Tone Learning Research Articles

Production rather than observation: comparison between the roles of embodiment and conceptual metaphor in L2 lexical tone learning

BackgroundIt remains unclear how embodiment and conceptual metaphor play a role in second language (L2) lexical tone learning. AimsThe present study aimed to examine the roles of pitch gesture production (PP), pitch feature observation (PO), and word-picture association (WA) approach in L2 lexical tone learning. SampleParticipants were 90 undergraduate students with Mandarin as their native language. MethodsParticipants learned Thai lexical tones via the three approaches and completed tone discrimination, tone identification, and word-picture matching tasks. ResultsThe PP performed better than the PO and WA in discriminating between and identifying specific tones. The PP was more accurate than the WA in word-picture matching. ConclusionsThe pitch gesture production's embodiment was superior to the pitch feature observation's conceptual metaphor in learning L2 lexical tones. However, its role was affected by lexical tones' pitch features, test tasks, and learners' tonal experience.

Prior knowledge benefits older adults' tonal consolidation through talker generalization

Recent research indicated that post-training sleep facilitates memory consolidation and talker generalization in young adults' tone learning. For instance, a nap study showed the newly learned tonal contrast that relates to prior knowledge consolidated more rapidly than that does not after daytime naps. Notably, older adults' declarative memory consolidation is impaired with age-related changes in sleep architecture. The current study examines whether prior (contour-tone) knowledge benefits Mandarin-speaking older adults' Cantonese tone learning. Mandarin employs pitch contours (falling versus rising) to cue tones in signaling word identity. Besides pitch contours, Cantonese also utilizes pitch heights (higher versus lower) in level tones to encode word meanings. In the pilot phase (60 Mandarin-speaking older adults will be recruited with data collection ongoing), participants were trained to learn Cantonese contour-level and level-level contrasts in the evening or the morning. A novel word-object identification task was used in the training, followed by three tone identification tasks: a posttest immediately after training, a 12-h delayed posttest (a trained talker), and another delayed posttest (a novel talker). Aligned with the nap study, preliminary results suggested overnight sleep might enhance seniors' tone-related memory by promoting generalization across talkers in learning contour-level contrast owing to their prior contour-tone knowledge.

Distributional learning of non-native tone contrasts by older adults after training and overnight consolidation

Despite decline in psychoacoustic and statistical learning (SL) abilities, older adults demonstrate remarkably intact perceptual learning in both L2 (tone-word learning) and L1 settings (perceptual adaptation to accented/noise-vocoded speech) but show limited transfer of learning to untrained stimuli. This study tests whether perceptual learning is maintained in an implicit statistical learning task where older adults learn L2 tonal contrasts through exposure to probability distributions of tonal tokens, which may pose higher requirements on both psychoacoustic and SL abilities, and whether sleep-dependent consolidation helps the generalization of perceptual knowledge. L1-Cantonese older adults learned to discriminate a perceptually difficult level-falling tone contrast following a pre-test, training, post- training overnight interval. Training stimuli were synthesized by interpolating naturally produced Mandarin level and high-falling tones into six equidistant steps. Participants either heard a bimodal (two-peak resembling level-falling categories) or unimodal distribution (single-peak) consisting of 256 tokens. ABX discrimination task was administered for testing, with tokens by two genders and on two pseudo-syllables to test generalization. Pilot data of 14 participants showed a trend of group effect with the bimodal group outperforming the unimodal group after training and sleep-dependent consolidation, showing that perceptual learning is maintained in a paradigm that relies heavily on psychoacoustic and SL abilities.

Bayesian Semiparametric Longitudinal Inverse-Probit Mixed Models for Category Learning.

Understanding how the adult human brain learns novel categories is an important problem in neuroscience. Drift-diffusion models are popular in such contexts for their ability to mimic the underlying neural mechanisms. One such model for gradual longitudinal learning was recently developed in Paulon et al. (J Am Stat Assoc 116:1114-1127, 2021). In practice, category response accuracies are often the only reliable measure recorded by behavioral scientists to describe human learning. Category response accuracies are, however, often the only reliable measure recorded by behavioral scientists to describe human learning. To our knowledge, however, drift-diffusion models for such scenarios have never been considered in the literature before. To address this gap, in this article, we build carefully on Paulon et al. (J Am Stat Assoc 116:1114-1127, 2021), but now with latent response times integrated out, to derive a novel biologically interpretable class of 'inverse-probit' categorical probability models for observed categories alone. However, this new marginal model presents significant identifiability and inferential challenges not encountered originally for the joint model in Paulon et al. (J Am Stat Assoc 116:1114-1127, 2021). We address these new challenges using a novel projection-based approach with a symmetry-preserving identifiability constraint that allows us to work with conjugate priors in an unconstrained space. We adapt the model for group and individual-level inference in longitudinal settings. Building again on the model's latent variable representation, we design an efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm for posterior computation. We evaluate the empirical performance of the method through simulation experiments. The practical efficacy of the method is illustrated in applications to longitudinal tone learning studies.

Enhancing lexical tone learning for second language speakers: effects of acoustic properties in Mandarin tone perception.

Understanding the challenges faced by second language (L2) learners in lexical tone perception is crucial for effective language acquisition. This study investigates the impact of exaggerated acoustic properties on facilitating Mandarin tone learning for English speakers. Using synthesized tone stimuli, we systematically manipulated pitch contours through three key modifications: expanding the fundamental frequency (F0), increasing F0 (female voice), and extending the overall duration. Our objectives were to assess the influence of F0 expansion, higher F0, longer duration, and varied syllables on Mandarin tone learning and generalization. Participants engaged in a non-adaptive trial-by-trial tone identification task. Mixed-effects logistic regression modeling was used to analyze accuracy across learning phases, acoustic factors, and tones. Findings reveal improvements in accuracy from training to testing and generalization phases, indicating the effectiveness of perceptual training to tone perception for adult English speakers. Tone 1 emerged as the easiest to perceive, while Tone 3 posed the most challenge, consistent with established hierarchies of tonal acquisition difficulty. Analysis of acoustic factors highlighted tone-specific effects. Expanded F0 was beneficial for the identification of Tone 2 and Tone 3 but posed challenges for Tone 1 and Tone 4. Additionally, longer durations also exhibited varied effects across tones, aiding in the identification of Tone 3 and Tone 4 but hindering Tone 1 identification. The higher F0 was advantageous for Tone 2 but disadvantageous for Tone 3. Furthermore, the syllable ma facilitated the identification of Tone 1 and Tone 2 but not for Tone 3 and Tone 4. These findings enhance our understanding of the role of acoustic properties in L2 tone perception and have implications for the design of effective training programs for second language acquisition.

Lexical tone perception and learning in older adults: A review and future directions.

While the literature is well represented in accounting for how aging influences segmental properties of speech, less is known about its influences on suprasegmental properties such as lexical tones. In addition, foreign language learning is increasingly endorsed as being a potential intervention to boost cognitive reserve and overall well-being in older adults. Empirical studies on young learners learning lexical tones are aplenty in comparison with older learners. Challenges in this domain for older learners might be different due to aging and other learner-internal factors. This review consolidates behavioural and neuroscientific research related to lexical tone, speech perception, factors characterising learner groups, and other variables that would influence lexical tone perception and learning in older adults. Factors commonly identified to influence tone learning in younger adult populations, such as musical experience, language background, and motivation in learning a new language, are discussed in relation to older learner groups and recommendations to boost lexical tone learning in older age are provided based on existing studies.

Using L1 tone and intonation categories to investigate patterns in nonnative tone identification

Many languages utilise lexical tone, a feature which assigns meaning to words through variations in pitch contours. In some (but not all) cases, prior tone language experience can facilitate the learning of a nonnative tone language. Regardless, multiple sessions of tone training can improve nonnative tone perception for both tone and nontone L1 listeners. However, the influence of L1 tone and intonation categories on nonnative tone learning is underexplored. Across five sessions of tone training, listeners of nontonal English (n = 25), tonal Mandarin (n = 23), and tonal Vietnamese (n = 25) learned tones from an artificial language. While all groups improved in tone identification and tone word learning by session five (p < .001), Mandarin listeners outperformed the other groups overall (identification, p < .001; word learning, p < .05). Tone experience was a main effect only in word learning (p < .05). Tone- and language-specific identification patterns were also observed. The low level tone was easier for all listeners to perceive, while the tonal groups also showed greater accuracy for the mid level tone. Contrastingly, Mandarin listeners were hindered by their single L1 falling tone category when attempting to identify two distinct nonnative falling tones.

Phonetic and Phono-Lexical Accuracy of Non-Native Tone Production by English-L1 and Mandarin-L1 Speakers.

Lexical tones are known to be a challenging aspect of speech to acquire in a second language, but several factors are known to affect tone learning facility, such as L1 tonal status (whether a learner's L1 is tonal or not), tone type (the shape of the tones to be acquired), and individual extralinguistic factors (such as musicianship, pitch aptitude, and working memory). Crucially, most of our knowledge of the effect of these factors is based on evidence from perception. The production side of tone learning and the origins of individual variability in learning facility remain relatively understudied. To this end, this study investigated non-native tone production-both in terms of phonetic accuracy in a pseudoword imitation task and in terms of phono-lexical accuracy in a picture-naming task-by English-L1 and Mandarin-L1 speakers. Results show that L1 tonal status and tone type dynamically affected both imitation and picture-naming accuracy, as there were specific accuracy patterns for the English and Mandarin groups. Production accuracy was further facilitated by individual musical experience, working memory, and pitch aptitude. This study's findings add to the currently limited literature on how both language-specific and individual extralinguistic factors modulate non-native tone processing in the speaking modality.

An Experimental Study of Chinese Disyllabic Tone Errors in Native French Speakers and an Investigation of Online Teaching Strategies

In the learning of Chinese as a second language, phonetic learning serves as the basis of the whole learning process, among which the learning of Chinese tones is of paramount importance. In this regard, this paper aims to explore the pronunciation of Chinese tones by native French speakers in the target language environment. First, through the experimental analysis as well as the recording of the tones of native French speakers, this paper selects a total of 237 disyllabic words, with a total of four combinations determined except for the combination of the same disyllabic neutral tone in the target language environment. Meanwhile, this paper utilizes PRAAT software to acquire the average frequency of tone sampling points, whereby the tone-pattern error of each tone combination can be clarified. Secondly, by comparing and analyzing the foregoing results with the tone patterns of Chinese students, this paper further finds out the tone-pattern errors of the same tone combination in disyllabic words, thus summarizing the corresponding error rules. Through the above experimental analysis, this paper concludes that the combination of Tone 3 and Tone 3 presents the highest pronunciation error rate, followed by the combination of Tone 2 and Tone 2. In addition, this paper reveals that the tone error is the main tone error and that there are also duration errors. Lastly, combined with the specific reasons for the errors, this paper proposes targeted online teaching strategies suitable for international Chinese education.

The Effect of Elementary School Teaching Methods on the Learning of Standard Croatian Tone

The Effect of Elementary School Teaching Methods on the Learning of Standard Croatian Tone

The Effects of Training Variability and Pitch Aptitude on the Overnight Consolidation of Lexical Tones.

Although variability of training materials has the potential to benefit the learning of lexical tones, the benefit is contingent on an individual's pitch aptitude. Previous studies did not segregate immediate learning and consolidation after an overnight interval, and little is known about how pitch aptitude differences affect consolidation. This study examined whether pitch aptitude predicts overnight consolidation of Cantonese level tones through high-variability (HV) and low-variability (LV) training. Two groups of Mandarin-speaking participants were first assessed in terms of pitch threshold and tone discrimination, which tapped into different aspects of pitch aptitude. They then received Cantonese level tone identification training in either an HV or an LV condition. The participants were trained in the evening, were tested after training, and returned after 24 hr for overnight consolidation assessment. The results indicate that pitch aptitude, measured through pitch threshold, may have predicted overnight consolidation and training progress of the HV group but not those of the LV group. In the HV group, compared with high-aptitude learners, low-aptitude learners benefited temporarily from training variability but did not consolidate the tonal knowledge as much as their high-aptitude counterparts did after 24 hr. The findings suggest that individual learners had difficulty learning nonnative tones by virtue of memory consolidation. Higher pitch aptitude ability (pitch threshold) may provide protection against the decay of learned tones and facilitate tone consolidation. The findings imply that the early emergence of tonal representation is a dynamic process among individuals of nonnative speakers who are exposed to training variability. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.20539998.

The effect of simultaneous exposure on the attention selection and integration of segments and lexical tones by Urdu-Cantonese bilingual speakers.

In the perceptual learning of lexical tones, an automatic and robust attention-to-phonology system enables native tonal listeners to adapt to acoustically non-optimal speech, such as phonetic conflicts in daily communications. Previous tone research reveals that non-native listeners who do not linguistically employ lexical tones in their mother tongue may find it challenging to attend to the tonal dimension or integrate it with the segmental features. However, it is unknown whether the attentional interference initially caused by a maternal attentional system would continue influencing the non-optimal tone perception for simultaneous bilingual teenagers. From an endpoint in the age of language acquisition, we investigate whether the tone-specific attention mechanism developed by the Urdu-Cantonese simultaneous bilinguals is automatic enough to assist them in adapting to a phonetically-conflicting environment. Three groups of teenagers engaged in a four-condition ABX task: Urdu-Cantonese simultaneous bilinguals, Cantonese native listeners, and Urdu-speaking, late learners of Cantonese. The results showed that although the simultaneous bilinguals could phonologically process Cantonese tones in a Cantonese-like way under a conflict-free listening condition, they still failed in adapting to the phonetic conflicts, especially the segment-induced ones. It thus demonstrated that the simultaneous exposure and years of regular education in Hong Kong local schools still could not automatically guarantee simultaneous bilingual processing of Cantonese tones. In interpreting the findings, it hypothesized that, except for simultaneous exposure, the development of a tone-specific attention mechanism is also likely to be L1-inhibitory, tone experience-driven, and language-specific for simultaneous bilinguals.

The combined effects of L1-specific and extralinguistic factors on individual performance in a tone categorization and word identification task by English-L1 and Mandarin-L1 speakers

Adult second language learners often show considerable individual variability in the ease with which lexical tones are learned. It is known that factors pertaining to a learner’s first language (L1; such as L1 tonal status or L1 tone type) as well as extralinguistic factors (such as musical experience and working memory) modulate tone learning facility. However, how such L1-specific and extralinguistic factors affect performance together in dynamic ways is less well understood. Therefore, to unpack the potential interactions between these factors for individual learners, we assessed the combined effects of L1 tonal status, L1 tone type, and musical experience and working memory on second language (L2) tone perception and word learning in a tonal pseudolanguage by English-L1 and Mandarin-L1 adult learners, by using a pre-lexical tone categorization task and a lexical word identification task. We found that L2 tone perception and word learning were primarily facilitated by extralinguistic factors, but that the degree to which learners rely on these factors is modulated by their L1 tonal status, as for instance musical experience facilitated perception and word learning for English, but not for Mandarin participants. We also found clear effects of L1 tone type, as Mandarin participants tended to struggle with categorizing and lexically processing level tone contrasts, which do not occur in Mandarin.

Audiovisual high variability phonetic training promotes second language lexical tone learning: An event-related potential study

This study investigated the efficacy of a modified high variability phonetic training (HVPT) protocol in second language learning. The target Mandarin lexical tones in the training stimuli were acoustically exaggerated at four levels in terms of duration, pitch range, and pitch contour. Seven audiovisual perceptual training sessions were designed to deliver the training stimuli adaptively based on the listener's identification score. Pre- and post-tests used behavioral identification and discrimination tasks with natural speech, synthetic speech, and non-speech control stimuli. ERP experiments were also conducted with synthetic speech stimuli in a passive listening oddball paradigm. A total of 24 adult monolingual American English speakers were randomly assigned to the training group and control group. Behavioral data showed significant improvement in identifying the four lexical tones in the trainees but not in the controls. There was also training-induced enhancement of categorical perception of the lexical tones for the synthetic speech stimuli. Posttest versus pretest comparison in the trainees showed an increased mismatch negativity (MMN) response with decreased MMN peak latency for the across-category lexical tone stimuli. Collectively, the results demonstrate fundamental neural sensitivity changes at the pre-attentive level underlying training-induced behavioral identification and discrimination changes in second language learners.

A Perception of Thai Tone in Chinese Students Using the Thai Tone Application: A Case Study of the Low Tone and the Falling Tone

The use of education applications in language learning is rapidly increasing. This research aims to analyse the tonal perception ability of Chinese students using the Thai Tone Application with minimal pairs approach. The participants were divided into two groups, an experimental group (ones who studied in the class and used the application) and a control group (ones who studied in the class without using the application), of 20 students each. One-syllable words bearing low tone and falling tone were used to examine the participants’ tonal perception ability. The findings revealed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in terms of differentiating between low tone and falling tone. The result of the current study furthur indicatesthe use of the mobile-assisted language learning applicationsince supplemental material may effectively enhance Thai tone perception or Thai tone learning outcomes in some Chinese students. The significance of the minimal pair approach is also discussed.

Elucidating the influences of embodiment and conceptual metaphor on lexical and non-speech tone learning

In the contexts of language learning and music processing, hand gestures conveying acoustic information visually influence perception of speech and non-speech sounds (Connell et al., 2013; Morett & Chang, 2015). Currently, it is unclear whether this effect is due to these gestures' use of the human body to highlight relevant features of language (embodiment) or the cross-modal mapping between the visual motion trajectories of these gestures and corresponding auditory features (conceptual metaphor). To address this question, we examined identification of the pitch contours of lexical tones and non-speech analogs learned with pitch gesture, comparable dot motion, or no motion. Critically, pitch gesture and dot motion were either congruent or incongruent with the vertical conceptual metaphor of pitch. Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that identification accuracy increased for tones learned with congruent pitch gesture and dot motion, whereas it remained stable or decreased for tones learned with incongruent pitch gesture and dot motion. These findings provide the first evidence that both embodied and non-embodied visual stimuli congruent with the vertical conceptual metaphor of pitch enhance lexical and non-speech tone learning. Thus, they illuminate the influences of conceptual metaphor and embodiment on lexical and non-speech auditory perception, providing insight into how they can be leveraged to enhance language learning and music processing.

Voice emotion recognition by Mandarin-speaking pediatric cochlear implant users in Taiwan.

ObjectivesTo explore the effects of obligatory lexical tone learning on speech emotion recognition and the cross‐culture differences between United States and Taiwan for speech emotion understanding in children with cochlear implant.MethodsThis cohort study enrolled 60 cochlear‐implanted (cCI) Mandarin‐speaking, school‐aged children who underwent cochlear implantation before 5 years of age and 53 normal‐hearing children (cNH) in Taiwan. The emotion recognition and the sensitivity of fundamental frequency (F0) changes for those school‐aged cNH and cCI (6–17 years old) were examined in a tertiary referred center.ResultsThe mean emotion recognition score of the cNH group was significantly better than the cCI. Female speakers' vocal emotions are more easily to be recognized than male speakers' emotion. There was a significant effect of age at test on voice recognition performance. The average score of cCI with full‐spectrum speech was close to the average score of cNH with eight‐channel narrowband vocoder speech. The average performance of voice emotion recognition across speakers for cCI could be predicted by their sensitivity to changes in F0.ConclusionsBetter pitch discrimination ability comes with better voice emotion recognition for Mandarin‐speaking cCI. Besides the F0 cues, cCI are likely to adapt their voice emotion recognition by relying more on secondary cues such as intensity and duration. Although cross‐culture differences exist for the acoustic features of voice emotion, Mandarin‐speaking cCI and their English‐speaking cCI peer expressed a positive effect for age at test on emotion recognition, suggesting the learning effect and brain plasticity. Therefore, further device/processor development to improve presentation of pitch information and more rehabilitative efforts are needed to improve the transmission and perception of voice emotion in Mandarin.Level of evidence3.

Tone learning styles and tenor learning orientation: effect of learning styles on learning orientation for tomorrow's informated workplace

Tone learning styles and tenor learning orientation: effect of learning styles on learning orientation for tomorrow's informated workplace

Problems in Pronunciation and Perception of Mandarin Tones: An Empirical Study on Bangladeshi Undergraduate Students in China

Tone is a vital part of Mandarin. This study will explore the problems in pronunciation and perception of Mandarin tone for Bangladeshi undergraduate students in China. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches have been engaged to collect the necessary information from the randomly selected one hundred students of the three selected Universities. From the study, several factors have been found to be barriers in the way of learning Mandarin. It is important to motivate MFL learners to realize the necessity to tone learning as some learners are indifferent to tone learning. This study presents several recommendations for Mandarin learners, which will be helpful for the learners.

Neural responses in novice learners’ perceptual learning and generalization of lexical tones: The effect of training variability

The acoustics of lexical tones are highly variable across talkers, and require second-language (L2) learners’ flexibility in accommodating talker-specific tonal variations for successful learning. This study investigated how tone training with high vs. low talker-variability modulated novice learners’ neural responses to non-native tones. A passive oddball paradigm tested Mandarin-speaking participants’ neural responses to Cantonese low–high and low-mid tonal contrasts in the pretest and posttest. Participants were trained using a tone identification task with feedback, either with high or low talker-variability. The results of mismatch negativity (MMN) showed no group difference in the pretest whereas the high-variability group demonstrated greater neural sensitivity to the low–high tonal contrast produced by a novel talker and a trained talker in the posttest. The finding provides (tentative) novel evidence that training variability may benefit perceptual learning of the relatively easy tone pair and facilitate the formation of talker-independent representations of non-native tones by novice learners.