Integrating English language learners into the academic mainstream is a critically important goal. For students who are learning content in their second or third language as well as negotiating the university's social context, integrating into the mainstream academic environment can be challenging. Instructors at a public university intensive English program (IEP) addressed these problems by developing a common reading project and creating a learning community composed of U.S. native-English-speaking freshman in a critical reading class and intermediate- and advanced-level IEP students in integrated skills courses. Communities of practice, inquiry, and creativity were built through the process of coplanning and coteaching and through methods and activities implemented in the classroom. Through collaboration on a common reading and theme, "Night" by Elie Wiesel, and genocide, the instructors built a supportive learning environment that was mutually beneficial to both groups. In this article, the instructors discuss the nature of the learning community, present theories related to cross-cultural learning communities, and explain how intercultural communities support the distinctive goals of a liberal arts education. Then they describe the process of developing curriculum for the common reading project and share findings from student questionnaires evaluating the project.