The learning of the third tone (T3) in Chinese is one of the most challenging tasks for adults who are acquiring Chinese as a second language. This article looks at how suppositions made in theoretical linguistics mold actual teaching methods, and explores the effect of those teaching methods on the learning of tones. This inquiry explores the perception and production of the three allophones of T3 by speakers of English who have been taught in the ‘Full‐T3 First’ method. By exploring the performance of beginner, intermediate and advanced learners, this inquiry presents that apparently contradictory phenomena discerned in learners' tonal phonologies can be ascribed to the overproduction of Full‐T3. It is claimed that this overproduction can be traced back to suppositions made within theoretical linguistics.