| L: | Like for most of the Samoan people, finish work on weekend be quite happy go to the club or social to drink. | |
| T: | Yes? | |
| L: | Go out for drink. | |
| T: | Yes? | |
| L: | That’s the most activity they have. | |
| T: | Mmm. That’s a tricky one [name] ‘cause you see some of the Samoans don’t drink at all. | |
| L: | Oh, OK. | |
| T: | Yeah, I know what you’re saying, but there are some that just drink heaps and they go to the pub and get like really drunk, yeah? But then, there are a lot of Samoans that don’t drink at all ‘cause they are such strong Christians. | |
| L: | [They] drink lots and make me feel like uncomfortable | |
| T: | Yeah ... | |
| L: | Yeah, so you have to, to talk with them. | |
| T: | Mmm, when they’re drinking or even when they come back to work? | |
| L: | No, like when they get drunk. | |
| T: | Right, so when they’re drunk. Yeah, I think that’s a barrier, yeah, I reckon, I think with this assessment, it’s how you see things, you know, and if you found like you’re working with the Samoan people here aren’t you? | |
| L: | Mmm | |
| T: | And if you’ve found like, you’ve been out with them haven’t you, or if you’ve had social drinks with them at work and then if you’ve found that their drinking is a barrier to you communicating well with them. ‘cause you’re not saying that they drink a lot and then you can’t talk to them. What about your culture, would your culture drink a lot like that? | |
| L: | Not really, some people like to get drunk. | |
| T: | OK, well, I think that’s fair enough, if that’s something that you personally have found a barrier, so put it down. | |
| L: | Not really a barrier … | |
| T: | It’s not a barrier? | |
| L: | No really. | |
| T: | I suppose it’s not like all Samoans or …? | |
| L: | Yeah. | |
| T: | But, it’s still your experience … so if that’s something that you’ve personally experienced with the people you’ve worked with who are Samoans, I think that’s fine to write it down. |
Overall, we saw far more instances of teachers offering support for learners than challenge.
Convincing learners that they are capable of completing tasks is an important on-going part of literacy, numeracy and language teaching, which often involves a cajoling/affirmation (in this case, a gentle teasing of an under-confident student) process: