Abstract
Revisions focused on: (1) the reorganization of the course around essential questions intended to identify and address pervasive myths regarding the teaching of ELLs; (2) the incorporation of texts that represent often unheard and/or silenced voices, particularly works authored by Latino, Asian American, and African American authors; (3) the implementation of activities designed to explicitly address fears and misconceptions of working with ELLs and their families; (4) the embedding of ELL issues in the cumulative unit plan assignment; and (5) the discussion of ELLs in almost every class meeting, emphasizing their inclusion as enrichment to the existing curricula. [...] teacher education programs must engage faculty and novice teachers in a process of critical reflection and analysis to ensure that they (a) do not blame children's bilingualism and biculturalism for poor academic achievement (Cummins, 1995); (b) recognize that languages and dialects other than standard English are marginalized in U.S. schools (Au, 1993; Macedo, Dendrinos, & Gounari, 2003); and (c) actively resist deficit perceptions of bilingual learners.