This article tells the story of a child immigrant's L2 acquisition process. The narrative demonstrates the effects of social and academic factors on motivation to acquire an L2 and the result of immigration at a young age on cultural identity formation. The article begins by discussing the need for research into sociocultural factors in the second language acquisition process and by reviewing recent research on motivation and identity. The author then describes the development of a coding scheme of motivation and identity factors for the study. The author uses life story and visual anthropology methods to present the narrative of an Italian man who immigrated to the United States at age seven and analyzes the narrative according to the coding scheme. The narrative and its discussion reveal the way that teachers contribute to students' L2 success and the importance of fostering hybrid cultural identities among L2 learners. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)