Enhancing Cantonese tone learning in Mandarin speakers : the role of visual feedback and individual differences

Abstract

While a growing body of research has demonstrated the positive role of visual cues in auditory phonetic learning, most studies provided visual cues directly rather than using feedback-based approaches. This study investigates the role of visual feedback in the perceptual learning of Cantonese tones by Mandarin speakers. Thirty native Mandarin speakers (15 female) participated in a four-day training program within one week, where they received trial-by-trial visual-only feedback after identifying auditory stimuli. Tone identification tasks were administered before, immediately after, and one-week post-training to evaluate perceptual improvement, generalization to unfamiliar talkers, and short-term retention. Participants’ cognitive abilities, including working memory, pitch sensitivity, and musicality, were also assessed. Using generalized linear mixed-effects models, the results showed significant post-training improvement in Cantonese tone perception, with the effects generalized to novel talkers and retained after one week. Notably, musicality consistently predicted performance across all post-training stages, while working memory supported initial learning gains but showed reduced effects in generalization and retention. Pitch sensitivity had minimal influence overall. These findings underscore the effectiveness of visual feedback-based training in non-native tone learning, suggesting that visual feedback enhances robust and transferable phonetic category formation in adult learners, as modulated by individual differences in perceptual abilities.