Hard-of-hearing students increasingly participate in mainstream foreign language education alongside their normal-hearing peers. However, listening-based tasks pose particular challenges, and these students typically experience substantially greater listening effort.

This study addresses the following key questions:

• What impact does increased listening effort have on performance in listening tasks?

• How are pupillometry, response time, and self-reported effort interrelated in the assessment of listening effort?

• What are the lived experiences of hard-of-hearing students in mainstream foreign language education, and how can their academic achievement be more effectively supported?