This qualitative study addresses the question "Does the use of storytelling motivate English language learners to engage in literacy practices more, or in a better way, and if so, how?". Storytelling of cultural tales related to fifth grade students' home cultures was introduced to provide a prompt for resultant student discussion and writing. All data collected--a writing attitude survey, writing samples, recordings of group discussions, and a final interview--display the literacy growth of Raeda, a newly emigrated girl from Bangladesh. A primary theme that emerged from this study was that the storytelling of cultural tales as discussion and writing prompts is a motivational factor in the process of learning a second language. This article also recounts the challenges and rewards of a year of collaborative instruction between a university faculty member and an English language learner teacher in a Professional Development School. The PDS partnership laid the foundation for this collaborative research to occur. The research endeavor positively affected all stakeholders--students, pre-service teachers, the in-service teacher, and the university professor. (Contains 1 table.)