| Abstract |
Mandarin is a very difficult language to master, even among the Chinese community. This is mainly due to the fact that Mandarin is a tonal language, which means that miscommunication can easily happen if the unwary learner pronounces the word correctly right but gets the tone wrong. In order to address this conundrum, e-SOTINS focuses on two main aspects: tone and sound. The syntax is different from that of English or Bahasa Malaysia and even with the help of “pinyin” it is still hard to communicate the exact pronunciation of the tones. Most NNS cannot get the tones right because their ears are simply not trained to pick up the subtle nuances in the various tones. Failure to get the tone correct can result in grave miscommunication. With this in mind, e-SOTINS Interactive software has been innovatively designed to help learners to pronounce correctly and get their tones right at the same time. This interactive software will help the aspiring learner to pick up the nuances and subtleties in the pronunciation of Mandarin words through drills and practices specially designed with the complexities of the Mandarin language in mind. Its innovativeness lies in the fact that no matter how difficult mastery of a foreign language is, with the right amount of practice balanced with intricate guidance, the learner will eventually be able to speak the software’s provision for interactive feedback and extensive exercises, taking into consideration the language correctly. e-SOTINS is available online and learners can easily access it. As online education is gaining momentum daily, it is for-seeable that e-SOTINS will appeal easily to aspiring learners of Mandarin.
|