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Article published In: Chinese as a Second Language (漢語教學研究—美國中文教師學會學報)
Vol. 51:3 (2016) ► pp.252–265

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Effects of different teaching methods on the production of Mandarin tone 3 by English speaking learners

 | University of North Georgia, U.S.A
 | University of British Columbia, Canad
 | University of Florida, U.S.A
Published online: 2 February 2017
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https://doi.org/10.1075/csl.51.3.02he
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.
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Cited by two other publications

Zhu, Junling
2023. Critical Literature Review on Teaching Chinese as a World Language in the Context of Globalization. Language and Sociocultural Theory 9:2 ► pp. 202 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2022. Introducing Chinese Linguistics [Studies in Chinese Language and Discourse, 16], DOI logo

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