Learning a tonal language: Chinese - Revision history

Liuying: /* Further information */

2009-05-14T01:00:25Z

Further information

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:00, 14 May 2009
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	== Further information ==		== Further information ==
	~~www.pitt.edu/~liuying/pslc_tone.doc~~

Koedinger: /* Findings */

2008-04-05T23:00:45Z

Findings

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:00, 5 April 2008
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	== Findings ==		== Findings ==
	Current results from two terms of tone perception experiment showed providing segmental information (Pinyin) provides a better learning curve. The learning curve of term 1 (lesson 1 to 8) showed Pinyin+contour and Pinyin+number conditions are better than contour only condition. The following Figure of fitted learning curve showed that the former two conditions have more negative slope (faster learning rate).		Current results from two terms of tone perception experiment showed providing segmental information (Pinyin) provides a better learning curve. The y-axis in the figure is error rate(?). The learning curve of term 1 (lesson 1 to 8) showed Pinyin+contour and Pinyin+number conditions are better than contour only condition. The following Figure of fitted learning curve showed that the former two conditions have more negative slope (faster learning rate).
	*[[Image:tone1.jpg]]		*[[Image:tone1.jpg]]

Liuying@pitt.edu: /* Findings */

2008-03-12T01:48:52Z

Findings

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:48, 12 March 2008
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	== Findings ==		== Findings ==
	Current results from two terms of tone perception experiment showed providing segmental information (Pinyin) provides a better learning curve. The learning curve of term 1 (lesson 1 to 8) showed Pinyin+contour and Pinyin+number conditions are better than contour only condition. The following Figure of fitted learning curve showed that the former two conditions have more negative slope (faster learning rate).		Current results from two terms of tone perception experiment showed providing segmental information (Pinyin) provides a better learning curve. The learning curve of term 1 (lesson 1 to 8) showed Pinyin+contour and Pinyin+number conditions are better than contour only condition. The following Figure of fitted learning curve showed that the former two conditions have more negative slope (faster learning rate).
	[[Image:tone1.jpg]]		*[[Image:tone1.jpg]]

	== Explanation ==		== Explanation ==

Liuying@pitt.edu: /* Findings */

2008-03-12T01:48:10Z

Findings

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:48, 12 March 2008
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	== Findings ==		== Findings ==
	Current results from two terms of tone perception experiment showed providing segmental information (Pinyin) provides a better learning curve. The learning curve of term 1 (lesson 1 to 8) showed Pinyin+contour and Pinyin+number conditions are better than contour only condition ~~which is shown in~~ Figure 1 that the former two conditions have more negative slope (faster learning rate)~~. The learning curves of term 2 were “flat” and did not show difference between the three conditions~~.		Current results from two terms of tone perception experiment showed providing segmental information (Pinyin) provides a better learning curve. The learning curve of term 1 (lesson 1 to 8) showed Pinyin+contour and Pinyin+number conditions are better than contour only condition. The following Figure of fitted learning curve showed that the former two conditions have more negative slope (faster learning rate).
	The post-test result of term 1 showed significantly higher improvement of performance in Pinyin+contour than pinyin+number conditions in item analysis. In term 2, the post-test did not show any significant difference between the three conditions.		[[Image:tone1.jpg]]

	== Explanation ==		== Explanation ==

Liuying at 11:38, 13 June 2007

2007-06-13T11:38:58Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:38, 13 June 2007
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	== Glossary ==		== Glossary ==
	~~A glossary that defines terms used elsewhere in this node but not defined in the nodes that are parents, grandparents, etc. of this node;~~		Tone; pitch contour; visual feedback
	~~tone~~; pitch contour; visual feedback


	== Research question ==		== Research question ==

	~~The research question stated as concisely as possible, usually in a single sentence;~~
	How to optimally use crucial tonal information to facilitate Chinese tone learning.		How to optimally use crucial tonal information to facilitate Chinese tone learning.

	== Background ==		== Background ==
	~~A background and significance section that briefly summarizes prior work on the research question and why it is important to answer it;~~		*The basic speech unit of Chinese is the syllable, and each syllable is divided into two parts: onset and rime. The onset of a Chinese syllable is always a single consonant. In most syllables the rime segment consists of mainly vowels. As a result, Chinese has a much smaller number of syllables than does spoken English (Hanely, Tzeng, & Huang, 1999). This leads to a large number of homophones in Chinese. However, because of the existence of tone in Chinese syllables, the number of homophones is reduced. There are about 1,300 tone syllables in spoken Chinese (Taylor & Taylor, 1995).
	~~[[Link title]]~~ The basic speech unit of Chinese is the syllable, and each syllable is divided into two parts: onset and rime. The onset of a Chinese syllable is always a single consonant. In most syllables the rime segment consists of mainly vowels. As a result, Chinese has a much smaller number of syllables than does spoken English (Hanely, Tzeng, & Huang, 1999). This leads to a large number of homophones in Chinese. However, because of the existence of tone in Chinese syllables, the number of homophones is reduced. There are about 1,300 tone syllables in spoken Chinese (Taylor & Taylor, 1995).		*The tonal feature of the Chinese language forms a sharp contrast to many alphabetic languages such as English. American college students learning Chinese language may encounter great difficulty in acquiring the tone skill. Wang, Perfetti, and Liu (2003) used a onset-rime-tone matching task to test beginning Chinese learners’ phonological processing skills. We found that these beginning Chinese learners showed poorer performance in tone matching compared to their performance in onset and rime matching.
	The tonal feature of the Chinese language forms a sharp contrast to many alphabetic languages such as English. American college students learning Chinese language may encounter great difficulty in acquiring the tone skill. Wang, Perfetti, and Liu (2003) used a onset-rime-tone matching task to test beginning Chinese learners’ phonological processing skills. We found that these beginning Chinese learners showed poorer performance in tone matching compared to their performance in onset and rime matching.		*There is very limited research on studying tone learning. Three-year-old Chinese native-speaking children have been shown to be able to detect when rime and tone are combined but they cannot detect rime and tone separately. Five-year-olds, on the other hand, can independently process rime and tone (Ho & Bryant, 1997). Wang, Spence, Jongman and Sereno (1999) trained American listeners to perceive Chinese tones. They found a significant increase of identification accuracy from pretest to posttest.
	There is very limited research on studying tone learning. Three-year-old Chinese native-speaking children have been shown to be able to detect when rime and tone are combined but they cannot detect rime and tone separately. Five-year-olds, on the other hand, can independently process rime and tone (Ho & Bryant, 1997). Wang, Spence, Jongman and Sereno (1999) trained American listeners to perceive Chinese tones. They found a significant increase of identification accuracy from pretest to posttest.

	== Dependent variables ==		== Dependent variables ==
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	== Hypothesis ==		== Hypothesis ==
	~~The hypothesis, which is a concise statement of the relationship among the variables that answers the research question;~~
	Having student focusing on tonal feature by providing visual pitch contour plus segmental information facilitates tonal perception and production.		Having student focusing on tonal feature by providing visual pitch contour plus segmental information facilitates tonal perception and production.

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	== Descendents ==		== Descendents ==
	~~The descendents, which lists links to descendent nodes of this one, if there are any;~~
	Tone perception (the present page)		Tone perception (the present page)
	Tone production (under construction)		Tone production (under construction)

	== Further information ==		== Further information ==
	A further information section that points to documents using hyper links and/or references in APA format. Each indicates briefly the document's relationship to the node (e.g., whether the document is a paper reporting the node in full detail, a proposal describing the motivation and design of the study in more detail, the node for a similar PSLC research study, etc.).
	www.pitt.edu/~liuying/pslc_tone.doc		www.pitt.edu/~liuying/pslc_tone.doc

Liuying at 11:37, 13 June 2007

2007-06-13T11:37:15Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:37, 13 June 2007
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	== Summary table ==		----
			Summary table
	*Node Title: Learning a tonal language: Chinese		*Node Title: Learning a tonal language: Chinese
	*Researchers: Min Wang, Ying Liu, Suemei Wu, Derek Chan, Charles Perfetti		*Researchers: Min Wang, Ying Liu, Suemei Wu, Derek Chan, Charles Perfetti
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	== Findings ==		== Findings ==
	~~The findings, which are the results of the study if any are currently available;~~
	Current results from two terms of tone perception experiment showed providing segmental information (Pinyin) provides a better learning curve. The learning curve of term 1 (lesson 1 to 8) showed Pinyin+contour and Pinyin+number conditions are better than contour only condition which is shown in Figure 1 that the former two conditions have more negative slope (faster learning rate). The learning curves of term 2 were “flat” and did not show difference between the three conditions.		Current results from two terms of tone perception experiment showed providing segmental information (Pinyin) provides a better learning curve. The learning curve of term 1 (lesson 1 to 8) showed Pinyin+contour and Pinyin+number conditions are better than contour only condition which is shown in Figure 1 that the former two conditions have more negative slope (faster learning rate). The learning curves of term 2 were “flat” and did not show difference between the three conditions.
	The post-test result of term 1 showed significantly higher improvement of performance in Pinyin+contour than pinyin+number conditions in item analysis. In term 2, the post-test did not show any significant difference between the three conditions.		The post-test result of term 1 showed significantly higher improvement of performance in Pinyin+contour than pinyin+number conditions in item analysis. In term 2, the post-test did not show any significant difference between the three conditions.

	== Explanation ==		== Explanation ==
	An explanation in terms of PSLC theoretical framework, which is short (a paragraph or two) and typically mentions unobservable, hypothetical attributes of the students (e.g., the students’ knowledge or motivation) and cognitive or social processes that affect them;		Learning Chinese tone was facilitated by having students [[focusing]] on the tonal features. Proving segmental information (Pinyin) before learning to a syllable sound provides more [[assistance]] to beginners, which makes it easier for them to pay more attention to the tone.
	Learning Chinese tone was facilitated by having students focusing on the tonal features. Proving segmental information (Pinyin) before learning to a syllable sound makes it easier for them to pay more attention to the tone.		Furthremore, the visual pitch contour and auditory tone are [[complementary]] information for learning tones. The mental representation of tones are more complete when visual pintch contour are provided together with Pinyin.

	== Descendents ==		== Descendents ==
	The descendents, which lists links to descendent nodes of this one, if there are any;		The descendents, which lists links to descendent nodes of this one, if there are any;
	Tone perception		Tone perception (the present page)
	Tone production		Tone production (under construction)

	== Further information ==		== Further information ==
	A further information section that points to documents using hyper links and/or references in APA format. Each indicates briefly the document's relationship to the node (e.g., whether the document is a paper reporting the node in full detail, a proposal describing the motivation and design of the study in more detail, the node for a similar PSLC research study, etc.).		A further information section that points to documents using hyper links and/or references in APA format. Each indicates briefly the document's relationship to the node (e.g., whether the document is a paper reporting the node in full detail, a proposal describing the motivation and design of the study in more detail, the node for a similar PSLC research study, etc.).
	www.pitt.edu/~liuying/pslc_tone.doc		www.pitt.edu/~liuying/pslc_tone.doc

Liuying at 08:03, 11 June 2007

2007-06-11T08:03:48Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:03, 11 June 2007
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	== Summary table ==		== Summary table ==
	~~----~~
	*Node Title: Learning a tonal language: Chinese		*Node Title: Learning a tonal language: Chinese
	*Researchers: Min Wang, Ying Liu, Suemei Wu, Derek Chan, Charles Perfetti		*Researchers: Min Wang, Ying Liu, Suemei Wu, Derek Chan, Charles Perfetti

Liuying at 08:03, 11 June 2007

2007-06-11T08:03:15Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:03, 11 June 2007
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			== Summary table ==
	----		----
	*Node Title: Learning a tonal language: Chinese		*Node Title: Learning a tonal language: Chinese

Liuying at 14:15, 6 June 2007

2007-06-06T14:15:49Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:15, 6 June 2007
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	----		----
	*Node Title: Learning a tonal language: Chinese		*Node Title: Learning a tonal language: Chinese
	Researchers: Min Wang, Ying Liu, Suemei Wu, Derek Chan, Charles Perfetti		*Researchers: Min Wang, Ying Liu, Suemei Wu, Derek Chan, Charles Perfetti
	PIs: Min Wang, Charles Perfetti, Ying Liu		*PIs: Min Wang, Charles Perfetti, Ying Liu
	Others who have contributed 160 hours or more:		*Others who have contributed 160 hours or more:
	Post-Docs: Baoguo Chen		*Post-Docs: Baoguo Chen
	Graduate Students: Derek Chan, Brian Brubaker		*Graduate Students: Derek Chan, Brian Brubaker
	Study Start Date Sep 1, 2005		*Study Start Date Sep 1, 2005
	Study End Date Dec 31, 2006		*Study End Date Dec 31, 2006
	LearnLab Site and Courses , CMU Chinese Online		*LearnLab Site and Courses , CMU Chinese Online
	Number of Students: 150		*Number of Students: 150
	Total Participant Hours for the study: 300		*Total Participant Hours for the study: 300
	Data in the Data Shop: Yes		*Data in the Data Shop: Yes
	----		----
	== Abstract ==		== Abstract ==
	The tonal feature of Chinese language poses a particular challenge for a beginning learner of Chinese as a second language. In this project, we test learning hypotheses based on the assumption that attending to the critical [[features]] of the tonal pitch contour facilitates learning.		*The tonal feature of Chinese language poses a particular challenge for a beginning learner of Chinese as a second language. In this project, we test learning hypotheses based on the assumption that attending to the critical [[features]] of the tonal pitch contour facilitates learning.
	This study consists of experiments on both tone perception and production tasks. In tone perception task, three training conditions were tested: 1) visual pitch contours that depict the acoustic information of the tones, together with Pinyin spelling of the spoken syllable; 2) numerical numbers that represent the tones in traditional classroom instruction, together with Pinyin spelling of the spoken syllable; 3) visual pitch contours, without Pinyin spelling. By comparing these three training conditions, we will test two hypotheses: 1) using visual information of the tone waveform facilitates students’ perception of auditory tones; 2) providing Pinyin spelling allows the students to focus on the tone, therefore yields more [[robust learning]], which was measured by [[transfer]] and [[long-term retention]] tasks.		*This study consists of experiments on both tone perception and production tasks. In tone perception task, three training conditions were tested: 1) visual pitch contours that depict the acoustic information of the tones, together with Pinyin spelling of the spoken syllable; 2) numerical numbers that represent the tones in traditional classroom instruction, together with Pinyin spelling of the spoken syllable; 3) visual pitch contours, without Pinyin spelling. By comparing these three training conditions, we will test two hypotheses: 1) using visual information of the tone waveform facilitates students’ perception of auditory tones; 2) providing Pinyin spelling allows the students to focus on the tone, therefore yields more [[robust learning]], which was measured by [[transfer]] and [[long-term retention]] tasks.
	In tone production task, we used a frequency analyzer to extract the fundamental frequency of student’s sound production. The pitch contour of production will be displayed to the student in real time during their production practice. By comparing the group which receives this individualized pitch contour with a group which does not, we predict the former will show more [[robust learning]] on tone production, which was shown as pronunciation [[refinement]].		*In tone production task, we used a frequency analyzer to extract the fundamental frequency of student’s sound production. The pitch contour of production will be displayed to the student in real time during their production practice. By comparing the group which receives this individualized pitch contour with a group which does not, we predict the former will show more [[robust learning]] on tone production, which was shown as pronunciation [[refinement]].

Liuying at 14:14, 6 June 2007

2007-06-06T14:14:45Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:14, 6 June 2007
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	----		----
	Node Title: Learning a tonal language: Chinese		*Node Title: Learning a tonal language: Chinese
	Researchers: Min Wang, Ying Liu, Suemei Wu, Derek Chan, Charles Perfetti		Researchers: Min Wang, Ying Liu, Suemei Wu, Derek Chan, Charles Perfetti
	PIs: Min Wang, Charles Perfetti, Ying Liu		PIs: Min Wang, Charles Perfetti, Ying Liu