1887
Volume 51, Issue 3
  • ISSN 2451-828x
  • E-ISSN: 2451-8298
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

This study compared the effectiveness of two teaching methods on the production of Mandarin Tone 3 by English-speaking students. The control group (n=12) received pitch direction-focused instruction in which Tone 3 was introduced as a falling-rising contour tone while the experimental group (n=12) received pitch height-focused instruction in which Tone 3 was introduced as a low level tone. The ability to produce this tone in monosyllabic words, disyllabic words and sentences was assessed after 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months of instruction. The results showed that the pitch height-focused teaching method improved Tone 3 production in connected tonal environments at the sentence level, whereas the pitch direction-focused teaching method was more effective in training students to produce this tone in isolation. More importantly, unlike the pitch direction-focused method, the effectiveness of the pitch height-focused teaching method generalized to new words. It helped L2 learners to develop a self-learning skill for pronouncing unfamiliar words.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/csl.51.3.02he
2017-01-30
2024-12-13
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Belotel-Grenié, Agnès , and Michel Grenié
    1994 “Phonation Types Analysis in Standard Chinese.” Proceedings of ICSLP’94 , Yokohama, Japan, 343–346.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Chao, Yuen-Ren
    (1930) “A System of Tone-letters.” Le Maître Phonétique, 45: 24–27.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Chen, Qinghai
    1997 “Toward a Sequential Approach for Tonal Error Analysis.” Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association32(1): 21–39.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Duanmu, San
    2000The Phonology of Standard Chinese. Oxford: OUP.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. He, Yunjuan
    2014 “The Factors Affecting the Production of Mandarin Chinese Coarticulated Tones by American Learners.” Guoji Hanyu Jiaoyu (International Chinese Language Education) 1: 136–146.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Liu, Yuehua . et al.
    2010Integrated Chinese. Boston, MA: Cheng & Tsui Company, Inc.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Liu, Xun
    2010New Practical Chinese Reader. Beijing, China: Beijing Language and Culture University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Miracle, W. Charles
    1989 ”Tone Production of American Students of Chinese: A Preliminary Acoustic Study.”Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association24: 49–65.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Moore, Corinne B. , and Allard Jongman
    1997 “Speaker Normalization in the Perception of Mandarin Chinese.” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America102 (3): 1864–1877. doi: 10.1121/1.420092
    https://doi.org/10.1121/1.420092 [Google Scholar]
  10. Shen, Susan X-N
    1989 “Toward a Register Approach in Teaching Mandarin Tones.” Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association24(3): 27–47.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Shi, Feng , and Qibin Ran
    2011 “A Comment on “Mandarin Tone Perception: A Report on a Low Level Tone.”Zhongguo Yuwen (Studies of the Chinese Language) 6: 550–555.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Wang, Xinchun
    2012 “Auditory and Visual Training on Mandarin Tones: A Pilot Study on Phrases and Sentences.” International Journal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Teaching2(2): 16–29. doi: 10.4018/ijcallt.2012040102
    https://doi.org/10.4018/ijcallt.2012040102 [Google Scholar]
  13. Wang, Yue , Allard Jongman , and Joan A. Sereno
    2003 “Acoustic and Perceptual Evaluation of Mandarin Tone Productions Before and After Perceptual Training.” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America113: 033–1044.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Wayland, Ratree , and Bin Li
    2008 “Effects of Two Training Procedures in Cross-language Perception of Tone.” Journal of Phonetics36(2): 250–267. doi: 10.1016/j.wocn.2007.06.004
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2007.06.004 [Google Scholar]
  15. Wen, Baoying , and Fang Yan
    2015 留学生汉语声调习得中阳上合流的实验研究 “Merging between the Second Tone and the Third Tone in Mandarin Acquisition by L2 Learners.”Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association51 (1): 19–41.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Wu, Sue-mei et al.
    2011Chinese Link. Upper saddle river, NJ: Person Education, Inc.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Xu, Yi
    (1997) Contextual Tonal Variations in Mandarin. Journal of Phonetics25: 61–83. doi: 10.1006/jpho.1996.0034
    https://doi.org/10.1006/jpho.1996.0034 [Google Scholar]
  18. Yang, Chunsheng
    2016The Acquisition of L2 Mandarin Prosody: From Experimental Studies to Pedagogical Practice. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/bpa.1
    https://doi.org/10.1075/bpa.1 [Google Scholar]
  19. Zhang, Hang
    2014 “The Third Tone: Allophones, Sandhi Rules and the Pedagogy.” Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association49 (1): 117–145.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Zhang, Jie , and Yuwen Lai
    2010 “Testing the Role of Phonetic Knowledge in Mandarin Tone Sandhi.” Phonology27 (1): 153–201. doi: 10.1017/S0952675710000060
    https://doi.org/10.1017/S0952675710000060 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/csl.51.3.02he
Loading
  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Chinese tones; production; teaching methods
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error