STARN: Scots Teaching and Resource Network
Gender, Speech Styles and the Assessment of Discussion
Group 6
There are four speakers in the group: G11, G12, B8, B9, and a male teacher (T) is also present throughout the discussion. The graded speaker is G11, who is assessed by the S.E.B. as credit level, grade 1. B8 is the chair and G12 is the scribe. The group is discussing The Long and the Short and the Tall, having completed reading Act I. They have been set a series of questions about the characters in the play. The discussion lasts 5 minutes.
Teachers who took part in the study were shown the extract marked in bold typeface (lines 1- 67) in order to assess speaker G12.
1. B8: okay (.) first question is (1) about Sergeant Mitchum
B9:
G11:
G12:
T:
2. B8: who's the leader of the patrol okay= =question is
B9: =okay=
G11:
G12:
T: =right=
3. B8: (1) what do you learn about Mitchum from his handling of
B9:
G11:
G12:
T:
4. B8: the patrol and the situations that arise therein (.) so (.)
B9:
G11:
G12:
T:
5. B8: Donald (.) the first for you
B9: (.) eh well I think that
G11:
G12:
T:
6. B8:
B9: Mitchum (.) he takes his responsibility seriously (.) eh
G11:
G12:
T:
7. B8:
B9: and I think he believes that others eh like MacLiesh (1)
G11:
G12:
T:
8. B8:
B9: should do the same thing you know they should act in the
G11:
G12:
T:
9. B8:
B9: same manner (.) eh he controls the patrol quite well (.)
G11:
G12:
T:
10. B8:
B9: you know h. he gives Bamforth a good telling off when he
G11:
G12:
T:
11. B8:
B9: (.) misbehaves himself and eh (1) I think he handles the
G11:
G12:
T:
12. B8: (1) do (.) do you think so (.) because
B9: control quite well
G11:
G12:
T:
13. B8: (.) he doesn't (.) Bamforth (.) he doesn't stop Bamforth
B9:
G11:
G12:
T:
14. B8: from doing it (.) Bamforth still (1) keeps (1) going on
B9:
G11:
G12:
T:
15. B8: at a lot of other people (.) he doesn't stop him=
B9: =well (1)
G11:
G12:
T:
16. B8:
B9: eh I don't think that Mitchum can do anything else except
G11:
G12:
T:
17. B8:
B9: (.) reprimand him at this stage (.) because he's out (.)
G11:
G12:
T:
18. B8:
B9: he's in the jungle m. (.) if he was in (.) at base camp
G11:
G12:
T:
19. B8:
B9: it would perhaps be different (.) he could (.) eh arrest
G11:
G12:
T:
20. B8: mm yeah but d'you not think he could be a bit stricter
B9: him
G11:
G12:
T:
21. B8: because all through (.) the first act (1) eh Bamforth's
B9:
G11:
G12:
T:
22. B8: got a free hand you know (.) till he gets put in charge
B9:
G11:
G12:
T:
23. B8: near the end=
B9: =well I don't think that (.) eh Mitchum could
G11:
G12:
T:
24. B8:
B9: do anything else in the situation because (1) they've got
G11:
G12:
T:
25. B8:
B9: enough to (1) eh deal with with the Japanese (.) I mean
G11:
G12:
T:
26. B8:
B9: (.) I think Mitchum's got e. enough on his plate as it is
G11:
G12:
T:
27. B8:
B9: without h. having to deal more seriously with Bamforth
G11:
G12:
T:
28. B8:
B9:
G11: (3) I think (.) I think Mitchum (.) handled
G12:
T: (.) well Fiona
29. B8:
B9:
G11: it very well (.) because he wasn't (.) really bothered
G12:
T:
30. B8:
B9:
G11: about (1) the Japanese soldier (.) he was more concerned
G12:
T:
31. B8:
B9:
G11: with getting his unit (.) back to headquarters
G12:
T: (.) okay
32. B8:
B9:
G11:
G12: (.) I don't think he was very successful in breaking up
T:
33. B8:
B9: no
G11:
G12: the fights though was he? (.) I mean he really (.) he let
T:
34. B8:
B9:
G11:
G12: (.) you know (.) there was Bamforth sort of the brightest
T:
35. B8:
B9:
G11: =he eventually put
G12: one and he didn't really stop him much=
T:
36. B8:
B9:
G11: Bamforth in his place though (.) he gave him a larger
G12:
T:
37. B8: =mmm (3.5) he seemed to deal with all the
B9: =that's right
G11: lecture =
G12:
T:
38. B8: situations very logically (.) like for instance he wanted
B9:
G11:
G12:
T:
39. B8: to keep (.) the Japanese soldier for information as the
B9:
G11:
G12:
T:
40. B8: Japanese were breaking through all over the (2secsXXXX)=
B9:
G11:
G12:
T:
41. B8: (XXXX)
B9: =that's right
G11: =I think (.) another thing I think (.) he
G12:
T:
42. B8:
B9:
G11: really handled it handled it well because (1) if (1) he
G12:
T:
43. B8:
B9:
G11: had (.) went by the book (.) and hadn't killed the
G12:
T:
44. B8:
B9:
G11: Japanese soldier well he'd be putting the Japanese soldier
G12:
T:
45. B8:
B9:
G11: first and the chances of his men actually getting through
G12:
T:
46. B8:
B9:
G11: (.) wouldn't be so (1.5) great (1) cos they'd probably (1)
G12:
T:
47. B8:
B9:
G11: ehm not manage to get through cos of having to have the
G12:
T:
48. B8:
B9:
G11: hostage with them (.) their chances would be narrowed down
G12:
T:
49. B8: (.) okay
B9:
G11: immensely
G12: (.) I think he kept the m. morale of his
T:
50. B8:
B9:
G11:
G12: men really high when he was saying you know the Japanese
T:
51. B8:
B9:
G11:
G12: are just as scared as you are (.) there might only be a
T:
52. B8:
B9: that's right
G11:
G12: few of them out there (.) running around in circles (.)
T:
53. B8:
B9: I think he (.) eh I think he gives confidence to the
G11:
G12: you know and that's
T:
54. B8:
B9: soldiers (.) you know (.) he (.) he keeps the morale up (.)
G11:
G12:
T:
55. B8: (.)
B9: and eh (.) I think he's certainly a very good leader
G11:
G12:
T:
56. B8: good (4) w.
B9:
G11: (4) eventually (.) when the so (.) when the soldiers
G12:
T:
57. B8:
B9:
G11: begin to get a bit slack (.) he does give them a talking
G12:
T:
58. B8:
B9:
G11: to (.) and sort of brings them up you know he tells them
G12:
T:
59. B8:
B9:
G11: (.) he doesn't sort of lie to them and say the chances of
G12:
T:
60. B8:
B9:
G11: them getting back are great n everything (.) he just tells
G12:
T:
61. B8:
B9:
G11: them the truth straight away to say that (1) you know if
G12:
T:
62. B8:
B9:
G11: they get through they'll sort of just get th. get through
G12:
T:
63. B8:
B9:
G11: narrowly you know they'll be very lucky to get back alive=
G12:
T:
64. B8: that's right
B9: =he's realistic all through the first act
G11: yes
G12: (5) so we reckon
T:
65. B8: (.) on the
B9: =yeah he is a good leader
G11:
G12: he's a good leader yeah?=
T:
66. B8: whole but he could be a (.) bit stronger when dealing
B9:
G11:
G12:
T:
67. B8: with the men (5) and ehm (2.5) he's very realistic (2) he
B9:
G11:
G12: could be a bit stronger
T:
68. B8: faces situations logically (3) anyone else got any other
B9:
G11:
G12:
T:
69. B8: (.) suggestions
B9:
G11: when (.) you know h. (.) when (.) you know how if they
G12:
T:
70. B8:
B9:
G11: shoot a prisoner of war it would go down very heavily
G12:
T:
71. B8:
B9:
G11: on them when they get back to camp (1) he wasn't all that
G12:
T:
72. B8:
B9:
G11: bothered about killing (1) the prisoner because he was
G12:
T:
73. B8:
B9: mmhmm
G11: more concerned about his troops (.) even though it might
G12:
T:
74. B8:
B9:
G11: have gone down on his record (.) he was (.) he never went
G12:
T:
75. B8:
B9:
G11: by the book at that point (.) because he was more
G12:
T:
76. B8:
B9:
G11: concerned about getting his people back
G12:
T: (1) would we agree
77. B8: well
B9:
G11:
G12:
T: with that (1.5) entirely (.) that he was more concerned
78. B8: =he actually wanted to
B9:
G11:
G12:
T: with getting his own troops back=
79. B8: get the (.) Japanese prisoner back to give his base
B9:
G11:
G12:
T: that's right
80. B8: information =that was wh.
B9:
G11:
G12:
T: (1.5) how do you feel about that=
81. B8: (.) that (.) until he realised that (.) eh the Japanese
B9:
G11:
G12:
T:
82. B8: were f. full force he was all for taking the Japanese
B9:
G11:
G12:
T:
83. B8: prisoner back even though it risked his own men=
B9:
G11: =uhuh but
G12:
T:
84. B8:
B9:
G11: in the end he changes his mind and says that he'll have
G12:
T:
85. B8:
B9:
G11: to kill (.) the soldiers (.) when he has to make out a
G12:
T:
86. B8:
B9:
G11: report (.) if he got back (.) he'd have to put that down
G12:
T:
87. B8:
B9:
G11: in his report (.) and the army'd come down heavily on him
G12:
T:
88. B8:
B9:
G11: for that (2) so in the end (.) he's just more concerned
G12:
T:
89. B8:
B9:
G11: about getting back cos he realises (.) the chances of him
G12:
T:
90. B8:
B9:
G11: getting back (.) aren't very great with the soldier (.)
G12:
T:
91. B8:
B9:
G11: at first he maybe doesn't (.) think n that until he
G12:
T:
92. B8:
B9:
G11: realises (.) well where he's come from there's probably
G12:
T:
93. B8:
B9:
G11: more to follow (.) so the chances if they took a soldier
G12:
T:
94. B8:
B9:
G11: along would be very narrow
G12:
T: