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Listening comprehension has been the forgotten skill in second language acquisition. However, in recent years, more and more studies have focused on listening comprehension and now acknowledge its importance in language acquisition. Empirical studies have explored how listeners use the two main listening processes (top-down processing and bottom-up processing). In this study, 31 low-proficiency level Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) learners from Brigham Young University took the Chinese Computer Adaptive Language Test (CCALT) and listened to four listening passages, measured by idea unit analysis and local and global question types. The data from these measurements suggest that low-proficiency level CFL participants in this study used both top-down and bottom-up processing while they listened to short listening passages. The results suggest listening comprehension at various proficiency levels needs to be studied further in Chinese and with different types of listening passages.

Listening has proved to be a difficult skill to teach in the language classroom. Research has shown that pre-listening activities, or those activities done with students prior to listening, can have an effect on listening comprehension outcomes. This research addressed the effectiveness of two types of pre-listening activities: top-down and bottom-up. Volunteers from intermediate level courses taught at Brigham Young University were divided into two treatment groups and a control group. The treatment groups followed a mixed models design by each going through a top-down and bottom-up pre-listening activity, followed by listening to a passage in Mandarin Chinese and taking a multiple-choice test. The bottom-up activity chosen for this research was a vocabulary preview activity, with an advance organizer being chosen for the top-down activity. Results showed both treatment groups significantly outperformed the control group for both the top-down and bottom-up activities (p=0.0123 and p=0.0181 respectively). No significant difference existed in scores between top-down and bottom-up activities (p=0.9456). It was determined that both the vocabulary activity and the advance organizer helped to increase the listening comprehension of intermediate level students of Mandarin Chinese.

Current models of spoken word recognition have been predominantly based on studies of Indo-European languages. As a result, little is known about the recognition processes involved in the perception of tonal languages (e.g., Mandarin Chinese), and the role of lexical tone in speech perception. One view is that tonal languages are processed phonologically through individual segments, while another view is that they are processed lexically as a whole. Moreover, a recent study claimed to be the first to discover an early phonological processing stage in Mandarin (Huang et al., 2014). There seems to be a lack of investigations concerning tonal languages, as no clear conclusions have been made about the nature of tonal processes, or a model of spoken word recognition that best incorporates lexical tone. The current study addressed these issues by presenting 18 native Mandarin speakers with aural sentences with medial target words, which either matched or mismatched the preceding visually presented sentences with medial target words (e.g, 家 /jia1/ “home”). Violation conditions involved target words that differed in the following ways: tone violation, where only the tone was different (e.g., 价 /jia4/ “price”), onset violation, where only the onset was different (e.g., 虾 /xia1/ “shrimp”), and syllable violation, where both the tone and the onset were different (e.g., 糖 /tang2/ “candy”). We did not find evidence for an early phonological processing stage in Mandarin. Instead, our findings indicate that Mandarin syllables are processed incrementally through phonological segments and that lexical tone is strongly associated with semantic access. These results are discussed with respect to modifications for existing models in spoken word recognition to incorporate the processes involved with tonal language recognition. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

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正常人的語誤中可以取得在心理語言上何為音韻單位的證據，近來有許多針對失語症的病人語誤的研究，發現失語症病人的語誤也可當做測試語言表徵的重要來源資料。 　　本研究針對失語症病人在聲調方面表現，做聲調錯誤頻率分佈、語境影響錯誤、以及錯誤方向種類之分析 然後將整失語症病人聲調表現的分析跟心理語言學語言產出機制作連結。 　　本研究結果顯示，漢語失語症病人聲調表現上第四生錯誤雖然最多，但第四聲在漢語裡原本出現的頻率就最高，所以第四聲不應被認為對失語症病人最為困難。而第三聲雖然在漢語裡出現頻率最低，卻佔了失語症病人聲調錯誤頻率第二高位，因此我們判斷第三聲對失語症病人來說是最為困難的聲調。第二，我們發現漢語失語症病人聲調錯誤受語境影響比正常人低。第三，漢語失語症病人聲調錯誤裡，語境影響語誤之方向性中，錯誤來源在語誤出現前類型較多。第四，我們發現Dell的連續模型(connectionist model)，可以解釋失語症病人在聲調錯誤類型偏好原因。 / Naturally occurring speech errors have been used as evidence for testing the psychological reality of phonological units. A number of researchers start to look at evidence from aphasic speech for testing linguistic representation so the phenomena of aphasia provide tests of the validity of certain aspects of linguistic theory. 　　In this thesis, tone errors made by aphasics were examined and related overall analyses to psycholinguistic models of speech production. In light of the analysis of tone frequency in Mandarin written texts and oral data and tone errors produced by aphasics, relating issues concerning the research questions we put forward were elucidated. First, it seems that tone 4 is the most problematic tone for the aphasics in terms of error rate since tone 4 occurs the most often in errors. However, tone 4 errors intrinsically will occur more that other three tones because of its highest incidence in Mandarin. Thus, tone 4 may not be taken as the most difficult tone for aphasics merely from its high error rate. Second, the results indicated that non-contextual errors constitute most of the aphasic errors. Third, it has been shown that perseveration is a cross-linguistic feature of aphasia. Fourth, Dell’s connectionist model is proved to be able to account for and make predictions about the error patterns found in both aphasic and normal speech.

In response to the parental and societal demands, more schools have implemented "Using Putonghua to teach Chinese" (UPe) school-based curriculum. As schools have different contextual factors, ensuring the quality of the curriculum becomes a major concern. This study aims to explore the essential elements of an effective UPC school-based curriculum, improve its quality, identify and share the successful experiences and difficulties teachers encountered in the implementation process. Action research and evaluations done collaboratively with teachers were conducted to address the four research questions: (1) What are the crucial elements of an effective UPC school-based curriculum? (2) How well is the existing curriculum? (3) How can teachers use the evaluation data to improve quality of the curriculum? (4) What are the key success factors and problems teachers encountered? / The evidence collected showed that the degree of teachers' involvement in evaluating the UPC school-based curriculum has an impact on enhancing the quality of the curriculum. Teachers' involvement could take the form of: (1) observation to increase the awareness and sensitivity of using Putonghua to teach Chinese; (2) reflection to enhance the understanding of using Putonghua to teach Chinese and to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning; (3) discussion to reach consensus of the missions and objectives set; (4) evaluation to develop teachers' ability in making professional judgments; (5) utilization of the evaluation data to provide feedback to the curriculum. Moreover, the study showed that a systematic framework helps in making reflection and evaluation, effective team work fosters doing of the evaluation that enhances teachers' professional development and optimizes curriculum development. It also helps the school to explore the good school-based curriculum practices. As for the difficulties, teachers found it hard to solve all the teaching and learning problems at once. The lack of relevant knowledge, the extra workload and long working hours add up to put stress on them. / The research findings are constructive to the development of UPC school-based curriculum evaluation criteria. They facilitated regular reviews on the quality assurance, enhanced the overall development, contributed knowledge to the construction of the UPC school-based curriculum and the assessment theory. In practice, the successful experiences of the target teachers served as good reference for other schools. / The study targeted at 7 Chinese language teachers from 2 secondary schools. An evaluation framework was first developed, then used to assess the two existing UPC school-based curricula. The researcher also observed and interview the target teachers to understand their views and feelings. Through comparing and contrasting the two school cases, the researcher explored how the degree of teachers' involvement in evaluating the curriculum affected the effectiveness of the outcomes. / With adoption of 15 assessment dimensions and 82 evaluation criteria, the study shows an effective UPC school-based curriculum should measure the intended, the implemented and the learned curriculum. The intended curriculum was found to be the best, followed by the implemented curriculum and the learned curriculum being the worst. The result implied that the objectives of the UPC school-based curriculum were clearly defined but the effectiveness of the learning outcomes fell short of the expectaion. A major problem of the intended curriculum was the lack of resources, thus making the infusion of Putonghua element into the Chinese language lessons and the integration of the two subjects difficult. Different school characteristics were found in the implemented curriculum. The roles of the two media of instruction were clear. However, teachers could not adjust their teaching methodologies and this also complicated the problem of learner diversity. The learning outcomes of the students also differ when the UPC school-based curriculum objectives were set differently in the two schools. / 蔡若蓮. / Thesis submitted: 2010年12月. / Thesis submitted: 2010 nian 12 yue. / Adviser: Sin Pui Derek Cheung. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-04, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 430-451). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Cai Ruolian.

本篇論文旨在從優選理論（Optimality Theory）之框架背景來探討國、台語夾碼（Mandarin-Taiwanese Code-Mixing）時的連讀變調現象。由於此現象之探討涉及國語及台語之變調，本篇論文亦從優選理論之觀點來探討國語三聲變調（Mandarin Tone Sandhi）以及台語的變調（Taiwanese Tone Sandhi）。 在國語三聲變調方面，由於傳統派生（derivational）模式在處理國語三聲變調時，仍遺留了些許的問題。例如，無法以一致的方式來處理non-PP和PP的變調現象。本文主要針對這個問題，重新以優選理論的角度提出解決之道。文中分別提出了一組韻律制約（Prosodic Constraint）及一組聲調制約（Tonal Constraint）；根據這兩組制約，傳統派生模式所遺留下的缺失則得以獲得妥善的處理。 在台語變調方面，台語變調在傳統派生模式的探討中亦遺留下些許問題。例如，無法以一致的方式來處理non-adjunct和adjunct以及non-clitic和clitic的變調問題。本文根據優選理論，重新分析台語變調。文中分別提出了一組韻律制約及一組聲調制約；根據此兩組制約，則可以成功的免除傳統派生分析模式下的缺失。 國、台語夾碼時的變調是未曾被探討過的問題。本文先就國、台語夾碼時的變調，提出一個派生模式的分析。不過，以派生模式來處理國、台語夾碼變調時，遺留下必須限定國語變調規則和台語變調規則的運作次序這項缺點。因此，本文根據優選理論，重新分析了這個變調現象，並提出了一組聲調制約；這組聲調制約，配合國語及台語的韻律制約，得以成功的處理傳統派生模式所遺留下的問題。 / The present thesis is mainly devoted to the research issue of tone sandhi in Mandarin-Taiwanese code-mixing using an Optimality Theoretic (OT) Approach. Since the study of this code-mixed tone sandhi necessarily involves the tone sandhi rules of Mandarin and of Taiwanese, the tone sandhi phenomena in Mandarin and in Taiwanese are carefully discussed under OT as well. Tone sandhi in Mandarin has been widely studied by many Chinese linguistics under the derivational approach. This thesis argues that the previous analyses to Mandarin tone sandhi are inadequate and that an Optimality Theoretic approach is needed to account for tone sandhi in Mandarin. The inadequacy of the previous analyses comes from the common failure of offering a uniform solution to account for non-PP and PP word stings in Mandarin. Based on the Optimality Theory, this thesis proposes two sets of constraints to account for Mandarin tone sandhi; one is the prosodic constraints set and the other is the tonal constraints set. This thesis proves that these two constraints can successfully get rid of the problem left by the derivational tradition. Tone sandhi in Taiwanese is also widely studied by many Chinese linguistics under the derivational approach. This thesis argues that the previous analyses to Taiwanese tone sandhi are inadequate and that an Optimality Theoretic approach is needed to account for tone sandhi in Taiwanese. The inadequacy of the previous analyses comes from the fact that Taiwanese word strings with non-adjunct and adjunct structures as well as with non-clitic and clitic structures fail to be accounted for using a uniform solution. Based on the Optimality Theory, this thesis proposes two sets of constraints to account for Taiwanese tone sandhi; one is the prosodic constraints set and the other is the tonal constraints set. This thesis proves that these two constraints can successfully get rid of the problem left by the derivational tradition. Tone sandhi in Mandarin-Taiwanese code-mixing is a phenomenon that is very interesting but has not been studied before. This thesis thus offers a derivational analysis to this tone sandhi phenomenon first, where it is found that (1) in Mandarin-Taiwanese code-mixing, a Mandarin base tone can trigger Taiwanese tone sandhi and a Taiwanese low tone can trigger Mandarin tone sandhi, (2) in Mandarin-Taiwanese code-mixing, the Mandarin tone sandhi rule is sensitive to all and only the Mandarin tone sandhi domain and the Taiwanese tone sandhi rule is sensitive to all and only the Taiwanese tone sandhi domain, and (3) in Mandarin-Taiwanese code-mixing, the Taiwanese tone sandhi rule must apply before the Mandarin tone sandhi rule to derive the tonal output. However, since the demand for an extrinsic rule order between the tone sandhi rules of Mandarin and Taiwanese is inadequate, the tone sandhi phenomenon is reanalyzed under the framework of the Optimality Theory. A set of tonal constraints is proposed. According to the tonal constraints set, the inadequacy left by the derivational approach is successfully avoided.

本論文觀察台灣地區國語閩南口音，也就是俗稱的「台灣國語」中展現的單元音化以及擦音卸解現象，建立「台灣國語語料庫」作為本論文分析的基礎，並且從優選理論的觀點探討這些台灣國語音韻現象。 根據「台灣國語語料庫」的數據顯示，韻核後介音 /j/ 以及 /w/ 容易被語者刪除，韻核前介音 /j/ 以及 /w/ 則傾向被語者保留。輕擦音 /f/ 在台灣國語中常被卸解為 /hw/。 本文的分析認為，國語閩南口音是一種方言的變異，反映了閩南語以及國語的部份制約排序。當語者表現出明顯的閩南語口音時，反映出閩南語的部份制約排序；而語者的閩南語口音較不明顯時，則反映了國語的部份制約排序。 / This thesis investigates monophthongization and fricative reconfiguration in the Taiwanese Accent of Mandarin (TM), and establishes the TM corpus as the base of phonological analysis. The Optimality Theory approach is adopted to account for the phonological phenomenon of TM. As indicated by the TM corpus, the postnuclear glides /j/ and /w/ tend to be deleted in TM; the prenuclear glides /j/ and /w/ tend to be preserved in TM; and the fricative /f/ tend to reconfigurate as /hw/ in TM. Our analysis considers that TM is a dialectal variation which reflects the subgrammars of Taiwanese and Mandarin. When the speaker shows a clear Taiwanese accent, the partially ordered ranking of Taiwanese is reflected; and when the speaker shows no obvious Taiwanese accent, the partially ordered ranking of Mandarin is reflected.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The number of Chinese-learners in South Africa has increased rapidly in recent years, but the quality of the dictionaries that are available for their use has not improved much. The more students study Chinese, the more it becomes necessary to create suitable dictionaries to facilitate their studies. In the hope of meeting this need, this study selects two written dictionaries commonly used by students at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, namely the Oxford Beginner's Chinese Dictionary and the Concise English-Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary, to analyze, comment on and compare in terms of structure and equivalence. Using the results of this analysis, this study offers suggestions for improving the quality of future Mandarin learner’s dictionaries. This study takes into consideration the situation faced by students when learning Chinese abroad, especially in South Africa, the development of pedagogical lexicography in Chinese-learner’s dictionaries in China and abroad, the relationship between online dictionaries and written dictionaries, and some special characteristics of the Chinese language, all of which factors greatly influence the making of a dictionary. Theoretically and methodically, this study is based on Function Theory as presented by Sven Tarp. According to Function Theory, before writing a dictionary, lexicographers must analyze specific types of users in specific types of situations. This study attempts to follow Tarp’s suggestion by analyzing a small group of dictionary users with the help of a survey conducted by the author in an attempt to get a general idea of how Mandarin learners at Stellenbosch University use dictionaries. The main focus of this study is the frame structure, microstructure, macrostructure and dictionary equivalence in two dictionaries--Concise and Beginner’s. After carefully analyzing these aspects of the dictionaries, the author identifies the sections of these dictionaries which successfully present information in a way that will be most beneficial for their intended audiences. The study goes on to pinpoint less-successful sections of the two dictionaries and provides suggestions for improvement. In sum, this study focuses on using the principle of Function Theory to determine what features should be included in Mandarin learner’s dictionaries to make them more suitable for elementary and intermediate learners of Mandarin at Stellenbosch University, in South Africa, and, by extension, in other parts of the world. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die afgelope paar jaar het die aantal studente van Sjinees in Suid-Afrika aansienlik toegeneem, maar die standaard van beskikbare woordeboeke het nie veel verbeter nie. Hoe meer studente Sjinees bestudeer hoe noodsaakliker is dit om gepaste woordeboeke te ontwikkel om hulle in hulle studie te help. Om aan hierdie behoefte te voldoen, kies hierdie studie twee woordeboeke wat gereeld deur studente aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch benut word, naamlik die Oxford Beginner’s Chinese Dictionary en die Concise English-Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary, om hulle te ontleed, kommentaar te lewer en hulle met mekaar in terme van struktuur en ekwivalensie te vergelyk. Met behulp van gevolgtrekkings uit hierdie ontleding word voorstelle gemaak oor hoe om die standaard van toekomstige woordeboeke te verbeter. Die studie neem die situasie in ag waarmee studente wat in die buiteland Sjinees studeer, veral in Suid Afrika, te doen kry, die ontwikkeling van pedagogiese leksikografie in woordeboeke in Sjina sowel as die buiteland, die verhouding tussen aanlynwoordeboeke en gedrukte woordeboeke en sekere spesiale eienskappe van die Sjinese taal - alles faktore wat die opstel van woordeboeke beïnvloed. Teoreties en metodologies is hierdie studie op die funksieteorie, soos aangebied deur Sven Tarp, gebaseer. Volgens die funksieteorie moet leksikograwe voor die opstel van 'n woordeboek spesifieke tipes gebruikers in spesifieke situasies analiseer. Hierdie studie poog om Tarp se voorstelle te volg deur 'n klein groep woordeboekgebruikers, met behulp van 'n ondersoek, uitgevoer deur die outeur, te analiseer om sodoende 'n algemene idee te formuleer van hoe Mandarynse studente aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch woordeboeke benut. Die hooffokus van hierdie studie is die raamwerk, mikrostruktuur, makrostruktuur en ekwivalensie in die twee gekose woordeboeke – Concise en Beginner’s. Nadat hierdie aspekte van die woordeboeke noukeurig ontleed is, identifiseer die outeur die dele wat inligting op die voordeligste manier vir die bestemde gebruiker aanbied. Ook identifiseer hierdie studie die minder suksesvolle dele en stel moontlike verbeteringe voor. Samevattend fokus hierdie studie daarop om die beginsel van die funksieteorie te benut deur vas te stel watter eienskappe in woordeboeke ingesluit moet word om hulle meer geskik te maak vir elementêre en intermediêre Mandarynse studente aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch in Suid-Afrika, sowel as in ander dele van die wêreld.