Learning of Spanish intonation by Mandarin speakers: effects of observing pitch gestures

Abstract

Recent studies have demonstrated the positive role of co-speech gestures in enhancing word memory recall in both first and second language acquisition (e.g., Quinn-Allen, 1995; Tellier, 2008; Kelly et al., 2009), and also the positive effects of using pitch gestures in the learning of L2 lexical tones (e.g., Jia & Wang, 2013a, b; Morett & Chang, 2015). However, it is not clear whether co-speech pitch gestures are beneficial for the learning of L2 intonation. Sixty-four native-Mandarin speakers with basic level of proficiency in Spanish were asked to learn three Spanish intonation patterns with a low tone on its nuclear accent (specifically, L*H%, L*HL%, and L*H%). A pre- and post-tests experiment design was used, where half of the participants were trained in the control No-Gesture Condition; and the other half with the Gesture Condition (i.e., pitch gestures marking the nuclear pitch movements). The results confirm (i) that Mandarin speakers tend to produce a high tone on the nuclear accent instead of a low tone (e.g., Liu, 2003; Ji & Li, 2009; Ji, 2010; Hong, 2012); and (ii) that Mandarin speakers in the experimental group produced the target pitch patterns significantly better than those in control group. Thus, observing pitch gestures does benefit L2 intonation learning. The findings support the embodied cognition paradigm and also has some implications for the teaching and learning of L2 intonation.