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Abstract

A study using ethnographic techniques was carried out to observe and analyze communication patterns of two Latina students. The reason for conducting this study is that Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. With the increasing Latino population, one would assume that we would see a corresponding increase of Latino students entering and completing college. Yet this is not true. Latino students drop out of high school at an alarming rate and this trend continues into college. A factor that may be contributing to this high dropout rate is that little is known about how differences in language use affect Latino students in the classroom. This analysis provides a basis for evaluating communication patterns and communication breakdowns in a classroom setting. And it provides an assessment of whether these communication breakdowns have any bearing on the poor performance of Latino students and other minority students in composition classes at the college level.

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Latino Students and Anglo-Mainstream Instructors: A Study of Classroom Communication

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