A Longitudinal Investigation into Mobile-Assisted L2 Phonetic Learning via a Perception–Production Framework: Evidence From HanPhonic

This manuscript reports on two connected studies designed to examine the effectiveness of mobile-assisted pronunciation instruction in Second Language (L2) Chinese learning, focusing on both phonetic development and the psychological factors that influence such development. The first study employs a 16-week quasi-experimental design comparing HanPhonic-integrated instruction with traditional teacher-led phonetic teaching. The second study builds upon the first by exploring how psychological need satisfaction, specifically autonomy, competence, and relatedness as defined by Self-Determination Theory (SDT), relates to phonetic learning outcomes. A total of 70 learners of Chinese as a second language participated in the study. Phonetic performance across pre-, post-, and follow-up assessments was analyzed via linear mixed-effects and piecewise growth-curve models. Additionally, exploratory association analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between psychological need satisfaction and phonetic learning outcomes. Results indicated that the experimental group demonstrated significant phonetic gains and exhibited sustained improvement at the follow-up stage compared to the control group. Consistent with the Speech Learning Model (SLM), structured integration of perceptual training and production practice was associated with continued perception-production development. From an SDT perspective, autonomy and competence were primarily associated with immediate learning gains, whereas relatedness was linked to variation in follow-up performance, suggesting temporally differentiated motivational associations. These findings contribute to theoretical understandings of L2 phonetic development in mobile-assisted contexts and provide implications for the design of theory-driven, technology-enhanced pronunciation instruction.