ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of key concepts of pronunciation and what metrics are used to measure pronunciation performance when speaking a second language. We also review second language speech perception and production arguing the importance of perception on pronunciation. Tone sandhi, prosodic grouping, and tonal coarticulation features in Mandarin Chinese are illustrated to raise Chinese teachers’ awareness of these sound patterns in Mandarin where many non-tonal language speakers’ pronunciation errors lie in. For different proficiency level learners, different teaching strategies are discussed along with those highlighted sound patterns. The description of pronunciation learning outcomes in ACTFL (American Councils for Teaching Foreign Languages) and in the International Curriculum for Chinese Language Education (国际汉语教学通用课程大纲) are briefly summarized to provide teachers with guidelines to set up their expectations for students’ pronunciation at different proficiency levels. Some pedagogical practice of teaching Chinese pronunciation are described. We argue that contextualized and decontextualized practice can be integrated in pronunciation training. This chapter also briefly discusses how the logographic writing system in Chinese affects learners’ pronunciation.
