A variety of students participated in the quantitative survey. The survey was taken by
students in three TOEIC listening comprehension classes. Two of the classes were attended
by first year students. These classes were the first of their two mandatory semesters of
TOEIC instruction. A total of 104 students responded to the survey in these two classes.
These students will be referred to as “group A”. The students in group A have a wide variety
of majors. This was their first semester of exposure to university classes. In South Korean
public schools, students are never held back or forced to repeat classes based on grades, so
this was the first semester where students’ in-class performance had an effect on what they
would study in following semesters. The failure rate in first semester TOEIC classes at this
university is typically 30%.