Previous ethnographic pedagogical approaches in basic writing classrooms emphasized students' acculturation into academic discourse; however, teachers' critical reflection should also consider how exposure to students' experiences intervenes in and informs pedagogical practices. In this article, I argue that teachers should listen to their students in order to take a critical approach toward institutional change. I focus specifically on a basic writing class composed mostly of Latino students to understand their experiences of being bilingual in the academy. Listening to these students led me to consider not only how to create pedagogical change but also to propose processes for institutional change as well.