STARN: Scots Teaching and Resource Network
Gender, Speech Styles and the Assessment of Discussion
Group 2
There are two male speakers in this group, B3 and B4. B3 is graded as grade 5, Foundation level. The teacher is walking around the class, monitoring the pupils. The pupils have been given a set of nine rules American soldiers in the Vietnam War were expected to obey. They have to rank the rules according to which would be the easiest and which would be the hardest to keep. The rules have been given out to pupils on cards, and the activity of ordering the cards is conducted in this group with relatively little oral communication. The discussion lasts 3 minutes, 30 seconds.
1. B3: no (.) there (.) maybe
B4: (1) nah (1) that's easy (3) I think
2. B3: (5) mmm c. how can you make friends (1) with
B4: (2) that one
3. B3: ah people when you don't know whether they're
B4: (.) friends or
4. B3: aye
B4: enemies (6) umm (7) (XXXX)
T : (Ok (.) suppose if you) read them
5. B3:
B4:
T : first of all (.) and then (.) come up with perhaps (.) an
6. B3: (3) what number
B4: (2) ehhh
T : arrangement (.) (the first one then) ((leaves))
7. B3: have we had
B4: (1) (XXXX cos we do't know the numbers of them
8. B3: (.) aye I know that'll be (one of them) (3) mnn (6.5)
B4: do we)
9. B3: that one'd be in the middle probably
B4: (5) what about that
10. B3: (2) aye that'd go in the middle and all because
B4: one
11. B3: that's quite easy (.) (they) don't
B4: (.) mhmm (5) (ehm (.) demands)
12. B3: get any special treatment from the hospitals or anything=
B4:
13. B3: =(XXXX)= (2) that one (.) cos when
B4: =no (5) what's this= = there
14. B3: you get drunk (.) when you get drunk you want to (.) carry
B4:
15. B3: on and all that (for the day) (3) I think that'd be hardest
B4:
16. B3: = cos they're in the jungle and that
B4:(2.5) aye= (2) ehmm (.)
17. B3: (2)
B4: but (2) that one's quite a hard one also (.) could
18. B1: change that with that= (3) (is that) going to be too bad
B2: =aye
19. B1: (the jungle) with the people (7) aye (.) that=
B2: =mmm
T : (4) (the
20. B1:
B2:
T : thing with this) is that you're going to have to have
21. B1:
B2:
T : criteria (.) to say why you've got things in order (.) not
22. B1: aye I know we have
B2:
T : just putting them (in order) (.) but reasons why