This research project aimed to investigate the factors which influence trainee teachers’ understanding of the word gap and how these translate into their level of confidence in addressing the gap in primary schools. A small-scale study was conducted, where Primary Teaching students and lecturers were investigated using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The research found that all of the participants valued the importance of language in providing access to the curriculum but felt that the time constraints of the ITT curriculum served as a barrier preventing adequate time from being preserved for explicit teaching of the importance of language and the word gap. Findings also revealed that the location of trainee teachers’ school placements has a bearing on the way they develop their understanding of the word gap. The study concluded by outlining the research limitations and recommending that additional research could be carried out to further support the findings.