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Your work investigates non-heritage learners’ acquisition of tones, especially Tone 3 in the learning of Mandarin Chinese. What has your research found? In learning Mandarin Chinese, one of the first things that learners have to tackle are the four tones, of which Tone 3 is reported as the most challenging. In textbooks, Tone 3 is traditionally presented as a falling-rising contour tone in the shape of a “v”. Learners have a hard time attaching a tone contour on a short one-syllable word. However, some acoustic studies have shown that the main articulatory feature of Tone 3 is actually its tone height as a low tone. Based on this evidence, I used an alternative approach to focus on introducing Tone 3 as a low tone instead of a contour tone. Results showed that this simplified approach increased production accuracy of Tone 3 at the sentence level. The positive effect also extended to the production of unfamiliar words, meaning that this is a more sustainable skill in learning new lexical items with Tone 3. |
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Your work investigates non-heritage learners’ acquisition of tones, especially Tone 3 in the learning of Mandarin Chinese. What has your research found?
In learning Mandarin Chinese, one of the first things that learners have to tackle are the four tones, of which Tone 3 is reported as the most challenging. In textbooks, Tone 3 is traditionally presented as a falling-rising contour tone in the shape of a “v”. Learners have a hard time attaching a tone contour on a short one-syllable word. However, some acoustic studies have shown that the main articulatory feature of Tone 3 is actually its tone height as a low tone. Based on this evidence, I used an alternative approach to focus on introducing Tone 3 as a low tone instead of a contour tone. Results showed that this simplified approach increased production accuracy of Tone 3 at the sentence level. The positive effect also extended to the production of unfamiliar words, meaning that this is a more sustainable skill in learning new lexical items with Tone 3.
If the goal is to become a news broadcaster in that language, you need to be perfect in tones. Otherwise, you can be a perfectly confident Mandarin Chinese speaker with imperfect tones.
How important is it for heritage learners to take Chinese language classes in Canada?
We are fortunate to live and learn in Canada, a country that celebrates diversity and respects multicultural heritage. To recognize and connect with our own heritage is an important step in our social and intellectual development. To learn Chinese as a heritage learner at UBC is one such opportunity. Unlike the memories of never-ending dictation of characters when learning Chinese as a kid, the heritage Chinese language courses at UBC offer a safe place to meet peers who share similar stories and face similar challenges. They also offer a different lens through which to examine your family and the society you live in. Of course you will start to speak better Chinese after taking these courses, but more importantly, you will discover more about yourself and your unique background.