Hearing and Seeing Tone Through Color: An Efficacy Study of Web‐Based, Multimodal Chinese Tone Perception Training
This research was sponsored by a Michigan State University Targeted Support Grant for Technology Development (TSGTD 138989), a Delia Koo Global Faculty Endowment Award, two College of Arts and Letters Research Awards, and two College of Arts and Letters Undergraduate Research Initiatives Awards to Catherine Ryu. We thank all the participants of the experiment; the members of the Tone Perception Efficacy Study (http://cube2cube.cal.msu.edu/about-us); and the support staff at Michigan State University in the Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian, and African Languages, Michigan State University Technology, the Asian Studies Center, the Center for Language Teaching Advancement, the College of Arts and Letters’ Research and Administration Office, and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies for their support and hard work—without which we would not have been able to complete this project. We also thank the four anonymous reviewers for their perceptive feedback and the editor, Pavel Trofimovich, for his constructive comments.
Abstract
Multimodal approaches have been shown to be effective for many learning tasks. In this study, we compared the effectiveness of five multimodal methods for second language (L2) Mandarin tone perception training: three single‐cue methods (number, pitch contour, color) and two dual‐cue methods (color and number, color and pitch contour). A total of 303 true novice learners of L2 Mandarin (native speakers of English) completed a 3‐week online training program. Results from pretests as well as immediate and delayed posttests indicated that multimodal training aided L2 learners’ tone perception, with a small, practical advantage for pitch contours and numbers over color coding. Dual‐cue methods did not yield better learning than single‐cue training. Thus, the additive benefits of multimodal input (i.e., auditory and visual) did not extend to instruction featuring doubled visual input (i.e., visual and visual). We argue for embedding color in visuals in a way that helps make abstract information concrete.
