Which tones are hardest, why, and where to start.
Italian speakers struggle most with Tone 2 and Tone 3 — their productions of the two are nearly identical. The specific cause is that T2 is produced with a CONCAVE (dip-then-rise) contour instead of a straight rise, so it drifts toward T3. A second issue is over-application of Tone 3 sandhi: a first-position T3 in a disyllable is produced as a full low-dipping tone rather than the half-third tone.
Source: Zhang, Guanyu (2016), Tone Acquisition of Mandarin Chinese by Italian Adult Learners, Tesi di Laurea, Università di Pisa. https://etd.adm.unipi.it/theses/available/etd-09152016-212152/ | Francolino, F., PhD thesis, Università per Stranieri di Siena (UNISTRASI)
Group averages tell you where to look, not what you actually do. Two speakers of the same first language can differ a lot. The only way to know is to record yourself and compare.
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