Beyond the walls of classrooms: Exploring the pedagogical effectiveness of Text-To-Speech-based Shadowing (TTS-S) on the development of Mandarin tones

Abstract

This study examines the pedagogical effectiveness of using Text-To-Speech synthesis (TTS) combined with Shadowing (TTS-S) for self-regulated learning of Mandarin tones 1 and 4. The aim is to determine the probability of success of this innovative approach that uses TTS to generate audio for shadowing practice. The research was guided by the following research question: can TTS-S help L2 learners raise their awareness and improve their perception and production of the target Mandarin tones over a period of six weeks? Over six week, ten participants engaged in self-regulated activities using TTS-S to learn the two pronunciation targets. By means of pre-/post-tests (to assess effectiveness in pronunciation) participants were asked to complete: (1) an awareness task in which they verbalized their metacognitive knowledge of Mandarin tones; (2) ABX tasks to assess their perception of Mandarin tones; and (3) a production task to evaluate their production of the target tones. Our findings are inconclusive regarding the effectiveness of TTS-S for improving awareness, perception, and production of Mandarin tones 1 and 4 among L2 learners. They also indicate that while certain aspects of phonological development, specifically production, showed some improvements, the overall impact was not statistically significant.