Students in marginalized school populations, particularly English learners and students with disabilities, consistently score below their peers on national science assessments. Limited or delayed academic language skills may contribute to disparities in science achievement gaps. Competing pedagogical approaches of science inquiry (e.g., discovery) and academic language development (e.g., explicit instruction) often leave teachers confounded in how to teach science to students with limited or delayed language skills in order to maximize language, literacy and science learning. This exploratory case study describes an elementary teacher's perspectives and practices while implementing a language enhanced science inquiry unit, supported by instructional coaching, within a diverse classroom. Findings indicate the teacher's perspectives and practices shifted towards views of (a) science inquiry as an academic equalizer for students; (b) science and language as interdependent; and (c) the teacher's role as fluid. We argue the teacher's dissonance between expectation and current reality is where shifts in practice and perspectives occur.