Modeling the intra- and inter-lecture developmental trajectories of mind-wandering in L2 classrooms

Mind-wandering, a momentary shift of attention away from ongoing activities to task-unrelated thoughts, is a major challenge in second language (L2) classrooms. While engagement in L2 classrooms has attracted substantial attention, the prevalence and impacts of mind-wandering—conceptually situated at the opposite of the attentional spectrum from engagement—remain underexplored. This study contributes to the literature by investigating the intra- and inter-lecture developmental trajectories of mind-wandering in L2 classrooms and their impacts on L2 performance over a semester. Throughout nine lectures spanning a 17-week semester, 569 first-year college students responded to thought probes embedded in slides presented at three approximately equal intervals within each L2 classroom session. An unconditional latent growth curve model (LGCM) reveals that students' minds wander more as an average lecture progresses. Another unconditional LGCM indicates that throughout the semester, students experience less mind-wandering as lectures progress, and that individuals with higher initial levels of mind-wandering experience slower growth rates than their counterparts. A mixed model reveals a significant negative effect of mind-wandering on students' quiz performance in an average lecture controlling for L2 proficiency. A conditional LGCM further indicates that students with higher initial levels of mind-wandering at the beginning of the semester perform worse on the final examination, while the growth rate in mind-wandering shows no significant effects. These findings advance our understanding of students’ attentional state and their impacts on learning achievement in L2 classrooms. Reasons for developmental trajectories of mind-wandering, their impacts, and implications for pedagogical practice are discussed.