Visualization of Tone for Learning Mandarin Chinese

For a tonal language such as Mandarin Chinese, accurate pronunciation of tones is critical to meaning, and research suggests that computer-based programs that allow for visualization of pitch contours are helpful for improving learners’ pronunciation (Chun, 1998; Hardison, 2004; Levis & Pickering, 2004). This paper reports on a pilot study using speech analysis software (Praat), which allowed L2 Chinese learners first to hear a native speaker of Mandarin say words and phrases while seeing a visual display of the native speaker’s pitch curves, then to record themselves reading the same words and phrases, and later to compare their own pitch contours to those of the native speaker. Students in first-year Chinese were recorded reading words and phrases before and after two computer-based training sessions. Native speakers rated the words and phrases for accuracy of tones. Results indicate a ceiling effect for the pronunciation of monoand disyllabic word tones, with 83.39% of tones produced correctly in the pre-test. Of the 16.41% of tones that were incorrect in the pre-test, almost 50% of them were pronounced correctly in the post-test. Students indicated in a post-study survey that seeing the pitch curves of both the native speakers and their own helped them improve their word tones.