Maria's experiences as an immigrant learning English in the southwestern United States parallel those of others who desire to improve their English but lack the time or resources to enroll in ESL classes. Maria was originally observed during English conversation and interviewed in Spanish to assess her awareness and use of effective language-learning strategies on her own; however, during data collection it became apparent that Maria was not alone at all. The role Maria's teenage daughter Rosa played in mediating her mother's second language identity construction and in providing psychological access to productive communities of practice appeared to outweigh her role as interpreter.