Revisiting the Benefits of Hand Gestures in L2 Pronunciation: Generalization Effects in Multi-Session Multimodal Phonetic Training

Multimodal phonetic training with hand gestures can support L2 speech learning, but few studies have examined its generalization effects. In this between-subjects study with a pretest/post-test paradigm, 39 Japanese learners of Mandarin practiced Mandarin aspirated stops, high back rounded vowel /u/, and T3 Sandhi over four training sessions. The gesture (G) group ( n = 20) received training with hand gestures illustrating the phonetic and articulatory features of the target sounds, while the no gesture (NG) group ( n = 19) received the same training without gestures. Participants read trained words during the pre- and post-tests and untrained words in a generalization test. Results showed that the G group outperformed the NG group in improving the pronunciation accuracy of aspirated stops and vowels, but not T3 Sandhi. Importantly, the G group showed better generalization to untrained items across all targets. These findings highlight the robust effects of hand gestures in multimodal phonetic training and the role of embodied cognition in L2 speech acquisition.