This study examined the Voice onset time (VOT) of Mandarin and English initial position stops as produced by native American-English speaking learners of Mandarin and also native speakers. The study primarily investigated the role of second language experience on native-like production of L2 VOT for the Mandarin stops /p, t, k, ph, th, kh/ and additionally examined any evidence for phonetic drift in the L1 English VOT as a result of L2 Mandarin learning and acquisition. To achieve this, the production of L2 Mandarin and L1 English by native AmericanEnglish speaking learners of Mandarin of two different levels of experience (beginner and advanced learners) were compared to that of monolingual Native speakers of Mandarin andEnglish. In total, thirty native American-English speaking learners of Mandarin, eight monolingual native Mandarin speakers, and eight monolingual American-English speakers participated in the study. Data was elicited via participants reading aloud prepared lists of Mandarin and/or English words. Statistical testing indicates that as a group beginner learners produced significantly different mean VOT than native Mandarin speakers for all six stops. In contrast, the advanced learner group's mean VOT only significantly differed with native speakers for /t/, indicating native-like VOT for the remaining five stops. Individual analysis of VOT data for L2 Mandarin long-lag stops /ph, th, kh/ showed that advanced (7 of 15) and even some beginner (3 of 15) participants were capable of producing native-like VOT for the whole set of long-lag stops and also that a number of participants were able to produce native-like VOT for some but not all of the long-lag stops. Logistic regression analysis examining the effect and influence of L2 experience and demographic related variables indicates only gender and Mandarin-speaking church missionary service to have a significant effect on native-like VOT probability with females and returned missionaries significantly more likely to achieve native-like VOT. Analysis of learner participants' L1 English VOT showed that for all three of the English long-lag stops (/p, t, k/), advanced learners of Mandarin produced significantly longer VOT than monolingual English speakers, indicating L1 phonetic drift in the form of assimilation towards the longer length of Mandarin long-lag stops. Significant difference was only found between beginner learner English VOT and monolingual VOT for /p/, suggesting instances of significant L1 drift increase when more L2 experience has been gained.

Esta dissertação investiga nomes nus e classificadores numerais do chinês mandarim, assim como a distinção lexical entre nomes contáveis e massivos do chinês. O objetivo deste trabalho é estudar e avaliar as possíveis denotações dos nominais do chinês mandarim. O texto é divido em três partes. Na primeira, investigam-se nomes nus do chinês mandarim, que manifestam número geral. Defende-se que o número geral não ocorre em sintagmas nominais em que existe numeral. No Chinês mandarim, nomes nus podem ser interpretados como indefinidos, definidos e genéricos de acordo com suas posições sintáticas e contextos em que ocorrem. A hipótese defendida na segunda parte da dissertação é a de que, no chinês mandarim, há distinção lexical entre nomes contáveis e massivos. Um fator importante na distinção contável-massivo do chinês mandarim é a presença de classificadores e suas relações com os nomes. Defende-se que a combinação entre os nomes e os classificadores é seletiva e, com base nisso, os nomes comuns do chinês podem ser divididos em nomes contáveis, nomes massivos, nomes coletivos, nomes abstratos e nomes próprios. Além de classificador, mais uma evidência para a contabilidade dos nomes do chinês é o morfema men. A terceira parte da dissertação avalia a presença de classificador nos sintagmas nominais com numerais. Defende-se que diferentes grupos de classificadores possuem diferentes funções: classificadores individuais são marcadores gramaticais de contabilidade e não têm a função individualizadora e, os outros grupos têm suas restrições na combinação com os nomes. A combinação entre numeral e classificador pode ser tratada como um núcleo complexo que ocorre morfologicamente como um item lexical, mas o numeral pode-se omitir dentro deste complexo e classificador não. Sendo assim, Os classificadores devem ser tratados como um sufixo na sua ocorrência dentro do complexo [Num-CL], mas como um clítico em outras ocorrências. / This dissertation investigates bare nouns and numeral classifiers in Mandarin Chinese, as well as the lexical distinction between count and mass nouns of Chinese. The goal of this work is to study and assess the possible denotations of nominals in Mandarin Chinese. The dissertation is divided in three parts. In the first part, the bare nominals in Mandarin Chinese will be investigated and they have general number. We argue that the general number can not happen in noun phrases when they contain numerals. In Mandarin Chinese, the bare nouns can be interpreted as indefinites, definites and generics, according to their syntactic positions and contexts in that they happen. The hypothesis presented in the second part of this dissertation is that in Mandarin Chinese, there is the lexical distinction between count and mass nouns. One important factor in this count-mass distinction of Mandarin Chinese is the presence of classifiers and their relationships with the nouns. We argue that, based on the selective combination between names and classifiers, the common nouns of Chinese can be divided in count nouns, mass nouns, collective nouns, abstract nouns and proper nouns. Besides the classifier, one more evidence for the accounting of Chinese\'s names is the morpheme men. The third part of the dissertation assesses the classifiers presence in the noun phrases with numerals. We argue that, different groups of classifiers have different functions: the individual classifiers are grammatical markers of accounting and they do not have the individualizing function, while the other groups have their restrictions in the combination with the nouns. The combination between the numeral and the classifier can be treated as a complex head that happens morphologically as a lexical item, but the numeral in which can be omitted in some contexts and the classifier can not. Thus, the classifiers should be treated as a suffix in his occurrence with the complex [Num-CL], but as a clitic in other occurrences.

Esta dissertação investiga nomes nus e classificadores numerais do chinês mandarim, assim como a distinção lexical entre nomes contáveis e massivos do chinês. O objetivo deste trabalho é estudar e avaliar as possíveis denotações dos nominais do chinês mandarim. O texto é divido em três partes. Na primeira, investigam-se nomes nus do chinês mandarim, que manifestam número geral. Defende-se que o número geral não ocorre em sintagmas nominais em que existe numeral. No Chinês mandarim, nomes nus podem ser interpretados como indefinidos, definidos e genéricos de acordo com suas posições sintáticas e contextos em que ocorrem. A hipótese defendida na segunda parte da dissertação é a de que, no chinês mandarim, há distinção lexical entre nomes contáveis e massivos. Um fator importante na distinção contável-massivo do chinês mandarim é a presença de classificadores e suas relações com os nomes. Defende-se que a combinação entre os nomes e os classificadores é seletiva e, com base nisso, os nomes comuns do chinês podem ser divididos em nomes contáveis, nomes massivos, nomes coletivos, nomes abstratos e nomes próprios. Além de classificador, mais uma evidência para a contabilidade dos nomes do chinês é o morfema men. A terceira parte da dissertação avalia a presença de classificador nos sintagmas nominais com numerais. Defende-se que diferentes grupos de classificadores possuem diferentes funções: classificadores individuais são marcadores gramaticais de contabilidade e não têm a função individualizadora e, os outros grupos têm suas restrições na combinação com os nomes. A combinação entre numeral e classificador pode ser tratada como um núcleo complexo que ocorre morfologicamente como um item lexical, mas o numeral pode-se omitir dentro deste complexo e classificador não. Sendo assim, Os classificadores devem ser tratados como um sufixo na sua ocorrência dentro do complexo [Num-CL], mas como um clítico em outras ocorrências. / This dissertation investigates bare nouns and numeral classifiers in Mandarin Chinese, as well as the lexical distinction between count and mass nouns of Chinese. The goal of this work is to study and assess the possible denotations of nominals in Mandarin Chinese. The dissertation is divided in three parts. In the first part, the bare nominals in Mandarin Chinese will be investigated and they have general number. We argue that the general number can not happen in noun phrases when they contain numerals. In Mandarin Chinese, the bare nouns can be interpreted as indefinites, definites and generics, according to their syntactic positions and contexts in that they happen. The hypothesis presented in the second part of this dissertation is that in Mandarin Chinese, there is the lexical distinction between count and mass nouns. One important factor in this count-mass distinction of Mandarin Chinese is the presence of classifiers and their relationships with the nouns. We argue that, based on the selective combination between names and classifiers, the common nouns of Chinese can be divided in count nouns, mass nouns, collective nouns, abstract nouns and proper nouns. Besides the classifier, one more evidence for the accounting of Chinese\'s names is the morpheme men. The third part of the dissertation assesses the classifiers presence in the noun phrases with numerals. We argue that, different groups of classifiers have different functions: the individual classifiers are grammatical markers of accounting and they do not have the individualizing function, while the other groups have their restrictions in the combination with the nouns. The combination between the numeral and the classifier can be treated as a complex head that happens morphologically as a lexical item, but the numeral in which can be omitted in some contexts and the classifier can not. Thus, the classifiers should be treated as a suffix in his occurrence with the complex [Num-CL], but as a clitic in other occurrences.

本論文藉由瞭解在臺學習華語的外籍學生對於兩岸口音的看法，以供臺灣華語教師在教學現場應使用何種口音作為參考。研究對象是臺灣北部某國立大學的華語文教學中心中級班以上的外籍學生。研究方法包含假貌相比測驗法（Matched-Guise technique）、問卷調查和焦點團體訪談三項研究工具，蒐集研究資料，作為分析與討論問題的依據。 經過研究實施與資料分析，歸結研究結果如下：（一）多數外籍學生具有聽辨兩岸口音差異之能力；（二）兩岸口音各有其擁護者；（三）兩岸口音的印象差異，除了在聲母、韻母及聲調，如：捲舌音、輕聲及兒化韻等等的差別以外，說話的語氣，如：聲音的大小、說話的速度、聲音的高低等，也會影響外籍學生對兩岸口音的印象；（四）外籍學生在選擇華語口音時所考慮的要素為「不同學習階段的需求」、「易學」、「當地文化與朋友」、「好聽」以及「較具親和力」等五項因素；（五）本研究的外籍學生認為在現階段應學習臺灣口音的華語，奠立良好的口音基礎，進而拓展聽力寬度，然後再進入多元口音輸出的階段。 最後根據調查結果提出華語教學上的啟發與後續研究建議，以供華語教師、學校行政單位以及教學研究者在兩岸華語口音方面的參考。 / This study aims to investigate how CFL(Chinese as a foreign language) students in Taiwan view the accent of Mandarin Chinese produced by Taiwanese and Mainlanders. The participants of the study are from a university in Taipei city, and they are at intermediate-level and above. The research methods adopted in the study include Matched-Guise technique, questionnaire survey, and focus group interview. The major findings are: (1) Most CFL students have the ability to distinguish the accent of Mandarin Chinese produced by Taiwanese and Mainlanders; (2) the two accents have their own supporters; (3) CFL students’ impressions of the two accents include not only initials, finals and tones, but also volume, speed and pitch. Another interesting finding is that most CFL students in Taiwan want to learn Mandarin with a Taiwanese accent because (1) Taiwanese accent is easier to learn; (2) CFL students in Taiwan want to interact with Taiwanese and learn Taiwanese culture. When CFL students in Taiwan become high intermediate or advanced students, they also wish to be exposed to Mandarin with mainlander’s accent in order to expand their repertoire of the Chinese language. At the end of the thesis, pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research are included.

La présente thèse étudie le rôle de l'accent prosodique (accent de mot vs. accent de syntagme) lors du traitement auditif de paires minimales ambigües (mots composés vs. syntagmes) du chinois mandarin. Deux types de paires minimales ont été utilisés: 1) Mots composés avec un ton neutre (ex: dong3xi0 « chose ») vs. Syntagme avec un ton plein (ex: dong3xi1 « est et ouest ») qui se distinguent par la réalisation du ton sur la syllabe finale ; 2) Mots composés Verbe-Nom (VN) (ex: 'chaofan « riz frit ») vs. Syntagmes Verbe-Objet (VO) (ex: chao'fan « frire du riz ») se distinguant par la position de l'accent prosodique. Nos données comportementales et neurophysiologiques démontrent que : 1) la syllabe finale est plus longue et l'étendue de la F0 est plus large dans les VO que dans les VN, 2) la prosodie assiste le système de traitement pour anticiper la structure morphologique des séquences ambigües, et 3) un traitement hiérarchique « de droite-à-gauche » des informations prosodiques en complément d'un traitement séquentiel « de gauche-à-droite » prend place en chinois mandarin. Prises dans leur ensemble, nos données précisent la description fonctionnelle et structurale du modèle Prosody-Assisted-Processing (PAP) pour le chinois mandarin. / The present thesis investigates the role of prosodic stress (i.e. lexical versus phrasal stress) on the auditory processing of Mandarin Chinese ambiguous compound /phrase minimal pairs. Two types of compound/phrase minimal pairs were used: 1) Compound word with a neutral tone (e.g. dong3xi0 "thing") vs. phrase with a full tone (e.g. dong3xi1 "east and west") distinguished by the final syllable tone realization; 2) Verb-Noun (VN) compound word (e.g. 'chaofan "fried rice") and Verb-Object (VO) phrase (e.g. chao'fan "fry the rice") distinguished by the position of the prosodic stress. Combined behavioral and neurophysiological data demonstrate that 1) the final syllable was more lengthened and the F0 range was larger in VO than in VN, 2) prosodic structure does assist the processing system in anticipating morphological structure, and 3) a right-to-left hierarchical processing of prosodic information in addition to a sequential left-to-right one is involved during the processing of ambiguous spoken sequences in Mandarin Chinese. Taken together, our findings allowed us to precise the functional and structural description of the Prosody-Assisted-Processing (PAP) model for Mandarin Chinese.

本研究旨在瞭解目前成人華語文教學課堂遊戲設計、規劃與實施的現況，以及成人華語教師對課堂遊戲的看法；調查的內容包括遊戲實施的頻率、目的、優缺點和適用性等。為達成研究目的，本研究採用調查研究法，以調查問卷與焦點團體訪談為研究工具，蒐集研究資料，作為分析與討論問題的依據。本調查研究針對臺北市11所公私立大學校院華語文教學中心之華語教師進行調查，以滾雪球抽樣發出120份調查問卷，回收有效問卷91份，彙整分析調查結果。其後，從表達參與訪談意願的受試華語教師中，隨機選取6位教師進行焦點團體訪談，探討華語教師對成人華語文教學課堂遊戲實施的經驗、想法與意見。 經過研究實施與資料分析，歸結研究結果如下：（一）儘管課堂遊戲並非臺灣成人華語文教學課堂中的主要活動，多數教師仍肯定課堂遊戲應用於成人學生的適用性，並且同意課堂遊戲能有效提升學生的語言能力與學習興趣；課堂遊戲訓練學生的主要語言技能為口說和聽力，確實表現了語言的溝通交際功能；成人學生的華語程度、個性、年齡是主要影響課堂遊戲實施的個別差異。（二）華語教師的「教育程度」會影響其對於「遊戲能否有效提升學生學習興趣」的評估；華語教師在「成人華語文教學以外的教學工作類型」會影響其「設計或規劃課堂遊戲的時間點」。（三）華語教師認為使用課堂遊戲所遭遇的主要問題為「遊戲設計與教具製作費時、缺乏遊戲資料來源」，建議包括同事交換心得、參加教學研習、請學生提供適合的遊戲等；次要問題為「成人學生對課堂遊戲沒興趣、參與意願低」，建議是一旦出現學生不配合的情況，教師應該改變遊戲規則、類型、帶領方式，或是直接結束遊戲。 最後根據調查結果提出相關建議，以供華語教師、學校行政單位以及教學研究者在成人華語文教學課堂遊戲設計、規劃與實施等方面的參考。 / The present study aims to investigate the current situation of classroom games applied in adult Chinese teaching, and teachers’ perspectives toward games used in adult Chinese teaching. A total of 91 teachers of Chinese language center, from universities in Taipei city, responded to a questionnaire designed for this survey. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and cross analysis. Afterward, six Chinese teachers were chosen randomly to participate in a focus group interview. They discussed their experiences and perception of using games to teach adult Chinese learners. Results of this study show: (1) Games are not the main activity used in adult Chinese teaching, but teachers mostly have positive response toward game-using in teaching adult Chinese learners. (2) Teachers’ different educational backgrounds significantly influence their attitude toward the statement “games teaching would increase students’ learning interest”. Teachers’ teaching experiences also influence significantly the timing of preparing classroom games. (3) The duration of game-preparing, the insufficiency of game material, and adult students are unwilling to participate in those games are the main challenges reported by teachers. Based on the findings of the survey, teaching implications and suggestions for further research are included at the end of the thesis.

La présente thèse étudie le rôle de l'accent prosodique (accent de mot vs. accent de syntagme) lors du traitement auditif de paires minimales ambigües (mots composés vs. syntagmes) du chinois mandarin. Deux types de paires minimales ont été utilisés: 1) Mots composés avec un ton neutre (ex: dong3xi0 « chose ») vs. Syntagme avec un ton plein (ex: dong3xi1 « est et ouest ») qui se distinguent par la réalisation du ton sur la syllabe finale ; 2) Mots composés Verbe-Nom (VN) (ex: 'chaofan « riz frit ») vs. Syntagmes Verbe-Objet (VO) (ex: chao'fan « frire du riz ») se distinguant par la position de l'accent prosodique. Nos données comportementales et neurophysiologiques démontrent que : 1) la syllabe finale est plus longue et l'étendue de la F0 est plus large dans les VO que dans les VN, 2) la prosodie assiste le système de traitement pour anticiper la structure morphologique des séquences ambigües, et 3) un traitement hiérarchique « de droite-à-gauche » des informations prosodiques en complément d'un traitement séquentiel « de gauche-à-droite » prend place en chinois mandarin. Prises dans leur ensemble, nos données précisent la description fonctionnelle et structurale du modèle Prosody-Assisted-Processing (PAP) pour le chinois mandarin. / The present thesis investigates the role of prosodic stress (i.e. lexical versus phrasal stress) on the auditory processing of Mandarin Chinese ambiguous compound /phrase minimal pairs. Two types of compound/phrase minimal pairs were used: 1) Compound word with a neutral tone (e.g. dong3xi0 "thing") vs. phrase with a full tone (e.g. dong3xi1 "east and west") distinguished by the final syllable tone realization; 2) Verb-Noun (VN) compound word (e.g. 'chaofan "fried rice") and Verb-Object (VO) phrase (e.g. chao'fan "fry the rice") distinguished by the position of the prosodic stress. Combined behavioral and neurophysiological data demonstrate that 1) the final syllable was more lengthened and the F0 range was larger in VO than in VN, 2) prosodic structure does assist the processing system in anticipating morphological structure, and 3) a right-to-left hierarchical processing of prosodic information in addition to a sequential left-to-right one is involved during the processing of ambiguous spoken sequences in Mandarin Chinese. Taken together, our findings allowed us to precise the functional and structural description of the Prosody-Assisted-Processing (PAP) model for Mandarin Chinese.

La présente thèse étudie le rôle de l'accent prosodique (accent de mot vs. accent de syntagme) lors du traitement auditif de paires minimales ambigües (mots composés vs. syntagmes) du chinois mandarin. Deux types de paires minimales ont été utilisés: 1) Mots composés avec un ton neutre (ex: dong3xi0 « chose ») vs. Syntagme avec un ton plein (ex: dong3xi1 « est et ouest ») qui se distinguent par la réalisation du ton sur la syllabe finale ; 2) Mots composés Verbe-Nom (VN) (ex: 'chaofan « riz frit ») vs. Syntagmes Verbe-Objet (VO) (ex: chao'fan « frire du riz ») se distinguant par la position de l'accent prosodique. Nos données comportementales et neurophysiologiques démontrent que : 1) la syllabe finale est plus longue et l'étendue de la F0 est plus large dans les VO que dans les VN, 2) la prosodie assiste le système de traitement pour anticiper la structure morphologique des séquences ambigües, et 3) un traitement hiérarchique « de droite-à-gauche » des informations prosodiques en complément d'un traitement séquentiel « de gauche-à-droite » prend place en chinois mandarin. Prises dans leur ensemble, nos données précisent la description fonctionnelle et structurale du modèle Prosody-Assisted-Processing (PAP) pour le chinois mandarin. / The present thesis investigates the role of prosodic stress (i.e. lexical versus phrasal stress) on the auditory processing of Mandarin Chinese ambiguous compound /phrase minimal pairs. Two types of compound/phrase minimal pairs were used: 1) Compound word with a neutral tone (e.g. dong3xi0 "thing") vs. phrase with a full tone (e.g. dong3xi1 "east and west") distinguished by the final syllable tone realization; 2) Verb-Noun (VN) compound word (e.g. 'chaofan "fried rice") and Verb-Object (VO) phrase (e.g. chao'fan "fry the rice") distinguished by the position of the prosodic stress. Combined behavioral and neurophysiological data demonstrate that 1) the final syllable was more lengthened and the F0 range was larger in VO than in VN, 2) prosodic structure does assist the processing system in anticipating morphological structure, and 3) a right-to-left hierarchical processing of prosodic information in addition to a sequential left-to-right one is involved during the processing of ambiguous spoken sequences in Mandarin Chinese. Taken together, our findings allowed us to precise the functional and structural description of the Prosody-Assisted-Processing (PAP) model for Mandarin Chinese.

The focus of this research study was on the experiences and perceptions of Mandarin Chinese teachers who used technologies and innovative instructional methods to teach second language skills to young learners. The conceptual framework drew on 3 theories: (a) Vygotsky’s sociocultural learning theory, (b) Schӧn’s action theory, and (c) Mishra and Koehler’s technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The research questions focused on the experiences of early childhood teachers integrating TPACK to teach Mandarin Chinese and how do early childhood teachers perceive the use of instructional methods to teach Mandarin Chinese. Purposeful sampling was used to identify 8 Mandarin Chinese language teachers who taught Mandarin Chinese to students in preschool through 3rd grade. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, a questionnaire centered on TPACK, and a reflective journal entry. The data were analyzed through thematic inductive analysis using cross-case analysis to identify codes, patterns, and emerging themes that explored the teacher’s experiences. The overall findings in this study indicated that teachers experienced positive outcomes integrating technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge in the early childhood language learning classroom. The finding has the potential for social change by increasing technological and instructional resources and materials in early childhood language learning classrooms and providing on-going professional development for Mandarin Chinese language teachers in American schools.

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