Twenty-fifth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

Pronunciation is one of the most complicated yet important aspects of teaching Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language. Successful communication cannot take place without correct pronunciation, and poorly pronounced speech may disorient the listener and inhibit comprehension. “Pronunciation should be taken more seriously, not just for its own sake, but as the basis for speaking and comprehending.” (Cook 2001) Pronunciation is particularly challenging for non-heritage students of Chinese, who face the double challenge of learning to produce novel sounds as well as mastering an unfamiliar tonal pronunciation system. In Chinese, different levels of pitch and contours of pronunciation engender vastly different meanings; therefore, the role of tonal accuracy in the development of spoken competence in Chinese cannot be underestimated. Combining phonetic and phonological principles with firsthand experience teaching Mandarin online, I argue that properly leveraging built-in technologies in CMS can help learners build a strong foundation in pronunciation at the beginning level, which provides long term benefits. I will discuss how technologies used for Mandarin pronunciation teaching/learning are related to corresponding linguistic theories, and demonstrate how these technologies can support online Mandarin Chinese teaching/learning with a focus on pronunciation. I present a paradigm that links many nuances/features of good Mandarin pronunciation teaching/learning with the technologies integrated in and facilitated by the CMS.