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This study compared communication and interaction patterns in a college class in Dutch as a second language. Subjects were 16 native-English-speaking students. Two lessons, one taught using cooperative learning (CL) and one using teacher-centered instruction (TC), were videotaped and analyzed. The CL lesson consisted of a group reading game. The TC lesson consisted of a review of comparison structures using guided conversation and a review of some earlier material. Transcripts were analyzed for quantity of talk (turn-taking, questions, Dutch T-units) and quality (lexical variety, complexity, error rate, correction). Results show subjects took many more turns in the CL than in the TC setting. Number of turns taken was much higher, out of proportion to the increased amount of speaking time in the CL lesson. The teacher took only 7 percent of turns in the CL setting, as contrasted with 50 percent in the TC lesson. Quantity and proportion of student questions also differed greatly. In addition, students produced 10 times as many T-units in the CL setting, using more Dutch, more English, and more mixed language. Dutch was used most of the time in the TC setting. Implications for classroom interaction are explored. Contains 43 references. (MSE)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert