CLTA newsletter Jan. 2020

CLTA NEWSLETTER January 2020
Xiao-Desai, Yang. The effects of online writing on heritage language anxiety – a Bayesian
analysis. In Li, S. & Yuan, F. (Eds.) Classroom-Based Research on Chinese as a second
language (pp.128-151). New York: Routledge
This study presents a Bayesian analysis of the effects of blogging on heritage writing anxiety.
Results from both within and between-subject experiments corroboratively showed that online
writing can lower heritage learners’ writing anxiety. However, it had on effect on learners’
cognitive anxiety, one of the sub-dimensions of writing anxiety.
Zhang, H. (2019). Teaching Chinese tones. In Chris Shei, Monica E. McLellan Zikpi, and Der-lin Chao
(Eds). The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Language Teaching, p.166-179. Abingdon and New York:
Routledge.
This paper discusses teaching Chinese lexical tones, a prominent linguistic feature of the Chinese sound
system, to adult learners. The chapter includes three sections. The first briefly introduces the linguistic
properties of Chinese lexical tones. Focusing on the most difficult Tone 3, the second section reviews
research findings on second language acquisition of Chinese tones in order to shed light on tone
teaching. In order to facilitate effective tone teaching and learning, the third section offers pedagogical
suggestions and three sets of sample tone training materials for instructors to help learners establish the
phonological representation of Chinese lexical tones and develop motor skills for tone implementation.
Zhang, H. (2019). The positional effects of contour tones in second language Chinese. In Zhang, H-M.
and Qian, Youyong (ed.) Prosodic Studies: Challenges and Prospects. Routledge.
ABSTRACT: This study investigates the errors made by 60 English, Japanese, and Korean speaking
learners of Chinese when producing the two contour lexical tones T2 (rising tone) and T4 (falling tone)
in disyllabic words. It finds that T2 is produced at a greater rate of accuracy in word-initial positions,
while T4 is produced at a greater rate of accuracy in word-final positions. Two inter-tonal effects shared
across the three groups of speakers were also observed:1) the accuracy rate of T2 is always greater
when it is followed by tones with low onsets than when it is followed by tones with high onsets, and 2)
the accuracy rate of T4 is always greater when it is followed by low tones than when it is followed by
other tones. The study presents evidence suggesting that second language tones are partially constrained by anticipatory
dissimilation.
Xu, HY., Li, Y., & Li, YJ. (2019) Using online applications to improve tone perception among L2
learners of Chinese. Journal of Technology and Chinese Language Teaching. Volume 10, 26-56
This study investigated the effectiveness of an online application in helping beginning-level Chinese
learners improve their perception of the tones in Mandarin Chinese. Two groups-one experimental and
one traditional-of beginning Chinese learners from two universities in the Midwest participated in this
study. The experimental group (n=20) used the online application to practice tones for four 15-minute
sessions in class. The traditional group (n=11) participated in traditional instructor-led practice in class
in lieu of the online practice. Both groups completed a pre-test, an immediately administered post-test,
and a delayed post-test designed to assess their perception of the tones of monosyllabic and disyllabic
words. No statistically significant difference has been found between the two groups in their tone perception performance in
the post-test and in the delayed post-test. However, the experimental group showed a positive trend in improving their
perception on those tones which posed more difficulty than others. Based on the findings, it is proposed that the use of
online tone practice is worthwhile in a Chinese language class, but might fit better into the curriculum as external
assignments.
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