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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
Language: English
Authors: Youran Lin (ORCID 0000-0002-9720-0169), Karen E. Pollock (ORCID 0000-0002-5889-8605), Fangfang Li (ORCID 0000-0001-7047-6918)
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
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  Data: Speech Production of Mandarin Lexical Tones among Canadian Elementary Students Enrolled in Mandarin-English Bilingual Schools
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  Data: English
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Youran+Lin%22">Youran Lin</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9720-0169">0000-0002-9720-0169</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Karen+E%2E+Pollock%22">Karen E. Pollock</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5889-8605">0000-0002-5889-8605</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fangfang+Li%22">Fangfang Li</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7047-6918">0000-0001-7047-6918</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Speech%2C+Language%2C+and+Hearing+Research%22"><i>Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research</i></searchLink>. 2025 68(2):435-455.
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  Data: 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
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  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 21
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  Label: Publication Date
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  Data: 2025
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Label: Education Level
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education%22">Early Childhood Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Grade+1%22">Grade 1</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Primary+Education%22">Primary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Grade+3%22">Grade 3</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Grade+5%22">Grade 5</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Intermediate+Grades%22">Intermediate Grades</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Middle+Schools%22">Middle Schools</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Speech+Communication%22">Speech Communication</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mandarin+Chinese%22">Mandarin Chinese</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Tone+Languages%22">Tone Languages</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Elementary+School+Students%22">Elementary School Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bilingual+Students%22">Bilingual Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bilingual+Schools%22">Bilingual Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English%22">English</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Difficulty+Level%22">Difficulty Level</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Linguistics%22">Linguistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grade+1%22">Grade 1</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grade+3%22">Grade 3</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grade+5%22">Grade 5</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+%28Second+Language%29%22">English (Second Language)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Native+Language%22">Native Language</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Accuracy%22">Accuracy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Differences%22">Differences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pronunciation%22">Pronunciation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Characteristics%22">Student Characteristics</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Canada%22">Canada</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00150
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 1092-4388<br />1558-9102
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: 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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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00150
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 21
        StartPage: 435
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Speech Communication
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mandarin Chinese
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Tone Languages
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Elementary School Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Bilingual Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Bilingual Schools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: English
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Difficulty Level
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      – SubjectFull: Linguistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Grade 1
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Grade 3
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Grade 5
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: English (Second Language)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Native Language
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Accuracy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Differences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pronunciation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Characteristics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Canada
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Speech Production of Mandarin Lexical Tones among Canadian Elementary Students Enrolled in Mandarin-English Bilingual Schools
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              Y: 2025
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