Speech Production of Mandarin Lexical Tones among Canadian Elementary Students Enrolled in Mandarin-English Bilingual Schools
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| Title: | Speech Production of Mandarin Lexical Tones among Canadian Elementary Students Enrolled in Mandarin-English Bilingual Schools |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Youran Lin (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2025 68(2):435-455. |
| Availability: | American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 21 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Elementary Education Early Childhood Education Grade 1 Primary Education Grade 3 Grade 5 Intermediate Grades Middle Schools |
| Descriptors: | Speech Communication, Mandarin Chinese, Tone Languages, Elementary School Students, Bilingual Students, Bilingual Schools, Foreign Countries, English, Difficulty Level, Linguistics, Grade 1, Grade 3, Grade 5, English (Second Language), Native Language, Accuracy, Differences, Pronunciation, Student Characteristics |
| Geographic Terms: | Canada |
| DOI: | 10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00150 |
| ISSN: | 1092-4388 1558-9102 |
| Abstract: | Purpose: This study investigates how Mandarin-English bilingual students in Canada produce Mandarin tones and how this is influenced by factors such as tone complexity, cross-linguistic influences, and speech input. Method: Participants were 82 students enrolled in a Chinese bilingual program in Western Canada. Students were recruited from Grades 1, 3, and 5 and divided into two groups based on their home language backgrounds: The heritage language group had early and strong input in Mandarin, and the second language (L2) group received mostly English input at home. Single-word tone productions were audio-recorded and transcribed by Mandarin-native listeners for match (accuracy) and pattern analyses. Acoustic measurements were extracted to provide phonetic details. Results: First, Tone3 (dipping tone) was challenging across groups due to its complexity. Second, L2 students' productions were more influenced by English as a nontonal language and showed signs of categorical confusion. Third, increased tone match rates were related to both home input and school input, but bilingual students did not reach more than 90% of match rates in Grade 5. Instead, L2 students produced phonetic features less accurately in higher grades. This was attributed to reduced pronunciation instruction and limited home input. Conclusions: Bilingual students' speech development in a minority language indicates unique influences of home and school input but also the universal influences of tone complexity. This study provides evidence for bilingual speech theories in the suprasegmental domain and has implications for the pedagogy of a minority language in the context of bilingual education. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1462924 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Purpose: This study investigates how Mandarin-English bilingual students in Canada produce Mandarin tones and how this is influenced by factors such as tone complexity, cross-linguistic influences, and speech input. Method: Participants were 82 students enrolled in a Chinese bilingual program in Western Canada. Students were recruited from Grades 1, 3, and 5 and divided into two groups based on their home language backgrounds: The heritage language group had early and strong input in Mandarin, and the second language (L2) group received mostly English input at home. Single-word tone productions were audio-recorded and transcribed by Mandarin-native listeners for match (accuracy) and pattern analyses. Acoustic measurements were extracted to provide phonetic details. Results: First, Tone3 (dipping tone) was challenging across groups due to its complexity. Second, L2 students' productions were more influenced by English as a nontonal language and showed signs of categorical confusion. Third, increased tone match rates were related to both home input and school input, but bilingual students did not reach more than 90% of match rates in Grade 5. Instead, L2 students produced phonetic features less accurately in higher grades. This was attributed to reduced pronunciation instruction and limited home input. Conclusions: Bilingual students' speech development in a minority language indicates unique influences of home and school input but also the universal influences of tone complexity. This study provides evidence for bilingual speech theories in the suprasegmental domain and has implications for the pedagogy of a minority language in the context of bilingual education. |
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| ISSN: | 1092-4388 1558-9102 |
| DOI: | 10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00150 |
