Browsing by Subject "Mandarin"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Brain plasticity in speech training in native English speakers learning mandarin tones
    (2014-05) Heinzen, Christina Carolyn
    The current study employed behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) measures to investigate brain plasticity associated with second-language (L2) phonetic learning based on an adaptive computer training program. The program utilized the acoustic characteristics of Infant-Directed Speech (IDS) to train monolingual American English-speaking listeners to perceive Mandarin lexical tones. Behavioral identification and discrimination tasks were conducted using naturally recorded speech, carefully controlled synthetic speech, and non-speech control stimuli. The ERP experiments were conducted with selected synthetic speech stimuli in a passive listening oddball paradigm. Identical pre- and post- tests were administered on nine adult listeners, who completed two-to-three hours of perceptual training. The perceptual training sessions used pair-wise lexical tone identification, and progressed through seven levels of difficulty for each tone pair. The levels of difficulty included progression in speaker variability from one to four speakers and progression through four levels of acoustic exaggeration of duration, pitch range, and pitch contour. Behavioral results for the natural speech stimuli revealed significant training-induced improvement in identification of Tones 1, 3, and 4. Improvements in identification of Tone 4 generalized to novel stimuli as well. Additionally, comparison between discrimination of across-category and within-category stimulus pairs taken from a synthetic continuum revealed a training-induced shift toward more native-like categorical perception of the Mandarin lexical tones. Analysis of the Mismatch Negativity (MMN) responses in the ERP data revealed increased amplitude and decreased latency for pre-attentive processing of across-category discrimination as a result of training. There were also laterality changes in the MMN responses to the non-speech control stimuli, which could reflect reallocation of brain resources in processing pitch patterns for the across-category lexical tone contrast. Overall, the results support the use of IDS characteristics in training non-native speech contrasts and provide impetus for further research.
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    Global Literacy Through Mandarin Immersion and STEM: Year Three Evaluation Report (2011-2012)
    (Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2012-12) Dretzke, Beverly; Miron, Chloe O
    In 2009, a Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to the Minnesota Mandarin Immersion Collaborative (MMIC) for the project Global Literacy Through Mandarin Immersion and STEM. The funding was expected to continue for a total of 5 years contingent upon annual renewal approved by Congress. However, in 2011, Congress voted to discontinue all FLAP funding. The 3 years’ of funding received by the MMIC supported early elementary immersion instruction in Mandarin Chinese that begins at the kindergarten level and the development of a curriculum that has a content focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). The schools in the MMIC have added a grade level each year, with the intent of creating the capacity to continue Chinese immersion to grades 7-12. The MMIC contracted with the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) at the University of Minnesota to serve as the external evaluator of the project. This report presents CAREI’s evaluation of the third year of the grant-funded project. The report includes enrollment and retention data as well as the results of a parent survey and a survey of English teachers (i.e., instructional staff whose positions were in the regular, non-immersion program).
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    "To know the system and know the culture is difficult" Understanding the cultural adjustment process of teachers from China working in U.S. K-12 schools
    (2013-05) Hanson, Emily Claire
    This qualitative case study investigates the cross-cultural adaptation that teachers from China and Taiwan encounter during careers as Chinese language teachers in K-12 schools in the United States. The theoretical framework draws on Hall's (1959) integrated theory of culture and Hofstede's (2010) cultural dimensions theory to frame a review of existing literature about the growth of Chinese language instruction in the U.S. and the ways in which teachers from China and Taiwan adapt to U.S. school culture. This research highlights the extent to which cultural difference plays a role in how teachers from China and Taiwan understand and interpret U.S. K-12 school communities. Findings indicate that there are significant cultural differences between the K-12 school cultures in China, Taiwan and the U.S. The study provides recommendations of measures that can help teachers understand and adapt to U.S. K-12 school culture and become highly qualified teachers of Chinese language and culture.