When learning Chinese language, the foreign students may articulate single word very good. However, when it comes to the sentence, the tones are incorrect. The reason of this phenomenon is complicated. Except for the memory factor, the students in volunteer programs in China may be affected by the aspects as follows: the continuous changes in tones, the influence of the speed and tones, the difficulty level of initial consonants and simple or compound vowels as well as the familiarity to a certain topic.
In Chinese language, the tones of two or more syllables together always have some differences when they are articulated singly. The tones may have influence with each other which is called the continuous changes in tones. The learners can master the ordinary continuous changes in tones by repeatedly tones practicing. For example, they can use the words like 听说、开头and呼喊to practice the combination of the first tone with other tones and use 随身听and来关门to practice the combination of the second tone with other tines.
According to the teaching experience and investigation, the overseas learners who study abroad online often make mistakes in tones when the falling-rising tone is included. Therefore, the exactness of the tones in sentences will be greatly improved if they strengthen the practice of the falling-rising tone. If you pay attention to the learners who love to speak Chinese quickly, you will find the tones are totally different with those of Chinese language speakers. That is to say, the speaking speed is also important to improve their tones.
Since the mother tongues of most students belong to non-tonal languages, they meet difficulties when they speak Chinese. In this case, the teachers should encourage them to slow down the speed and speak slowly. The proper pause is needed when teaching. In addition, the stress of sentence can also influence the tones.
If there are some initial consonants or vowels are difficult for the students, they may initially pay much attention to the initial consonants or vowels instead of tones. In order to solve this problem, learners whostudy Mandarin Chinese should do it step by step, that is to say, correct one mistake when finding one and consolidate it through repeatedly practice. In addition, if they are familiar with the topic, they will use the words they know, or they will focus on the words selection.