Developing a Corpus-based Online Pronunciation Learning System for Cantonese Learners of Mandarin and Japanese – Learning and Teaching Initiatives funded by the UGC

Abstract:

Hong Kong is a metropolitan city that serves as an international financial centre and that has given rise to multi-lingual characteristics in recent years. In addition to Cantonese and English which serve mostly as first and second languages, Hong Kong residents have increasingly started to develop a third or even fourth language. For example, Mandarin is encouraged by the biliteracy and trilingualism language policy, while Japanese is the most frequently learned third or fourth language among all Asian languages. This project aimed to develop a corpus-based online pronunciation learning system for Mandarin and Japanese to help teachers, learners and researchers better understand the major problems in learning Mandarin and Japanese pronunciation encountered by Hong Kong Cantonese learners. Two learners’ pronunciation corpora were established and analysed in order (a) to identify learners’ recurrent difficulties in accurately and appropriately using Mandarin and Japanese segmental and suprasegmental .features and (b) to suggest possible solutions to reduce or eliminate such difficulties. The research findings and products can infom teaching practices and enhance teaching quality.

Code:

T0150

Principal Project Supervisors:

CHEN, Hsueh Chu Rebecca

Keywords provided by authors:

Subjects:

Start Date:

01 Jun 2015

End Date:

31 May 2017

Status:

Completed

Result:

A corpus-based pronunciation learning system was developed to provide authentic spoken data from Hong Kong learners and phonological features by which both Mandarin and Japanese learners and teachers can access real speech data and scientific descriptions. The system consists of three interrelated components apart from the core corpus: a) online pronunciation practices specifically designed for Hong Kong learners; b) useful resources for pronunciation learning and teaching, including an introduction of Chinese and Japanese phonology, recommended learning websites, online videos and online dictionaries; and c) a Praat beginners' manual for learners to practice pronunciation with hands-on acoustic analysis techniques. The spoken corpora of Mandarin and Japanese of Hong Kong learners are the core of the learning system. They provide 40 sets of high-quality recordings of Mandarin and Japanese that are useful for phonetic and acoustic analysis by researchers, annotations of the segmental and suprasegmental features that are supportive for learners' searches of specific phonological features, and access to the corresponding audios with annotated notes.

Impact:

This project promoted biliteracy, trilingualism and multilingualism on the EdUHK campus by enhancing students' learning of modern languages (i.e. Mandarin and Japanese). Students benefited most as both English and Chinese majors have a Mandarin language exit requirement. Japanese is the most popular foreign language with the highest enrolment in the FHM. The Mandarin learning website was introduced as self-access learning for CLE courses, and the Japanese learning website was introduced in LIN1012 and 1013 Japanese courses. Both corpora were also introduced in some linguistic courses offered by LML and CHL departments. Students reported that the learning system provided support to their learning of Mandarin and Japanese pronunciation.
Furthermore, in addition to the corpus-based English pronunciation learning website (http://ec-concord.ied.edu.hk/English_pronunciation/; As of 17 August 2017, the main pronunciation learning website had reached a total of 82,880 hits) built in previous TDG projects, both Mandarin and Japanese learning websites were added to the learning system (http://pronunciationlearning.my-free.website/ ), placed on the LML departmental server and made available to all learners, teachers and researchers in the local and international communities. Teachers were encouraged to use the learning system as a supplement to their formal teaching and to integrate the self-learning components into relevant courses.

Deliverables:

Books/ Book Chapters/ Journal Articles/ Conference Papers

Chen, H. C. (2016, May). Developing a Corpus-based Online Pronunciation Learning System for Cantonese Learners of English and Mandarin. Paper presented at the E-Learning in Higher Education Seminar Day, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. https://repository.eduhk.hk/en/publications/ee34b6f4-5d6b-46c2-880e-5985...
Chen, H. C. et al (2016, October). Developing a corpus-based online pronunciation learning system for Cantonese learners of mandarin. Paper presented at the Third Asia Pacific Corpus Linguistics Conference (APCLC 2016), Beihang University, Beijinghttps://repository.eduhk.hk/en/publications/6874cf7a-8df0-4df0-92f5-30c8...

Teaching and Learning Resources/ Materials (including online resources)

A Corpus-based Mandarin Pronunciation Learning website http://ec-concord.ied.edu.hk/Mandarin_Pronunciation

https://repository.eduhk.hk/en/publications/7617ffc2-e0ab-424b-92d1-0583...

Financial Year:

2014-15

Type:

TDG