about the semantics, phonology and graphics of Chinese characters.