Students Constructive Engagement in Tone Acquisi...
“The critical role of aural input in language learning is now widely acknowledged，providing support for listening comprehension in instructional methods.This suggests that tools which encourage language learners to focus on the processes involved in successful L2 listening should help them on the language input they receive and hereby enhance language learning.”(Vandergrift，2002).If we carefully design and implement the means by which students are first exposed to the tones—what they should listen for，how they should respond，and how to check their perception to reduce mistakes-students should be able to develop and build their confidence with tones from the very beginning.At this initial stage，students must be exposed to single-syllable audio input along with pinyin spelling with tone marks.Based on the tone pronunciation illustrations discussed earlier in the paper，students perceive the tones by themselves.Instead of instructing the pronunciation of the tones，we encourage students to explore how they perceive the different tones on their own.We have no means to detect or monitor if this process is happening or not and how well they can differentiate them.We require students to associate the descriptions of the tones，the tone mark symbols with the actual sounds that they hear.The focus is for students is to find a way to tell the differences and imitate the pronunciation of the four tones.Our initial listening exercise(in Appendix)contains common single-and double-syllable pinyin combinations to illustrate some basic spelling rules in the pinyin system and avoids an ineffective and lengthy systematic introduction of these rules.The pinyin combinations are without any tone marks，arranged under common initials and finals，and are the same for the first five pages.Page one drills first tone sounds with the tone mark symbol on top of the page.The second page practices second tone sounds and the subsequent pages follow in order.The 5th page contains the same combinations without any tone mark symbols on the top.All the single syllable sounds come with matching verbal sounds by native speakers.For the first four pages，students are asked to repeat quietly to themselves which tones they hear/perceive and then put the respective tone marks upon each pinyin combination.Traditionally listening was regarded as a passive process where listeners are simply exposed to an audio input.Our method，however，proceeds upon the basis that Vandergrift was correct in calling for instructing students on how to listen.Mendelsohn has also claimed that listening is an“active”process and has observed that it is imperative to teach students how to listen.This shifts the emphasis of listening practice from product to process and the responsibility of learning from the teacher to the student，thereby helping students become selfregulated learners(Mendelsohn，1998).Our method teaches students to listen actively.Positive listening requires students to repeat the segments of audio input，the pinyin combinations in the perceived tones，softly to themselves.Through this conscious effort to imitate the pinyin audio input，listening becomes a vital tool for non-tonal language background learners to perceive，experiment and learn the tones.In the absence of any knowledge of what a tonal language sounds like，and with varying levels of skills in producing the tones，repeated mimicking and practicing both in class and after class at their own pace，student acquisition of tonal consciousness can accord with a variety of individual learning styles and abilities.I note that Krashen’s theories define input and output as separate processes，and in this instance the audio input and the verbal output are in the same form which reinforces the learning of the tones.Language learning，after all，is essentially concerned with developing and building upon positive habits.
The expected learning outcomes of this process is that students should be able to pronounce the four tones of any single syllable pinyin combination on their own.The progress，though slight when viewed through our professional lenses，is a great achievement for students from non-tonal language backgrounds.At this early stage，like an infant learning to walk，we are not so concerned about accuracy providing that students can pronounce the four tones in their own ways.It is also most necessary to allow extra time for some students to acquire this proficiency.Establishing a tonal language pronunciation facility is an individual process with much trial and error.To ensure progress in tone acquisition，we recommend that the sequence of the tones that students’practice should be in the order of the first，the second，the third and the fourth.This is because most online video-audio resources on tone practice for beginners are arranged in this order and we can take advantage of these materials.I note that some scholars have proposed a tone practicing sequence（for vocal cords training）of the first，the half third，the fourth，the second and the third（赵金铭，1997）.
In the absence of tedious explanations on the theory of the tones and how to manipulate one’s muscles and vocal cords to produce the intended sounds，but equipped with illustrations in familiar English usage to assist in achieving the pronunciation of four tones，students take the lead in perceiving，interpreting，processing，exploring and imitating authentic Mandarinsingle-syllable pinyin sounds.A process of developing a tonal language pronunciation mechanism is taking place.