For foreign language learners pronunciation is the first field they step in when learning foreign language. Pronunciation can not only be the judgement for student's language level but also be their tool for smooth communication. Therefore the acquisi...
For foreign language learners pronunciation is the first field they step in when learning foreign language. Pronunciation can not only be the judgement for student's language level but also be their tool for smooth communication. Therefore the acquisition of accurate pronunciation become a vital part of acquiring foreign language. Student's age, gender, motivation, learning context, learning duration et al. can be the factors that affect student's pronunciation learning. The objective of this is to figure out whether learning context and learning duration effects Chinese student's acquisition of Korean plosive and affricate or not. Accordingly, this research selected 60 Chinese KSL elementary students(less than 6 months), KSL skilled students(more than 18 months), KFL elementary students and KFL skilled students as research participants and analyzed their pronunciation of Korean plosive and affricate in word-initial and word-medial positions through a series of acoustic-phonetics experiment, statistic program.
The result of acoustic-phonetics experiment on plosive showed that the plosive pronunciation in both word-initial and word-medial positions of elementary students was similar to the pronunciation of skilled students in KSL learning context. Comparing to the plosive pronunciation which was spoken by native Korean speakers, the plosive pronunciation spoken by KSL elementary and skilled students was lack of aspiration. Also KSL elementary and skilled students showed no improvement in pronouncing plain, aspirate and fortis plosive definitely regardless of learning duration. The plosive's CD of KSL skilled students is better than KSL elementary students. On one side the pitch of plain, fortis plosive in word-medial position pronounced by both KSL elementary and skilled students were too high. Above statements present that students in KSL learning context have difficulties in pronouncing plain plosive aspiration and pitch of plosive without considering the duration of learning lengthened. KFL elementary and skilled students‘ pronunciation of Korean plosive in word-initial and word-medial position was very similar to the KSL students' pronunciation. There were still many problems about aspiration and pitch when KFL elementary and skilled students pronouncing Korean plosive in word-initial and word-medial position. In other words, studying in the KFL context, learning duration makes slight effect on students' acquisition of Korean plosive. Significant difference only can be fought in the comparison between KSL skilled and KFL skilled students' VOT of plain plosive in word-initial position and CD of plain, aspirate plosive in word-medial position. In spite of such difference, KSL and KFL skilled students made same mistakes when they are pronouncing VOT of plain plosive in word-initial position and CD of plain, aspirate plosive in word-medial position. In conclusion, learning context is hard to impact on students acquiring Korean plosive.
On speaking to the acoustic-phonetics experiments of Korean affricate results, the affricate in word-initial and word-medial position pronounced by KSL elementary students were analogous to KSL skilled students. Comparing to the Korean native's pronunciation, affricate in word-initial position pronounced by KSL elementary and skilled students was lack of aspiration relatively. In addition, not only KSL elementary students but also skilled students were not able to pronounce plain, aspirate, fortis affricate in word-initial position definitely. KSL skilled students present relative better performance than elementary students when they pronounced affricate CD in word-medial. On the other hand, elementary students' affricate VOT in word-medial position was much more correct than KSL skilled students. Students in KSL context hardly pronounced plain, aspirate, fortis affricate in word-medial position distinctly regardless of the learning duration length. Above all we can see learning duration can just make limited effect on KSL students' acquisition of Korean affricate. Elementary and skilled students in KFL context, likewise, have difficulties in pronouncing aspiration of affricate in word-initial position and plain, aspirate, fortis affricate distinctly. The pronunciation of affricate CD in word-medial position pronounced by KFL elementary and skilled students were not that accurate. KFL skilled students, otherwise, pronounced VOT of affricate in word-medial was much accurate than KFL elementary students. KFL students still could not pronounce plain, aspirate, fortis affricate pitch in word-medial position distinctly. That is even in the KFL context learning duration just make little effect on students' acquisition of Korean affricate. Significant statistic only can be fought between KSL and KFL skilled students pronounced affricate CD, VOT in word-medial position. These tiny distinction were hard to become the evidence that learning context had played important role in foreign students' acquisition of Korean affricate.
This sought to figure out whether learning context and period will affect foreign students' acquisition of Korean plosive and affricate. Research of this has significant sense in offering scientific and reliable evidence to examine the learning context and learning period which is two main factor that may affect pronunciation learning. According to series of acoustic-phonetics experiment results, conclusion of this is that learning context and period restrictively impact on Chinese students' acquisition of Korean plosive and affricate pronunciation.
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