This article promotes literacy as a a powerful tool for learning new language. Although learners frequently think of comprehensible input as language that is heard, comprehensible input from print can also be accessed. Research has shown that reading has a powerful impact on language learning: much of the vocabulary that educated adults know has been developed over time through reading. Reading also exposes language learners to a range of structures and forms that can lead to insights on how the language works and allow learners to have multiple exposures in meaningful contexts--an important factor in language development. It is now clear that oral language and literacy are interdependent. Oral language helps students know the meanings of the words they encounter in print. Print, in turn, exposes students to far more language than they can meet in the classroom, or even in social interaction outside the classroom. Although reading is what most often comes to mind when discussing literacy, writing is also a key literacy tool for improving language.