STARN: Scots Teaching and Resource Network
Gender, Speech Styles and the Assessment of Discussion
Group 1
There are five pupils in this discussion group: G1, G2, G3, and B1 and B2. The male classroom teacher joins the group towards the end of the discussion. The pupil assessed by the S.E.B. is B1, who is assessed as grade 6, Foundation level. The group has been played 6 pop songs twice through, and they have taken notes from the lyrics with the aim of preparing a film script for which the songs will form the sound track. The songs they discuss are: "Nowhere man" by the Beatles, "Only sixteen" by Sam Cooke, "My home town" by Bruce Springsteen, "My little town" by Simon & Garfunkel, "Glory days" by Bruce Springsteen, and "Randolph and me" by Gallacher & Lyle. The discussion lasts 5 minutes, 5 seconds.
1. G1: uhuh (.) that's =yeah=
G2: (.) there's Bobby and Randolph=
G3: =yeah=
B1:
B2:
2. G1:
G2: =and that's got to be because they're named in the songs=
G3:
B1:
B2:
3. G1:
G2:
G3: = yeah they're mentioned and there's somebody called Kate
B1:
B2:
4. G1: (.) but that's just like a mention in a song (.)
G2: (.) oh aye
G3:
B1:
B2:
5. G1: it's not really (.) you know
G2: yeah (.) but it doesn't have to be a
G3: I know (.) but you could build it up
B1:
B2
6. G1:
G2: character
G3: (.) you could build it up though (.) because (.) ehm (1)
B1:
B2:
7. G1:
G2:
G3: this boy Bobby (.) he's married this girl called Kate (.)
B1:
B2:
8. G1:
G2:
G3: and his friend Randolph (.) now that Bobby and Kate have
B1:
B2:
9. G1:
G2:
G3: split up (.) he goes up to speak to her and all this so (.)
B1:
B2:
10. G1:
G2:
G3: you could build it up a bit or you could just (.) fade it
B1:
B2:
11. G1: =you could
G2: (1) yeah (.) you could= (.) it'd probably be
G3: away
B1:
B2:
12. G1:
G2: better if sh. she was the main character (.) cos (.) I mean
G3:
B1:
B2
13. G1: yeah
G2: it (.) it would (.) just the two boys
G3: just the two boys (.) I
B1:
B2:
14. G1: ((laughter))
G2: ((laughter))=it'd be pretty
G3: mean what're the girls going to do=
B1:
B2:
15. G1: = yes okay (.) so it's just going to
G2: boring for them anyway=
G3: = I mean (.) so
B1:
B2:
16. G1: be Bobby (.) Randolph= =and Kate (.) though what
G2: = and Kate=
G3:
B1:
B2:
17. G1: Kate is (.) Kate's going to be their wife (.) or one of
G2:
G3: she's the one
B1:
B2:
18. G1: their wives
G2: it says that she could turn all the boys' heads in
G3:
B1:
B2:
19. G1:
G2: school so =they
G3: (.) yeah they must have known her at school=
B1:
B2
20. G1: =well one of the boys
G2: must have known her at school= =and
G3:
B1: =yeah=
B2:
21. G1: has got to be exceptionally good looking then
G2: ((laughter))
G3: (.) that's (.)
B1:
B2:
22. G1:
G2: =yeah=
G3: that's Bobby (.) I think it's Bobby because it says=
B1:
B2:
23. G1:
G2:
G3: =how (.) he had this friend (.) Randolph had this friend
B1:
B2:
24. G1: and that could be the
G2:
G3: who was the (.) big baseball player (.) you know that in
B1:
B2:
25. G1: mhmm
G2:
G3: American films (.) you always see this (.) guy who plays
B1:
B2:
26. G1: I know
G2:
G3: baseball (.) it's the good looking one who gets all the
B1:
B2
27. G1: ((2secs)) yeah (.) mm (1) so who's going to be the
G2: ((general))
G3: girls
B1: ((laughter))
B2:
28. G1: baseball player then= (.) and Randolph and are
G2: =Bobby
G3: =that's Bobby and he marries (XXX
B1:
B2:
29. G1: we going to do it with the two col. (.) the blacks and
G2:
G3: X)
B1:
B2:
30. G1: whites no =sure
G2: (.) no =uhuh Bobby marries her=
G3: Bobby must marry her= =cos
B1:
B2:
31. G1:
G2:
G3: he's (.) but they've split up and Randolph (.) is the one
B1:
B2:
32. G1:
G2: =mmm hearing all
G3: who ends up talking to her all the time=
B1:
B2:
33. G1:
G2: the prob. the problems
G3: (2) but if you (1) it depends if you
B1:
B2
34. G1:
G2:
G3: do it black and white (.) one of them be black and the
B1:
B2:
35. G1:
G2:
G3: other one be white=
B1: =yeah (.) well uh you know ehm (2) in
B2:
36. G1:
G2:
G3:
B1: that (1) last verse in (.) in m. my home town? (3) well it
B2:
37. G1: =uhuh
G2:
G3:
B1: says that (.) he's thirty five now right?= (1) tha. so
B2:
38. G1:
G2: (1) uhuh there's somebody
G3:
B1: (.) if you go back a bit (.) and there's
B2:
39. G1:
G2: called Kate mentioned twice= uhuh (.) cos
G3: =he must marry (XXXX)
B1:
B2:
40. G1:
G2: there's Kate and (1) which one is (.) and (5.5) I can't
G3:
B1:
B2:
41. G1:
G2: find it just now (1.5) um glory days I think it is (.) Kate
G3: mm
B1:
B2:
42. G1:
G2: is mentioned (.) oh no it's not that one cos= =it's
G3: yeah there's a Kate =it's Kate=
B1:
B2:
43. G1:
G2: Kate in my home town (.) that's (.) her in (1.5) there's a
G3: in my home town
B1:
B2:
44. G1:
G2: girl that lives up the block (.) back in school she could
G3:
B1:
B2:
45. G1:
G2: turn all the boys heads that could be (2) Kate I suppose
G3:
B1:
B2:
46. G1:
G2: (.) who marries the (.) cos her and her Bobby (.) her
G3:
B1:
B2:
47. G1:
G2: husband Bobby (.) well they split up=
G3:
B1: =what about all the
B2:
48. G1: (.) because it says in (2) my home town
G2:
G3:
B1: other songs though
B2:
49. G1: he's (.) s. sitting in a car with his father (.) how're
G2: uhuh
G3:
B1:
B2:
50. G1: you (2) like=
G2:
G3: =but it depends which one you choose t. (.) for
B1:
B2:
51. G1:
G2: (3) you could either take that one to be (2) you
G3: th. that
B1:
B2:
52. G1:
G2: could take that one to be Bobby (.) because (.) in the
G3:
B1:
B2:
53. G1:
G2: last verse (.) last night (.) me and Kate we laid in bed
G3:
B1:
B2:
54. G1: (1) well it sounds like it's (.)
G2: talking about getting out
G3:
B1:
B2:
55. G1: the first verse is round about (.) say (1) the fifties
G2:
G3:
B1:
B2:
56. G1: because (.) in sixty-five the tension's running high=
G2: =yeah
G3:
B1:
B2:
57. G1: (1) so he'd
G2: that was when they had all the fights in America
G3:
B1:
B2:
58. G1: have to be quite he'd (.) much older to (.) to understand
G2:
G3:
B1:
B2:
59. G1: what was going on=
G2: =yeah (.) because he'd have to be at high
G3:
B1:
B2:
60. G1: (1.5)
G2: school (.) well it does say he was at high school
G3:
B1:
B2:
61. G1: eight years old ((4 secs laughter and indistinct talk))
G2: ((4 secs laughter and indistinct talk))
G3: ((4 secs laughter and indistinct talk))
B1:
B2:
62. G1:
G2: in my home town (.) and my little town (.) it's both like
G3:
B1:
B2:
63. G1:
G2: (.) it starts off when they're really young (.) and then
G3:
B1:
B2:
64. G1:
G2: it goes up sort of through teenage and then to older life
G3:
B1:
B2:
65. G1:
G2: when when they sort of (.) they've become wiser as they've
G3:
B1:
B2:
66. G1:
G2: grown older (.) but (.) it's s. sort of
G3: yeah (4) so there's
B1:
B2:
67. G1:
G2:
G3: three characters (.) Kate Bobby (.) and Randolph
B1:
B2: