The challenge of celebrating diversity in multicultural classrooms requires both teachers and students to be aware of elements influencing the communication process. This essay identifies and discusses relevant sociocultural factors that affect the interaction and learning processes among participants in diverse classrooms. As they recognize their biases, teachers and students must be cognizant of these considerations to establish a meaningful rapport in a learning and teaching environment that values and acknowledges the complex nature of diversity. In particular, the teacher's attitude, personality traits, enthusiasm, sensitivity, and awareness, along with his or her competence, contribute to the success of the communicative process. With optimistic attitudes, teachers can play a significant role as cultural mediators in classrooms. In addition, the student's motivational and attitudinal aspects, along with their multicultural readiness, have a powerful impact on maintaining and nurturing a positive educational atmosphere. By recognizing the role of sociocultural factors in educational settings, both teachers and students will contribute to a more meaningful social and cognitive exchange that is congruent with multiplying learning opportunities in the diverse classroom and consistent with new demands in today's pluralistic society. (Contains 20 references.) (Author/SLD)