This paper argues, using a feminist poststructuralist perspective, that second language acquisition (SLA) theorists have struggled to explore the relationship between the language learner and the social world because they do not question how structures of power in the social world impact on individual language learners and the opportunities they have to interact with target language speakers. It also reports on a study of the language learning experiences of five women immigrants to Canada. SLA theorists have failed to explore the extent to which sexism, racism, and elitism influence the kinds of opportunities second language learners have to practice the target language and how immigrant language learners are frequently marginalized by members of the target language community. The results of the case studies of immigrant women demonstrate that motivation, extroversion, and confidence are not fixed personality traits, but should be understood with reference to social relations of power that create the possibilities for language learners to speak. (Contains 17 references.) (MDM)