Teachers face the challenge of designing content instruction that meets both the needs and levels of ELL's. “Many elementary and high school classroom teachers are not familiar with Specifically Designed Academic Instruction in English, a set of strategies that makes the regular curriculum for fluent speakers accessible to those learning the English language” In a study that consisted of 29 participants, researcher Anita Hernandez found that many of the teachers stated that they had very little knowledge of what to do when working with second language learners acquiring English.
The challenge faced by teachers is to design instruction that caters to the needs and skill levels of ELLs. A study found that many teachers lack knowledge about how to effectively teach ELLs using Specifically Designed Academic Instruction in English.