Students’ attention in class: patterns, perceptions of cause and a tool for measuring classroom quality of life

Constructs such as engagement and flow have been well developed and studied in education contexts. Sustained attention, a distinct but related concept, has been less studied, particularly in the language classroom and foreign language medium education. In a case study involving mixed methods, student attention was measured repeatedly during a university English for Academic Purposes course. The aim was to examine whether students exhibit patterns of attention in communicative language learning classes in a similar manner to lectures and to examine attention patterns based on interaction types (group work, individual work, full class). Repeated surveys were used to reveal what students perceived as detrimental to attention and the perceived value of exercise breaks. Results suggested significant changes in attention over time and between teacher talking time, group work and individual interaction types. The study design itself forms an effective tool to improve classroom life including teachers’ monitoring of class dynamics, and for students, as a means of self-reflection to increase learning performance