Plasticity in Second Language Learning: The Case of Mandarin Tones

ABSTRACT

Adults typically struggle to perceive non-native sound contrasts, especially those that conflict with their first language. Do the same challenges persist when the sound contrasts overlap but do not conflict? To address this question, we explored the acquisition of lexical tones. While tonal variations are present in many languages, they are only used contrastively in tonal languages. We investigated the perception of Mandarin tones by adults with differing experience with Mandarin, including naïve listeners, classroom learners, and native speakers. Naïve listeners discriminated Mandarin tones at above-chance levels, and performance significantly improved after just one month of classroom exposure. Additional evidence for plasticity came from advanced classroom learners, whose tonemic perception was indistinguishable from that of native speakers. The results suggest that unlike many other non-native contrasts, adults studying a language in the classroom can readily acquire the perceptual skills needed to discriminate Mandarin tones.

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (to J. R. Saffran, R37HD037466; and the Waisman Center, P30HD03352), the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (to C. E. Potter, DGE-1256259) and the James S. McDonnell Foundation (to J. R. Saffran). We would like to thank the participants at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as the teachers and students at the Department of East Asian Languages & Literature. We also thank Yayun Zhang, Rachel Wang, Federica Bulgarelli, Hilary Stein, and Shelby Adler for their assistance in testing participants, Margarita Kaushanskaya for her comments and advice on the project, in addition to the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful feedback and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ Due to unequal Ns in the test groups (range = 15–51) and possible ceiling effects in the Advanced and Native groups, we also performed nonparametric tests to confirm the results. Kruskal-Wallis test showed a significant effect on the k independent sample test, Chi-square (4) = 52.184, p < .00001.

² We also performed group comparisons using non-parametric tests. All comparisons involved the group with the fewest participants (i.e. the Advanced group, n = 15) using Mann-Whitney U tests. The pattern of results remains the same. Group medians and adjusted p-values are reported below, with starred values indicating a significant difference between groups.

Table

³ According to Chinese instructors at the university, students who receive a grade below C typically do not continue with the 2^nd semester of Chinese.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [R37HD037466]; National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship [DGE-1256259]; Waisman Center [U54 HD090256].