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.
Digital Origin
Born digital
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