Short conversations in the listening comprehension section of toefl itp in light of systemic functional grammar

Võ Việt Cường Tạp chí KHOA HỌC & CÔNG NGHỆ 109(09): 45 - 49 
45 
SHORT CONVERSATIONS IN THE LISTENING COMPREHENSION SECTION 
OF TOEFL ITP IN LIGHT OF SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR 
 Vo Viet Cuong* 
 College of Economics and Technology – TNU 
SUMMARY 
TOEFL ITP (Test of English as a Foreign Language: Institutional Testing Program) is now used as 
part of the test format designed by Vietnam National Foreign Language Project 2020 to test the 
English proficiency of Vietnamese. However, they tend to do poorly in the listening 
comprehension section of the tests of the Project, in which short conversations between two people 
in part A are the first challenge. Besides the high speaking speed of the native speakers in the 
recordings, the grammatical structures that convey the meaning of each conversation seem to be 
one of the linguistic components affecting the students’ understanding of each conversation. 
Realizing the students’ problem above, we have conducted an analysis of clause expansion in three 
selected short conversations consisting of requests and their responses in part A of the listening 
comprehension scripts of the book “TOEFL Preparation Kit Workbook 2002-2003, Volume 1” 
designed and introduced by ETS, in light of Systemic Functional Grammar. The results of the 
analysis suggest further studies on more conversations of this kind. 
Key words: TOEFL ITP, short conversations, challenge, clause expansion, requests and their 
responses, Systemic Functional Grammar. 
INTRODUCTION* 
Besides IELTS (International English Language 
Testing System), TOEFL ITP (Test of English 
as a Foreign Language: Institutional Testing 
Program) is now used as part of the test format 
designed by Vietnam National Foreign 
Language Project 2020 to test the English 
proficiency of Vietnamese. In addition, a 
considerable number of international institutions 
still accept TOEFL ITP score for admissions to 
them. These indicate that TOEFL ITP is still 
popular in Vietnam. 
As teachers of English at Thai Nguyen 
University, we are experienced in instructing 
quite a large number of students in TOEFL 
ITP. For many years of teaching TOEFL ITP, 
we have found that listening seems to be a 
challenge to them. To explain this, we, to 
some extent, need to depend on Schiffrin 
[5.389-390]’s statement: 
In order for communication to proceed at all, 
people must share certain basic knowledge, 
e.g. knowledge about the world, about the 
language to be used, and so on. 
*
 Tel: 0983 187 258, Email: vietcuongdhtn@gmail.com 
She also introduced the principle of 
intersubjectivity which is the process of 
dealing with the sharing of knowledge or 
experience, in which shared knowledge is one 
product of communication. She also added 
that intersubjectivity both allows 
communication and is achieved by 
communication [5.389-390]. Our students are 
graduates, so they probably have the 
necessary experience and knowledge about 
the world. The knowledge about the language 
to be used – English, however, is a challenge 
to them because a majority of them hasn’t 
been in contact with English since graduation. 
Thus, they tend to do poorly in the listening 
comprehension section of the tests by 
Vietnam National Foreign Language Project 
2020, in which short conversations between 
two people in part A are the first challenge. 
Besides the high speaking speed of the native 
speakers in the recordings, the grammatical 
structures that convey the meaning of each 
conversation seem to be one of the linguistic 
components affecting the students’ 
understanding of each conversation. Realizing 
the students’ problem above, we have 
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46 
conducted an analysis of clause expansion in 
the short conversations in the listening 
comprehension section of TOEFL ITP in light 
of Systemic Functional Grammar to know 
how it functions to display some of the main 
discourse features which may affect the 
students’ understanding of the conversations. 
Thus, the analysis in this article is a grammar-
based one, the importance of which was 
stressed by Halliday [2.xvi]: 
A discourse analysis that is not based on 
grammar is not an analysis at all, but simply a 
running commentary on a text. 
Due to the limited time and framework of an 
article, we can only focus on the analysis of 
clause expansion in three selected short 
conversations consisting of requests and their 
responses in part A of the listening 
comprehension scripts of the book “TOEFL 
Preparation Kit Workbook 2002-2003, 
Volume 1” designed and introduced by ETS, 
in light of Systemic Functional Grammar. 
DEVELOPMENT 
An introduction to clause expansion in 
Systemic Functional Grammar 
Halliday [2.215-216] viewed clause complex 
as the grammatical unit above the clause. He 
also introduced two types of interdependency 
among clauses depending on their status 
which are hypotaxis and parataxis. Hypotaxis 
is the relation between a dependent clause and 
its dominant one on which it is dependent. 
Parataxis is the relation between two clauses 
of equal status, one initiates and the other 
continues [2.218]. Halliday [2.218] used the 
Greek letter notations: α β γ δ to represent 
hypotactic structures and the numerical 
notations: 1 2 3 to represent paratactic 
structures in a clause complex. These 
notations are illustrated in the examples in 
table 7 (2): Basic types of clause complex in 
[2.220] cited in the next page of this article. 
Besides the interdependency among clauses, 
Halliday [2.219-220] also introduced the 
logico-semantic relations among the clauses 
in a clause complex which are expansion and 
projection. Projection is not the main issue of 
the analysis; it still contributes to the 
expansion of the clauses in a clause complex, 
however. According to Halliday [2.219], 
expansion is the case in which the secondary 
clause expands the primary clause by 
elaborating it, extending it, or enhancing it. 
Projection is the case in which the secondary 
clause is projected through the primary 
clause, which instates it as a locution or an 
idea. Following is the description of each of 
the categories of expansion and projection 
created by Halliday [2]: 
In elaboration, one clause elaborates on the 
meaning of another by further specifying or 
describing it. The secondary clause does not 
introduce a new clement into the picture but 
rather provides a further characterization of 
one that is already there, restating it, clarifying 
it, refining it, or adding a descriptive attribute 
or comment. The thing that is elaborated may 
be the primary clause as a whole, or it may be 
just some part of it – one or more of its 
constituent [2.225]. 
In extension, one clause extends the meaning 
of another by adding something new to it. 
What is added may be just an addition, or a 
replacement, or an alternative [2.230]. 
In enhancement, one clause enhances the 
meaning of another by qualifying it in one of a 
number of possible ways: by reference to 
time, place, manner, cause or condition 
[2.232]. 
In projection of locution, one clause is 
projected through another, which presents it as 
a locution, a construction of wording [2.220]. 
In projection of idea, one clause is projected 
through another, which presents it as an idea, 
a construction of meaning [2.220]. 
In summary, according to Halliday [2.225], 
elaborating, extending, and enhancing in 
expansion can be compared with three ways 
of enriching a building in which we can 
elaborate its existing structure, extend it by 
addition or replacement, and enhance its 
environment. 
Halliday [2.219] used (=) for elaboration, (+) 
for extension, and (x) for enhancement in 
expansion. He used (“) for projection of 
locution and (‘) for projection of idea. 
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47 
The examples in the following table illustrate Halliday [2]’s descriptions above: 
Table 1. Basic types of clause complex [2.220] 
 (i) paratactic (ii) hypotactic 
(1)
Ex
pa
n
sio
n
(a) 
elaboration 
John didn’t wait; 
1 
he ran away. 
= 2 
John ran away, 
α 
which surprised everyone. 
= β 
(b) 
extension 
John ran away, 
1 
and Fred stayed behind. 
+ 2 
John ran away, 
α 
whereas Fred stayed behind. 
+ β 
(c) 
enhancement 
John was scared, 
1 
so he ran away. 
x 2 
John ran away, 
α 
because he was scared. 
x β 
(2)
Pr
o
jec
tio
n
(a) 
locution 
John said: 
1 
‘I’m running away’ 
“2 
John said 
α 
he was running away. 
“β 
(b) 
idea 
John thought to himself: 
1 
‘I’ll run away’ 
‘2 
John thought 
α 
he would run away 
‘β 
An analysis of requests and their responses in the short conversations in light of Systemic 
Functional Grammar 
In this part of the article, we analyze the three conversations consisting of clause complexes in 
the requests and their responses cited from Cuong [6.27,29,30] selected as Nguyen and Vinh 
[3.182] and Quang [4.151-160]’s suggestions. We use the notation “///” for clause complex 
boundary and the notation “//” for clause boundary in a clause complex. The conjunctions 
inserted as Halliday [2.239]’s suggestion are in bold type. The original conjunctions are 
highlighted in both bold and underlined type for easy distinction in the analysis. We still apply 
the notation system introduced by Halliday [2.219] to the analysis of the clause complexes. 
Following is the analysis of the clause complexes in the requests and their responses in the 
conversations: 
Conversation 1: 
(woman) ///Can you come to the concert with me this weekend,//or do you have to prepare 
for exams?///(1) 
1 + 2 (variation: 
alternative) 
(man) ///I still have a lot//to do  //but maybe a break would do me good.///(2) 
1 + 2 (addition: adversative) 
α 
x β 
(purpose) 
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48 
Conversation 2: 
(woman) ///I really want to see the play at the outdoor theater tonight.//So will you come 
with me?///(3) 
1 x 2 (cause-
effect) 
(man) ///You know//I hate battling all those mosquitoes.//But  if you have your heart set on it 
.///(4) 
1 + 2 (addition: adversative) 
α ‘β x β  
Conversation 3: 
(man) ///Hi, I’d like to sign up for the film selection committee.//So is this the right place?///(5) 
1 x 2 (cause-effect) 
(woman) ///Yes, it is!//In fact, there are a lot of fun people on that committee,//but 
1 = 2 (clarification) + 3 
you’ll have to put in a lot of hours.//So I hope//your schedule isn’t too tight.///(6) 
(addition: adversative) x 4 (cause-effect) 
 α ‘β 
As can be seen from the analysis above, there 
are six clause complexes in which the 
conjunction “so” was inserted in clause 
complexes 3, 5, 6 and the conjunction “in 
fact” was inserted in clause complex 6. This 
implicit use of conjunctions can be a 
challenge to the students because they have 
only one time to listen to the conversations in 
which the people speak very fast in a short 
time. The students then have to reword the 
utterances in their minds as we do in the 
analysis but in a short time without taking 
notes to refer backwards or forwards to find 
the co-text or context as easily as we do. The 
appearances of projection in combination 
with expansion in clause complexes 4 and 6 
also challenge the students because the 
structures of the clause complexes then 
become more complicated with the added 
information through projection of locution or 
idea. This is common in every day 
conversations. The conjunction “but” was 
used in the three responses in the 
conversations. The speakers’ intentions are 
different, however. In clause complex 2, 
“but” is used for declining, in 4 for accepting 
reluctantly or declining politely, and in 5 for 
giving advice. The varied uses of the same 
conjunction “but” in combination with other 
linguistic components can cause difficulty to 
the students in understanding the responses 
mainly focused on by the listening 
comprehension questions. 
CONCLUSION 
In this article, we have introduced the concept 
of clause expansion and its components in 
Systemic Functional Grammar. After 
applying it to the analysis of the 
conversations in this article, we have 
discussed the possible effects of the displayed 
discourse features on the students’ 
understanding of the conversations. The 
analysis implies that further studies on more 
conversations of this kind need to be 
conducted and their results can be tried on the 
students to improve teaching and learning 
these conversations. 
REFERENCES 
[1]. ETS. (2004), TOEFL Preparation Kit 
Workbook 2002-2003, Volume 1, Thành phố Hồ 
Chí Minh: Nhà xuất bản Trẻ. 
[2]. Halliday, M.A.K. (1994), An Introduction to 
Functional Grammar, London: Edward Arnold. 
[3]. Huỳnh Thị Ái Nguyên & Nguyễn Quang 
Vịnh. (2008), TOEFL-iBT bí quyết và thành công, 
Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản Giáo dục. 
Số hóa bởi Trung tâm Học liệu – Đại học Thái Nguyên 
Võ Việt Cường Tạp chí KHOA HỌC & CÔNG NGHỆ 109(09): 45 - 49 
49 
[4]. Nguyễn Quang. (2007), Cú điển dụng học Anh 
– Việt, Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản Từ điển bách khoa. 
[5]. Schiffrin, D. (1994), Approaches to 
Discourse, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. 
[6]. Võ Việt Cường. (2010), Some Discourse 
Features of Requests and Their Responses in 
Short Conversations in the Listening 
Comprehension Section of TOEFL Materials, 
Unpublished M.A. Minor Thesis: Một số đặc điểm 
diễn ngôn của yêu cầu và đáp lại yêu cầu trong 
các hội thoại ngắn trong mục nghe hiểu của tài 
liệu luyện thi TOEFL, Tiểu luận văn thạc sĩ không 
xuất bản, Hà Nội: Trường đại học ngoại ngữ, Đại 
học Quốc gia Hà Nội. 
TÓM TẮT 
CÁC ĐOẠN HỘI THOẠI NGẮN TRONG MỤC NGHE HIỂU CỦA TOEFL ITP 
DƯỚI ÁNH SÁNG CỦA NGỮ PHÁP CHỨC NĂNG HỆ THỐNG 
 Võ Việt Cường* 
 Trường Cao đẳng Kinh tế Kỹ thuật – ĐH Thái Nguyên 
TOEFL ITP (Bài thi tiếng Anh như một ngoại ngữ: Chương trình thi nội bộ) hiện được sử dụng 
như một phần của dạng thức đề thi được Đề án ngoại ngữ Quốc gia Việt Nam 2020 thiết kế nhằm 
khảo sát năng lực tiếng Anh của người Việt Nam. Tuy nhiên, họ thường có khuynh hướng thực 
hiện không tốt mục nghe hiểu trong các bài thi của Đề án, trong đó các đoạn hội thoại ngắn giữa 
hai người là thách thức đầu tiên. Bên cạnh tốc độ nói nhanh của người nói bản xứ trong các bản 
ghi âm thì các cấu trúc ngữ pháp chuyển tải nghĩa của mỗi đoạn hội thoại dường như là một trong 
những thành phần ngôn ngữ ảnh hưởng đến việc hiểu mỗi đoạn hội thoại của học viên. Nhận thức 
được vấn đề trên của học viên, chúng tôi đã tiến hành một phân tích về sự bành trướng cú trong ba 
đoạn hội thoại ngắn có các yêu cầu và đáp lại yêu cầu trong phần A của các bản ghi chữ phần nghe 
hiểu của cuốn sách “TOEFL Preparation Kit Workbook 2002-2003, Volume 1” được ETS thiết kế 
và giới thiệu, dưới ánh sáng của Ngữ pháp Chức năng Hệ thống. Kết quả của phân tích gợi ra 
những nghiên cứu sâu và rộng hơn về các đoạn hội thoại cùng loại. 
Từ khoá: TOEFL ITP, các đoạn hội thoại ngắn, thách thức, sự bành trướng cú, yêu cầu và đáp lại 
yêu cầu, Ngữ pháp Chức năng Hệ thống. 
Ngày nhận bài: 21/5/2013; Ngày phản biện: 17/6/2013; Ngày duyệt đăng: 02/10/2013 
Phản biện khoa học: ThS. Mai Văn Cẩn – Trường Đại học Sư phạm- ĐH Thái Nguyên
*
 Tel: 0983 187 258, Email: vietcuongdhtn@gmail.com 
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