Communication may be complicated in the kind of complex polyethnic interaction setting that is part of the Australian educational scene. In a polyethnic school, breakdowns in communication can occur from interference not recognized by either the teacher or the student. Interference may occur because the cultural grammar of the child may not mesh with the grammar of the person transmitting the message due to subconscious differences in body language or an unfamiliar mode of communication (e.g., different understandings of nodding the head). At a deeper level, the iconic nature of communication (transmitting incomplete information that the receiver is expected to be able to fill in) and field dependency/independency (cognitive styles more or less dependent on cues from the surrounding field such as peers or parents) also affect transmission of information. On a further level of abstraction, learned styles of processing information and dealing with learning contexts may cause interference in communication. Yet another source of interference may be related to different forms of communicative grammar related to the difference between religion and the domain of secular, academic tradition. (TJ)