ABSTRACT
This chapter specifically explores linguicist ideologies that are reproduced in bilingual classrooms and tout standard language as superior to nonstandard language varieties, which are viewed as undesirable. In fact, while one key goal of Spanish English bilingual education is to prepare emergent bilinguals to master both standard Spanish and English, it too often comes at the expense of the linguistic capital that low-socioeconomic status emergent bilinguals bring to school. The chapter discusses the concept of ideological clarity and the need for teachers to develop this ability. It offers real-life vignettes to illustrate some of the key points and thus render arguments more concrete and accessible. Bilingual teacher educators must take an informed critical sociolinguistic view of the linguistic resources linguistic minority children bring to the classroom and consciously and critically take into account these students’ “linguistic funds of knowledge”.
