The impact of well-being on university students’ attention in foreign language classrooms in Japan

The study quantifies the relative weight of factors contributing to attentional lapses of undergraduate students in the University of Tsukuba, Japan. Data were collected from four French classes (N = 107) using a multi-source protocol that included real-time self-report clickers, time-synchronized classroom observations, end-of-class surveys, and follow-up interviews (N = 13). Quantitative data were analyzed using machine learning (XGBoost model), interpreted through SHAP values, and calculated Pearson correlations to provide interpretable indicators of effect direction. Meanwhile, qualitative responses helped to confirm and enrich the results obtained. Among the examined variables, physical condition exhibited the strongest association with inattention (r = +0.7054), whereas device multiplicity showed a negligible relationship (r = +0.0312). These findings suggest that, in order to enhance educational quality, interventions should prioritize learners’ health and physiological readiness for learning, rather than focusing primarily on classroom equipment investment.