The use of linguistic units and their implicatures in the listening section of toefl iBT test

 Le T. N. Lien & Tran Q. Thao. Journal of Science Ho Chi Minh City Open University, 7(4), 47-59 47 
THE USE OF LINGUISTIC UNITS AND THEIR IMPLICATURES 
IN THE LISTENING SECTION OF TOEFL iBT TEST 
LE THI NHU LIEN 
Dak Lak Teacher Training College, Vietnam - lethinhulien@gmail.com 
TRAN QUOC THAO 
 Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam - tq.thao@hutech.edu.vn 
 (Received: July 30, 2017; Revised: August 28, 2017; Accepted: November 29, 2017) 
ABSTRACT 
Implicature is a means of conveying what speakers mean linguistically, and it is most commonly used in 
spoken language. Identifying the possible interpretations and discovering the implied meanings of the information, 
nevertheless, are really challenging for non-native English speakers, especially for ESL/EFL test-takers who are 
under testing pressure. This descriptive study, therefore, aimed to quantitatively and qualitatively explore the 
language units and their implicatures used in the listening section of TOEFL iBT (Test of English as a Foreign 
Language versioned Internet-based test). A corpus consisting of 87 lectures, 97 long conversations, and 31 short 
conversations/adjacency pairs that were sourced from TOEFL iBT materials was developed. The framework 
employed to analyze data was based on the initial lists of triggers proposed by Gazdar (1979), Grice (1978), 
Levinson (1993), and Yule (1996). The findings reveal that linking words are the most common linguistic units 
while set phrases are the least common ones that are used to trigger implicatures in the listening section of TOEFL 
iBT materials. Additionally, diverse implicatures of linguistic units used in the listening section of TOEFL iBT are 
uncovered. 
Keywords: Implicature; Language unit; Listening; TOEFL iBT. 
1. Introduction 
Since the English language has been 
long adopted as the medium of instruction 
throughout the world, ESL/EFL learners have 
to take different types of English language test 
in order to gain the admission requirements 
to study at universities or colleges in terms 
of English language proficiency. The 
standardized Test of English as a Foreign 
Language (TOEFL) versioned Internet-based 
test (iBT), emphasizing integrated 
communicative skills and communicative 
competence, is of those designed to assess 
English language skills of non-native speakers 
and to be taken on the Internet, (ETS, 2015). 
It is not meant to test academic knowledge or 
computer ability, and as such, questions are 
always based on materials found in the test. It 
is, however, agreed that the TOEFL iBT test 
is challenging, especially the listening task. 
Listening, according to ETS (2007), is one of 
the most important skills necessary for 
success on TOEFL iBT and in academics in 
general. The listening section measures test-
takers’ ability to understand spoken English 
from North America and other English-
speaking parts of the world. Test-takers have 
to listen to a wide range of lectures and 
conversations in academic environments, in 
which the speech sounds very natural. 
Moreover, there are nine types of questions in 
the listening section, namely, Gist-Content, 
Gist-Purpose, Detail, Understanding the 
Function of What is Said, Understanding 
the Speaker’s Attitude, Understanding 
Organization, Connecting Content and Making 
Inferences (ETS, 2007). One of the most 
challenging types of question in the listening 
section of TOEFL test is inference since test-
takers may have to infer an opinion, attitude, 
48 Le T. N. Lien & Tran Q. Thao. Journal of Science Ho Chi Minh City Open University, 7(4), 47-59 
organization, connection among statements, 
but the purposes are not always explicitly 
stated. Rather, they are implied. 
Not many ESL/EFL learners, in reality, 
may not find it easy to realize the implicature 
triggers in the English language because there 
are two ways for speakers to transmit 
information: the first way is using explicit 
language use (literal meaning); the other way 
is by making interpretive inferences through 
which the information is left implicit. A 
written or spoken piece of information can be 
interpreted based on what can be inferred 
from the utterance, but it is not a condition for 
its truth. Let us consider the utterance: Even 
John came to the party (To, 2007). It is 
noticed that the word even enables the listener 
to infer that the speaker means not to expect 
John’s coming. The right judgment, however, 
sometimes cannot be made if the listener only 
interprets the literal meaning of what is said as 
seen in the following example: 
(1) Annie: Was the dessert any good? 
 Mike: Annie, cherry pie is cherry pie. 
Mike’s response seems quite irrelevant in 
the surface structure level as far as the 
question-answer content is concerned. This 
way that speaker conveys what he/she means 
is linguistically defined as implicature. 
Albeit the area of imp ... up of words that have a particular meaning 
for a circumstance, and it may be a phrasal 
verb, idiomatic phrases, or idioms that 
typically refer to expressions where the 
figurative meaning of the statement cannot be 
guessed from the individual words. Yet the 
speaker, habitually, uses it as a regime. Let us 
examine the following examples: 
(28) W: Today, we'll talk about the most 
important things in management. In 
a nut shell, that means how to make 
things run smoothly. 
(Edmun and Mackinnon, p. 288) 
(29) M: Is the lecture tonight worth 
attending? 
 W: Without doubt. (Jessop, p.206) 
(30) M: Do you think Professor Simpson 
will cancel class on account of the 
special conference? 
 W: Not likely. (Jessop, p.213) 
(31) M: Do you think Mary will get 
there on time? 
 W: No way. (Jessop, p.221) 
The woman in (28) uses In a nut shell to 
summarize her point instead of using briefly, 
in summary, lastly, etc.. As far as the 
utterance (29) is concerned, by saying Without 
doubt, the woman, believes the talk will be 
valuable. In respect of (30), with set phrase 
Not likely, the woman in (30), means she 
doubts class will be canceled. Similarly, with 
No way, the woman means Mary will be late 
as in (31). 
g. Interjections 
Interjections do not encode conceptual but 
procedural meaning. Accordingly, the type of 
interjections that has labeled as emotive or 
expressive interjections lead the hearer to embed 
a proposition they accompany under a 
propositional-attitude description, which the 
hearer can exploit so as to grasp the attitude 
expressed by the speaker toward the proposition 
communicated. On the other hand, in those cases 
in which interjections appear alone constituting 
an independent utterance and do not accompany 
a proposition, these interjections provide the 
hearer with a vague idea of the speaker’s 
feelings or emotions. In fact, interjections 
behave like sentences: they correspond to 
communicative units (utterances) which can be 
syntactically autonomous, and intonationally and 
semantically complete. In addition, they are 
highly context dependent as, strictly speaking, 
they do not have so-called lexical meaning but 
express pragmatic meanings such as surprise, 
joy, pain, etc. For examples: 
(32) Hey, Tony. Want to go play 
basketball? (Worchester et al, p. 228) 
(33) Hey, that’s awesome! I’ll try it 
tomorrow. Thanks. 
 (Worchester et al., p. 255) 
 Le T. N. Lien & Tran Q. Thao. Journal of Science Ho Chi Minh City Open University, 7(4), 47-59 55 
The speaker in (32) uses signal hey to 
call Tony’s attention to playing basketball, 
but with hey as in (33) the speaker expresses 
his surprise by the way of doing math as easy 
as counting money of his/ her friend. 
Interjections are known as hesitation 
devices (Wierzbicka, 1992). They are 
extremely common in English. 
(34) M: Hmm. When is the review 
session? 
(Worchester et al., p. 294) 
(35) W: There are lots of reasons. 
They're small. They don't eat much, 
and they're colorful. 
 M: Hmmm. 
(Edmun and Mackinnon, p.662) 
The speaker in (34) says hmm before a 
question to imply that he hesitates about the 
review session, so he uses a question to ask 
about the time the review session takes place. 
What is more, signal hmm is expressed doubt 
or disagreement with the woman’s opinion as 
in (35). 
(36) M: Let’s take a look together at this 
report you handed in yesterday. I 
can’t accept it from you. 
 W: Oh, but why? I worked so hard 
on it. (Link et al., p. 298) 
(37) Oh, that's great! What should I do 
now? 
(Worchester et al., p. 302) 
(38) Um...what if I uh, have to go to the 
bathroom during the test? 
(Worchester et al., p. 275) 
(39) I see. Um, what if I buy the 15-meal 
plan and only eat 13 meals that 
week? Willi get 17 the next week? 
(Worchester et al., p. 282) 
(40) M: Well, let's look at what you need 
to do. 
 W: Great, I have been really 
worried these past few days. 
 M: Well first, I would suggest 
looking at some old exam papers. 
Becoming familiar with the format 
and typical questions can really 
make a difference, you know. 
 W: That's a good idea. Where can I 
get hold of them? 
 M: Well, the library has approved 
exams given by professors at our 
university for all the undergraduate 
courses. It's called the Old Exam 
File or OEF. 
 W: Fantastic! 
(Edmun and Mackinnon, p.260) 
In (36) and (37), the speakers use oh to 
express pain, surprise and pleading about the 
unaccepted work’s results, but with signals 
uh, um, umm as in (38) & (39), the speakers 
express hesitation about going to the 
bathroom during the test or not. As in (40), 
the speaker uses signal well to express 
surprise and introduce a remark on preparing 
for the exams. 
Interjections usually are one to two words 
that come at the beginning of a sentence. They 
can express happiness, sadness, anger, 
surprise, or any other emotion. Conventions 
like Hi, Bye and Goodbye are interjections, so 
are exclamations like Cheers! and Hurray!. In 
fact, like a noun or a pronoun, they are very 
often characterized by exclamation marks 
depending on the stress of the attitude or the 
force of the emotion they are expressing. Well 
(a short form of that is well) can also be used 
as an interjection: Well! That's great! or Well, 
don't worry. Much profanity takes the form of 
interjections. Some linguists consider the pro-
sentences yes, no, amen and okay as 
interjections, since they have no syntactical 
connection with other words and work as 
sentences themselves. Expressions Excuse 
me!, Sorry!, and similar ones often serve as 
interjections. Interjections can be phrases or 
even sentences, as well as words, such as Oh! 
or Wow!. 
The semantic functions of linguistic units 
used in the listening section of TOEFL iBT 
can be summarized in Table 5 as follows: 
56 Le T. N. Lien & Tran Q. Thao. Journal of Science Ho Chi Minh City Open University, 7(4), 47-59 
Table 5 
The implicatures of linguistic units used in the listening section of TOEFL iBT 
Types 
Implicature 
Trigger 
Semantic mechanism 
Potential 
Implicature 
E.g. 
D
et
er
m
in
er
s 
Some Negation of higher 
value 
(+> not many/ not 
most) 
Some of these are 
superstitions 
Sometimes Negation of higher 
value 
(+> not usually/ 
not always) 
He was sometimes violent 
Should Negation of higher 
value 
(+> not must/ 
sometimes) 
Students should carry 
their ID card 
A
d
v
er
b
s 
once Emphasizing At some time in 
the past/ formerly 
Some people once thought 
that only four things made 
up the Earth: earth, water, 
air and fire. 
only Emphasizing No one or nothing 
else/ solely 
He was the only one who 
knew Batman and Robin’s 
real names. 
exactly Confirmation Quite/just/ 
correctly 
By the way, may I ask 
what exactly you wrote 
about me? 
Yet Expressing 
uncertainty 
Until now/then I haven't enrolled yet. 
L
in
k
in
g
 w
o
rd
s 
and Logical 
operator/connector 
Plus/in addition to You'll find out how 
different governments 
were formed. And you'll 
learn how technology has 
changed us. 
or Introducing an 
alternative 
If not/otherwise Should I get the plaid shirt 
or the striped one? 
but Logical 
operator/connector 
In contrast to/ 
however 
Earth, water and air are all 
forms of matter, but fire is 
really different. 
V
er
b
s 
know Factive implication Feel certain/ 
recognize 
I know that is a very good 
school. 
think Non-factive 
implication 
Imagine/ 
consider/expect 
something/ reflect 
My secret is I think that 
about numbers in math as 
if they were money. 
feel Expressing emotional 
state/sensation/ 
impression of 
something 
Be aware of/ 
experience s.th 
physical or 
emotional/have the 
sensation/ sense 
You know, I feel better 
already. 
hate Expressing hatred 
feeling /expressing 
Strongly dislike/ 
be reluctant/ regret 
Man, I hate math! 
 Le T. N. Lien & Tran Q. Thao. Journal of Science Ho Chi Minh City Open University, 7(4), 47-59 57 
Types 
Implicature 
Trigger 
Semantic mechanism 
Potential 
Implicature 
E.g. 
the critics’ emotion on 
something or 
someone 
A
d
je
ct
iv
es
big Showing metaphor Busy/important All right. Saturday's the 
big day. 
real Showing metaphor Actual /true A real challenge can 
occur. 
readable Showing metaphor Easily/enjoyably 
read/ 
understandable 
The essay is not organized 
yet, but it is readable. 
S
et
 p
h
ra
se
s 
In a nut shell Giving conclusion Briefly/in 
summary/lastly 
Today, we'll talk about the 
most important things in 
management. In a nut 
shell, that means how to 
make things run smoothly. 
Without 
doubt 
Affirming/ asserting Certainly M: Is the lecture tonight 
worth attending? 
W: Without doubt. 
Not likely Doubting Certainly not M: Do you think Professor 
Simpson will cancel class 
on account of the special 
conference? 
W: Not likely. 
No way Under no 
circumstances or 
by no means (will 
something 
happen/be done) 
M: Do you think Mary 
will get there on time? 
W: No way. 
In
te
rj
ec
ti
o
n
s 
Hey 
calling attention/ 
expressing surprise, 
joy etc. 
Used to call 
attention or 
express surprise or 
inquiry 
Hey, Tony. Want to go 
play basketball? 
Hmm expressing hesitation/ 
doubt or disagreement 
Used to express 
hesitation 
Hmm. When is the review 
session? 
oh expressing 
surprise/expressing 
pain/ expressing 
pleading 
Used for 
emphasis/to attract 
somebody’s 
attention 
Oh, that's great! What 
should I do now? 
Well 
expressing 
surprise/introducing a 
remark 
To express relief/ 
to resume a 
conversation or 
change the subject 
Well, let's look at what you 
need to do. 
58 Le T. N. Lien & Tran Q. Thao. Journal of Science Ho Chi Minh City Open University, 7(4), 47-59 
4. Conclusion 
Although the use of linguistic units in the 
listening section of TOEFL iBT is various and 
abundant, this study reveals that seven 
categories of linguistic units (determiners, 
adverbs, linking words, adjectives, verbs, set 
phrases, and interjections) proposed by 
Gazdar (1979), Grice (1978), Levinson 
(1993), and Yule (1996) are commonly used 
in the listening section of TOEFL iBT. 
Noticeably, the most commonly used 
linguistic units are linking words, while the 
least commonly used ones are set phrases. 
Furthermore, since the use of linguistic units 
in utterances (lectures and conversations) in 
the listening section of TOEFL iBT is 
multifaceted, the implicatures of each 
category of linguistic units are accordingly 
diverse. This may possibly cause manifold 
difficulties for TOEFL iBT test-takers who 
are non-native speakers of English. 
Such findings, therefore, put forwards 
implications for the teaching of linguistic units 
and their implicatures in general and that of 
TOEFL iBT preparation in particular. First, the 
common categories and usages of linguistic 
units or devices (i.e., determiners, adverbs, 
linking words, adjectives, verbs, set phrases, 
and interjections) should be emphasized in 
helping to prepare EFL learners for TOEFL iBT 
test so that they are well aware of them. 
Specifically, examples of different types of 
linguistic units as well as sufficient practice 
should be given to learners in order that they are 
able to use them appropriately. Second, the 
teaching of implicatures should be explicitly 
taught in order to assist learners in 
understanding the underlying reasons of using 
implicature. In other words, TOEFL iBT test-
takers should be offered with necessary 
guidance and theories of implicature 
interpretations so that they are fully aware of 
how implicature in different cases is interpreted. 
Apart from that, as the interpretation of 
implicature is deemed to evolve the knowledge 
of the target cultures, cultural knowledge should 
be embedded along with the teaching of 
implicature in order to enable learners to 
understand and interpret the implicatures 
appropriately and precisely. Thus, introducing 
background information in implicature 
interpretation to EFL learners is vital in assisting 
them to get familiar with cultural background 
knowledge. Finally, TOEFL iBT test-takers 
should be equipped with possible strategies and 
tips to understand and interpret the implicatures 
used in lectures and conversations of the 
listening section of TOEFL iBT 
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