This report is based on an ethnographic study of a multicultural "college prep" program catering to minority students. It was part of the elective bilingual education offering at a large urban high school, and recorded an 11-year history of successfully graduating Hispanic high school students and sending at least 65% of them on to college. The report briefly describes the study and the research site, the program, and the participants. A major portion of the paper contains an explanation and examples of strategies which became evident in the teacher's approach to motivating the students in the program and to raising their self-esteem. Redefining the image of self is the goal of strategies the teacher uses to help the students imagine success and have the confidence to pursue it. This is accomplished by helping students in the following areas: (1) to be proud of their heritage; (2) to feel that their people can achieve success and reverse stereotypes; and (3) to develop adaptive behavior that will facilitate success in a new culture. The teacher helps the students redefine their self-image as learners and as communicators in the following ways: (1) by raising expectations and standards for academic and social performance; (2) by using positive language in clasroom interaction both to praise students for their successes as well as to correct mistakes; and (3) by giving them the opportunity to "try on" new images through role-playing. The teacher helps them redefine their concept of self as communicators through the director/actor approach. The teacher also uses a director/actor approach to model language production and requires that students imitate the way he, as the "expert," does it. The results of the study and the implication for the design of instruction in multicultural classrooms are discussed. (JS)