英文摘要 |
This study developed a corpus-aided pronunciation instruction on Mandarin Tones and investigated the effectiveness of this approach. Three cases, two males and one female, participated in five face-to-face training sessions and two online self-learning sessions about Mandarin tones. Pre- and post-tests were first used to measure the three cases' production of Mandarin tones. Follow-up interviews were conducted after each training session to evaluate the changes of their attitudes toward the corpus-aided task design, the corpus-aided Mandarin teaching approach, and the effectiveness of corpus-aided pronunciation instruction. The results showed that corpus-aided pronunciation instruction was effective and helped the participants improve significantly in the quality of the production of Mandarin tone 2 and tone 4 compared with their performances in the pre-test. The interview results showed that the corpus-aided tasks were well designed. Case 1 (male) and Case 3 (female) were motivated and attracted by corpus-aided instruction at the beginning of the training session. Case 2 (male), who had held a negative attitude toward the application of corpus-aided Mandarin tone instruction and learner samples, changed his views to a positive attitude in Week 5 because of his improvements in Mandarin pronunciation. This approach has significant implications for Mandarin teaching, and particularly for teaching Mandarin as a second language in Hong Kong and other bilingual Chinese contexts. |