Computer-Assisted Technologies in Teaching Mandarin Pronunciation and Tones

One of the difficulties in L2 acquisition of Chinese is concerned with instructions of pitch variation and articulation of Mandarin pronunciation and tones. Although the use of computer-assisted audio/visual analysis and feedback for teaching tones/intonation has been available for a while, research on use of such technologies in teaching Mandarin has rather been limited. With growing number of Chinese language programs offered in colleges, technology-assisted approaches to teaching tones and pronunciations are becoming critical and more relevant in a situation where instruction of the language is constrained by limited resources.