V6 Vi$t Cudng Tgp chl KHOA HQC & C 6 N G N G H $ 109(09) 45 49 SHORT CONVERSATIONS IN THE LISTENING COMPREHENSION SECTION OF TOEFL ITP IN LIGHT OF SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR Vo Viet Cuong College of[.]
V6 Vi$t Cudng Tgp chl KHOA HQC & C N G N G H $ 109(09): 45-49 SHORT CONVERSATIONS IN THE LISTENING COMPREHENSION SECTION OF TOEFL ITP IN LIGHT OF SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR Vo Viet Cuong College of Economics and Technology - TN 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 lo test the English proficiency of Vietnamese, However, they tend to poorly in the listening comprehension section of thetestsof 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 hirther smdies on more conversations of this kind Key words: TOEFL ITP, short conversations, challenge, clause expansion, requests and their responses Systemic Functional Grammar INTRODUCTION Besides lELTS (International English Language Testing System), TOEFL ITP (Test of English as a Foreign Language: Institutional Testing Program) is now used as part of the lest 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 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 lo 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 Tel 0983 187 258, Email: vietcuongdhtn@gmail.com 45 V5 Vi?t Cufrng T51P chi KHOA HOC & C N G N G H $ 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 il functions lo display some of the main discourse features which may affect the students' understanding of the conversations Thus, the analysis in this article is a grammarbased one, the importance of which was stressed by Halliday [2,xvi]: A discourse analysis that i.s 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 I" 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 interdependeney 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: a p y 8., to represent hypotaciic structures and the numerical notations: I 3, to represent paralactic structures in a clause complex These notations are illustrated in the examples in table (2): Basic types of clause complex in [2.220] cited in the next page of this article Besides the interdependeney among clauses, Halliday [2,219-220] also introduced the logico-semantic relations among the clauses in a clause complex which are expansion and 46 109(09): 45-49 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 thai 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 consu-uciion of wording [2.220] In projection of idea, one clause is projected through another, which presents il 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 Vo Viet Cuong T9P chi KHOA HOC & CONG NGH$ 109(09): 45-49 The examples in the following table illustrate Halliday [2]'s descriptions above: Table Basic types of clause complex [2.220] (i) paralactic John didn't wait; I he ran away =2 John ran away, and Fred stayed behind +2 John was scared, so he ran away x2 John said: 'I'm running away' "2 (1) Expansion (a) elaboration (b) extension (2) Projection (c) enhancement (a) locution John thought to himself: 'I'll run away' '2 (b) idea (ii) hypotaciic John ran away, a which surprised everyone =3 John ran away, a whereas Fred stayed behind John ran away, a because he was scared, x3 John said a he was running away "B John thought a he would run away 'p 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-I60]'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 underiined 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 I: (woman) ///Can you come to the concert with me this weekend,//or you have to prepare forexams?///(l) + (variation: alternative) ///I still have a lot//to //but maybe a break would me good.///(2) (man) + (addhion: adversative) a xfi (purpose) Tap chl KHOA HOC & CtiNG NGHS V6 Vi|t Cufmg 109(09): 45-49 Conversation 2: UH really want to see the play at the outdoor theater tonight.//So will you come (woman) wilh me?///(3) X (causeI effect) (man) //A'ou know//l hate battling all those mosquitoes.//Biit if you have your heail set on It l o i + (addition: adversative) xfi -H Conversation 3: (man) ///Hi, I'd like to sign up for the film selection committee.//So is this the right pIace?///(5) I X (cause-effect)~| ///Yes, il is!//Iii fact, there are a lot of fun people on that committeey/but = (clarification) 1 you'll have to put in a lot of hours.//So I hope//your schedule isn't too tight.///(6) (addition: adversative) x (cause-effect) (woman) a As can be seenfi"omthe analysis above, there are six clause complexes in which the conjunction "so" was inserted in clause complexes 3, 5, and the conjunction "in fact" was inserted in clause complex 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 in the analysis but in a short time without taking notes to refer backwards or forwards to find the co-lext or context as easily as we The appearances of projection in combination with expansion in clause complexes and 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 for accepting reluctantly or declining politely, and in for giving advice The varied uses of the same 48 -fi 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 I, Th^nh ph6 H6 Chi Minh: Nhi xuSt ban Tre [2] Halliday, M.A.K (1994), An Introduction to Functional Grammar, London: Edward Arnold [3] Huynh Thj Ai Nguyen & Nguyln Quang Vinh (2008), TOEFL-iBT bi quyit vd thdnh cong, Hh NOi: NhA xu^l ban Giio dye V6 Viet Cutmg T^ip chi KHOA HQC & CONG NGH$ [4] Nguyen Quang (2007), Cwt^i^rti/Mng/ipc/In/i - Viet, Uh N0i: Nha xuat bkn Tir diln bich khoa [5] Schiffrin, D (1994), Approaches to Discourse, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing [6] V5 Vi^t Cuimg (2010), Some Discourse Features of Requests and Their Responses in Short Conversations in the Listening 109(09): 45 - 49 Comprehension Section of TOEFL Materials, Unpublished M.A Minor Thesis: Mgt sd dgc diim dien ngon ciia yeu cdu vd dap lgi yeu cdu cdc hgi thogi ngdn muc nghe hieu cua tdi li?u luy4n thi TOEFL, T^u\u^nvSinlHc si khdng xudl bin, Ha N^i: Tru&ng D^i hoc Ngo?i ngO, D^i hgc Qu6c gia Hh NOi TOM T A T CAC DO4.N HQI T H O ^ I N G A N TRONG MyC NGHE H i t U CUA TOEFL ITP D i r d l ANH SANG CUA NGU" PHAP CHlTC N A N G H £ T H N G Va Vi^t Cu*ng* Truong Cao ddng Kinh le Kp thugt - DH Thai Nguyen TOEFL ITP (Bii thi ti^ng Anh nhu m^t ngo^i ngO: Chucmg trinh thi n^i b?) hien duiprc sir dyng nhu mpt ph^n ciJa dang Ihi^c 6k thi dutjrc De kn ngoai ngd Qu6c gia Vi^t Nam 2020 thi^t k^ nhiim khao sii n ^ g luc lieng Anh cua ngufri Vi^t Nam Tuy nhien, hg thu£mg c6 khuynh h\simg ihuc hien khdng tdt muc nghe hieu cic bii Ihi cua De in, cic doan h^i tho^i ngin gi&a hai nguoi li thich thiic d^u ti£n Ben c^nh loc n6i nhanh ciia ngu6i n6i bin xu* cic bin ghi am thi cic cau tnic ngtl phip chuyin lii nghia ciia moi doan hgi thogi duimg nhu li mOt nhftng thinh phin ngfln nga inh hucmg din vi§c hieu moi doan hpi thoai ciia hoc vien, NhSn thiic dugc vin d^ tren cua hgc vifin, ch6ng t6i di tiln hanh mgt phan tich ve sy binh tru6ng cii ba doan hOi thoai ngin cd cic y£u ciu va dap lgi yeu cau phan A ciia cic ban ghi chQ phan nghe hilu cua cu6n sich "TOEFL Preparation Kit Workbook 2002-2003, Volume 1" dugc ETS thilt kl vi gidi thi|u, dudi inh sing cua Ngft phip Chirc ning H^ thong Kel qui cua phan tich ggi nhiing nghien cim sau vi r^ng hon ve cic doan hgi thogi ciing logi Tir khoi: TOEFL ITP, cdc doan hgi thogi ngdn, thdch thiic, su bdnh trudng cii, yeu cdu vd ddp lgi yeu cdu, Ngir phdp Chuc nang He thong Ngdy nhgn bai: 21/5/2013; Ngdy phdn bi^n- 17/6/2013; Ngdy duy^t ddng: 02/10/2013 Phdn biin khoa hoc: ThS Mai Vdn Cdn - Truang Dgi hgc Suphgm- DH Thdi Nguyen Tel: 0983 187 258, Email vielcuongdhln@gmail.com ... ^ I N G A N TRONG MyC NGHE H i t U CUA TOEFL ITP D i r d l ANH SANG CUA NGU" PHAP CHlTC N A N G H £ T H N G Va Vi^t Cu*ng* Truong Cao ddng Kinh le Kp thugt - DH Thai Nguyen TOEFL ITP (Bii thi... Comprehension Section of TOEFL Materials, Unpublished M.A Minor Thesis: Mgt sd dgc diim dien ngon ciia yeu cdu vd dap lgi yeu cdu cdc hgi thogi ngdn muc nghe hieu cua tdi li?u luy4n thi TOEFL, T^u\u^nvSinlHc... 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 il functions lo display some of the main