This study investigates what beginning learners of Chinese perceive as helpful in learning to recognize characters. Thirteen English-speaking participants in a beginning Chinese class answered journal questions and completed a survey over one semester at a large Midwestern university. Findings suggest that participants perceived the usefulness of different ways of learning: (a) Studying characters individually strongly facilitated the learning of Chinese orthography and also helped with meaning and pronunciation; (b) using characters in context strongly supported the learning of meaning and pronunciation; (c) practicing characters through cooperative learning created a good learning environment, provided support and facilitated meaningful interaction for learners. Participants thought it was helpful to focus on individual characters for orthography and use characters in context for meaning.