Investigation And Research On The Status Quo Of Native Chinese Teachers' Pronunciation In Thailand

With the constant improvement of China's comprehensive national strength and the in-depth development of friendly relations between China and Thailand,the “Chinese language fever” is heating up rapidly in various parts of Thailand.The number of people studying Chinese in Thailand is increasing.So far,sixteen Confucius Institutes,eleven Confucius Classrooms,and more than 3,000 schools offer Chinese language courses.Despite the fact that the number of native Chinese teachers in Thailand has been constantly increasing as Chinese learning is becoming more and more popular among Thai,their Chinese pronunciation has not been obviously improved,most of whom experienced mispronunciation since the beginning of their learning of Chinese which have not been corrected.Standard Chinese pronunciation is the most explicit symbol of measuring their language competence.As the Chinese language learner and instructor,Thai Chinese language teachers' pronunciation will influence and even determine the whole picture of students' pronunciation in Thailand.The present experimental study is conducted among Thai Chinese teachers and to investigate their pronunciation of Mandarin.Combining the different types of errors concluded by experimental phonetics and using speech analysis software – Praat,the author seeks to analyze the underlying reasons of errors.Ultimately,this study may propose some feasible advice to contribute to improving Thai Chinese teachers' pronunciation.This thesis consists of five parts.Part One is the Introduction that begins with the research background and significance,which is followed by a review of previous literature about the Chinese language competence and pronunciation of Thai Chinese language teachers.On the basis of this,the research content,research methodology,theoretical framework and research gap are presented.Part Two consists of the questionnaire survey and pronunciation examination(Praat).The questionnaire focuses on the current situation of Thai Chinese language teachers 'pronunciation.Subsequently,pronunciation errors occurring in Thai Chinese teachers 'articulation including the initial consonant,the final sounds,and the tone are accurately inspected from the aspects of testing principle,testing validity,testing methodology,testing content,and testing results by the application of speech analysis software – Praat.Part Three involves the summary and conclusion of the recognized pronunciation errors based on questionnaire data and speech testing.Then,the underlying reasons of participantsmaking these errors are analyzed.Part four puts forward corresponding solutions to how to improve the pronunciation of native Chinese teachers in Thailand: Overcoming the interference of native pronunciation with Chinese pronunciation;Targeted listening and speaking training of Chinese pronunciation;Using the diagram to improve the recognition of Chinese pronunciation;Professional training for native Chinese teachers in Thailand.The last part is the Conclusion.