This paper presents data collected within the context of a teacher education course designed to raise student teachers' critical language awareness. Firstly, we describe the process of selecting, editing and constructing a bank of thematic extracts of filmed classroom interactions and interviews for use in teacher education. Secondly, we explore the impact of these materials on students' willingness and desire to reflect on issues concerning language and consider the ways in which these resources were most effective in fostering student teachers' empathy and knowledge about language. The data analysis reveals that the use of the filmed extracts, in combination with theoretical readings and discussion, was highly instrumental in helping student teachers to develop a deeper understanding of the issues and the theory behind linguistically inclusive pedagogical practices and in empowering them to act as agents of change.