How to Learn Tones in Chinse, Thai and Vietnamese by Hmmmmmmmmmmmming Them

As addressed in the title of this post, my solution for learning tones is to hum them. 

Here's a breakdown of this approach:

Find a video that teaches how to pronounce tones. Ensure that the pitch of the speaker is relatively within your daily vocal range. For example, I have a low voice, so I chose a male teacher for the Thai tone tutorial video. (If you're learning Chinese tones, you can use the one I created on YouTube. I read the tones in both higher and lower pitches:  https://youtu.be/PneCbH_Araw)

Grab a pen. Listen to the tone-drilling part of the video, and simply hum the tone you hear. Draw curvy lines on the paper for each tone. Keep in mind that many tones have different pitches and may have "short" and "long" sounds. Your curvy lines should indicate this.

Watch the video two or three more times to confirm what the tones sound like.

If you want, record your humming. If possible, play your recording for a native speaker and confirm the accuracy of the "hummed" tones.

Hum those tones anytime you want. Practice them.

Here's an example of my tone notes for Thai and Chinese:


Some reasoning behind this method:

It reduces the workload on our brain. When I hum, the only thing in my brain is the sound of the tone, without the image of any words or the sound of phonics. This allows me to focus solely on the tone, rather than being distracted by pronunciation or phonics.

It's convenient. I can literally hum while walking on the streets or taking a shower.

It's entertaining. It feels like humming a line of a song.

However, I'm not suggesting that you should use this method to completely replace drilling tones with words. Ideally, hum the tones during your spare time to reinforce your "brain muscle" and make the sound of the tones stick in your brain. But during formal learning, don't neglect practicing with words.

Conclusion?

Of course, there are many ways to learn language tones. Mine is just one of them. Give it a try (at least for a week)! If it's not helpful, modify it or try other methods.

Have fun learning!






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