First Advisor
Montemayor, Mark
Document Type
Dissertation
Date Created
8-2019
Department
College of Performing and Visual Arts, Music, Music Student Work
Abstract
It is a challenge for non-tonal language speakers to enunciate the four Chinese tones accurately. In the present study, I examined whether musical training benefits tonal language learning, evaluated whether the pitch singing training influence recognizing and enunciating the four Chinese tones, and compared the effects of a pitch singing training method with the traditional audio-lingual method. The participants, 60 American college students who had not taken a Chinese course and who did not speak and write Chinese, were recruited in this study. The participants were divided evenly and randomly into two groups: the pitch singing training group and the traditional audio-lingual training group. They participated in a pretest/training/posttest program over the course of eight training sessions. Results revealed the pitch singing training method had a greater effect on both recognizing and enunciating the four Chinese tones than did the traditional audio-lingual method. The pitch singing training method can be used as an alternative and effective way to improve non-tonal language speakers’ recognition and enunciation of the four Chinese tones, because it provides a sensory experience to the learners, builds associations to the concept of abstract Chinese tones, and elaborates on learners’ memory of the Chinese tones to store it for a long-term retention.
Extent
108 pages
Local Identifiers
zhou_unco_0161D_10739.pdf
Rights Statement
Copyright is held by the author.
Recommended Citation
Zhou, Danqing, "The Effects of Pitch Singing Training on Recognizing and Enunciating Chinese Tones" (2019). Dissertations. 579.
https://digscholarship.unco.edu/dissertations/579