Case Study: Luke and D - A Teacher's Perspective

The following interviews touch on some of the issues faced by teachers of South Pacific Islanders. The experiences which they relate come from the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) context, and as well as offering some insights for teachers in similar teaching environments, may have a more general application.

Background

Luke spent six weeks at an Intensive Language Centre (ILC) in May-July 1991. A small Islander population, including five Tongan students, attend the nearby Catholic High School. One of these boys, D, had originally been placed in the High School. He had been there three weeks when his teacher realised he needed specialised help in English and moved him to the ILC where Luke met him.

D was 14 years old at the time. He had had some contact with English before coming to Australia, possibly through relatives living in Aotaaroa/New Zealand.

Observations

Luke became aware that D did not mix with the other students with the exception of the other Tongan students and a Vietnamese boy. He had a reputation for being violent (related, perhaps, to his physical size). The Vietnamese boy was also unpopular and they stuck together.

In the classroom D refused to work in pairs or small groups. He did work well, however, with the teacher in a one-to-one situation.

When D was not interested in working, he didnt, and there was nothing which could be said to persuade him to work. When he did work, it was in a self-contained way and at a very slow pace.

Although D could be defiant and react violently to taunts from other members of the class he was not macho. His physical toughness did not restrict him from being emotional and he related well to Luke as a male teacher.

Areas of strength/weakness

D had a more confident control of oral communication in a relaxed environment and a one-on-one situation. He did not cope well with formal classroom situations and froze when asked a question in front of the class. He often had difficulty following classrooms and did not contribute.

The exception to this was one lesson when each student was required to tell a legend, myth or story about a famous person from their country. To Lukes surprise, D delivered a slow paced, logical narrative about the origins of the Tongan people, demonstrating an awareness of the myth and legend genre.

D enjoyed sport and appreciated an activity Luke organised involving writing reports on playground games. He worked with Luke to report on flick-footy

Attitude of teaching staff

The attitude of the teaching staff (all female) was negative towards D. His lack of interest in classroom activities and defiance had slotted him into a particular category in their eyes hopeless. Luke, in his limited time, attempted to understand Ds situation, to draw him out of himself, and encourage him to participate in classroom activities.

D's Myth

2300 years ago everyone lived in the sky. King Maui had eight sons and the youngest, his favourite, lived on the earth.

The King sent his other sons to earth in a boat to collect the youngest and bring him back. This was done.

The older brothers were very jealous of the youngest and one day when they were all out hunting, they killed the youngest son by throwing a discus which hit him on the back of the neck.

The sons knew that the King would be very angry that they had killed his favourite son. They were so afraid that they cut up the body and ate it so no-one would find it. They they went back to the King.

When he asked where his favourite son was they answered that they didnt know. Just then, however, they began to vomit up the parts of the body and the King knew that they werent telling the truth.

The parts of the body were put into a kava bowl and covered with banana leaves. Three days later the pieces of the youngest son came together and he came to life. Then King Maui made him the first king of the earth and the other brothers were sent to be his helpers as a punishment.

And the king of the earth became the founder of the Tongan people.