A Study on Korean University Students’ Use of Strategies According to Perceived TOEIC Reading Item Difficulty and Proficiency Level

The purpose of this study is to examine differences in strategy use among Korean university students according to their perceived difficulty of TOEIC reading items and English proficiency levels. A total of 74 university students participated in the research, completing a TOEIC reading test and a questionnaire on strategy use based on item difficulty. All data were analyzed using SPSS 29, including descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and repeated measures ANOVA. The results are as follows. First, although learners tended to use more strategies for difficult items, their accuracy remained low, highlighting the importance of strategy quality over frequency. Second, distinct patterns of strategy use were found across proficiency levels depending on item difficulty. Third, significant interaction effects between item difficulty and proficiency levels were found in four strategies. Lastly, educational implications are presented along with suggestions for future studies.