scholarly journals Acquisition of L2 Mandarin Chinese tones with learner-created tone visualizations

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothy M. Chun ◽  
Yan Jiang ◽  
Justine Meyr ◽  
Rong Yang
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Spoken Word ◽  
Data Analyses ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Acoustic Analyses ◽  
Mandarin Chinese Tones

This paper reports on a study of 35 Mandarin Chinese learners who (1) created pitch curves of their spoken word tones and (2) compared their pitch curves with those of native speakers while practicing pronunciation. Following a pretest, the learners received training for 20–25 minutes weekly over nine weeks and took a posttest. Two types of data analyses were performed. First, native speakers of Mandarin auditorily rated the pretests and posttests. The ratings revealed that learners’ pronunciation of tones improved between pretest and posttest. Second, acoustic analyses of the learners’ recordings were conducted, and the learners’ production was compared with that of native speakers. Results indicated that students’ pronunciation of some tones improved in the posttest. The postsurveys indicated that two-thirds of the participants found viewing pitch curves helpful. This study confirms previous research but suggests that acoustic analyses complement auditory analyses with more precise indications of L2 learners’ tonal difficulties.

Slowly but surely: Interpreting facilitates L2 morphological anticipation based on suprasegmental and segmental information

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 752-762
Author(s):  
Cristina Lozano-Argüelles ◽  
Nuria Sagarra ◽  
Joseph V. Casillas
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Spoken Word ◽  
Tracking Data ◽  
Linguistic Variables ◽  
Word Prediction ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Syllabic Structure

AbstractNative speakers use suprasegmental information to predict words, but less is known about segmental information. Moreover, anticipatory studies with non-native speakers are scarce and mix proficiency with anticipatory experience. To address these limitations, we investigated whether Spanish monolinguals and advanced English learners of Spanish use suprasegmentals (stress: oxytone, paroxytone) and segmentals (syllabic structure: CVC, CV) to predict word suffixes, and whether increased anticipatory experience acquired via interpreting will facilitate anticipation in non-interpreting L2 situations. Eye-tracking data revealed that: (1) the three groups made use of the linguistic variables, and L2 groups did not anticipate in CV paroxytones; (2) everybody anticipated better with the less frequent conditions (oxytones, CVC) having fewer lexical competitors; (3) monolinguals anticipated earlier than L2 learners; and (4) interpreters anticipated at a faster rate in some conditions. These findings indicate that less frequent suprasegmental and segmental information and anticipatory experience facilitate native and non-native spoken word prediction.

scholarly journals Comparing fundamental frequency of German vowels produced by German native speakers and Mandarin Chinese learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (7) ◽  
pp. 075203
Author(s):  
Yingming Gao ◽  
Hongwei Ding ◽  
Peter Birkholz ◽  
Yi Lin
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Chinese Learners

ERP signatures of subject–verb agreement in L2 learning

2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
LANG CHEN ◽  
HUA SHU ◽  
YOUYI LIU ◽  
JINGJING ZHAO ◽  
PING LI
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Neural Structure ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Syntactic Features ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
L2 Learners

In this study we examined ERP (event-related-potential) responses in the morphosyntactic processing of subject–verb agreements by L2 Chinese learners of English. Fifteen proficient L2 learners and fifteen native English speakers were presented with English sentences that varied in the grammaticality of the sentence with respect to subject–verb agreement. Our results indicate that late L2 learners show distinct ERP responses from native speakers in the processing of syntactic features that are absent in their L1, even when their behavioral patterns are similar to those of native speakers. The results are taken to support the proposal that language-specific experiences with L1 shape the neural structure of processing in L2.

The influence of Chinese Focused Cleft wh-constructions on Chinese speakers’ L2 knowledge of English wh-movement

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 142-168
Author(s):  
Fuyun Wu
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Mandarin Speakers ◽  
Chinese Learners Of English ◽  
Native Mandarin Chinese Speakers

Previous studies of Mandarin speakers’ intuitions about grammatical and ungrammatical wh-movement constructions in L2 English have produced mixed results. Some studies show that such speakers neither fully accept grammatical wh-constructions, nor fully reject constructions that violate locality constraints. The present study examines the possibility that learners may be transferring the Chinese Focused Cleft wh-construction (FCW) into their English grammars, and that transfer is persistently influential. It is argued that the FCW, which produces structures superficially similar to English wh-movement questions, does not involve movement. Two experimental studies are reported. The first tests native Mandarin Chinese speakers’ intuitions about the FCW in order to provide evidence bearing on lack of movement in the FCW. The second tests the intuitions about grammatical and ungrammatical English wh-movement of advanced L2 learners of English whose L1 was Mandarin. The results support the claim that advanced Chinese learners of English interpret English wh-constructions like Chinese FCWs.

scholarly journals Can Word-Word Space Facilitate L2 Chinese Reading: Evidence From the Two Empirical Studies by Advanced L2 Learners of Mandarin Chinese

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402110591
Author(s):  
Ken Chen ◽  
Lei Gu ◽  
Hongshan Zuo ◽  
Qiaoyan Bai
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Chinese Reading ◽  
Paper Test ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Teaching Text ◽  
Effective Role ◽  
Chinese Texts

The purpose of this article aims to analysis the effect of word-word space in written Chinese to advanced non-native speakers when they read and process Mandarin texts. The participants have performed one online reaction time experiment and another one offline pencil-paper test. The results indicate that the structure of word segmentation in written Chinese texts have play an effective role in sentences’ semantic processing, and the length and difficulty of sentences stimuli have also displayed significant function for their Chinese sentences processing. However, the results of offline test show that the combinational amount of segmental words have not affected the texts materials processed by advanced L2 participants. These results suggest that word boundary can facilitate L2 learners of Mandarin Chinese in processing text during their reading. Apart from theoretical implications, this article also proposes a new pedagogical approach to teaching text segmentation in Chinese, which can be useful in instructing Chinese as a second or foreign language.

Acquiring topic structures in Mandarin Chinese

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng-hsi Liu
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Advanced Stage ◽  
Structure Building ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Grammatical Judgment ◽  
L1 English

AbstractPrevious studies suggest that Chinese topic structures, especially base-generated structures, are difficult for L1 English L2 Chinese learners, and only at the very advanced stage do learners perform at the target-like level. Yuan (1995) hypothesizes that non-advanced L2 learners may have difficulty adding a topic node to the subject-predicate structure and that they tend to interpret the topic as the subject. The present study tests this hypothesis and seeks to find out if structure building is accessible to L2 learners before they reach an advanced stage. A grammatical judgment experiment was conducted on several types of topic structures. Results show that lower-level subjects behaved on a par with native speakers on certain types of topic structures. This result suggests that L2 learners are able to build new structures at an early stage.

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