In this article, the author investigates the experience of six preservice teachers who volunteered to work with English language learners (ELLs). For this project, the preservice teachers would meet with their students to conduct one-on-one interviews about their reading and writing, hold conferences with them, and share their own writing as well. The author investigates these questions: (1) How did preservice teachers describe their experience of working directly with an ELL?; (2) To what extent did a direct experience with an ELL affect preservice teachers' thinking?; and (3) What can the preservice teachers' discussion contribute to the understanding of how students are influenced by discourses and what that influence means? Answering these questions will offer insight into the evolving perspectives of preservice teachers and how they negotiate the challenges of addressing the needs of ELLs.