Acquiring proficiency in the various English language skills and the ability to utilize those skills as a medium of learning is a daunting task. Research suggests that children who do not speak English as their first language (L1) need five to seven years in school before they can perform as well in English as their English peers who are native speakers. Therefore, after approximately two years of English as a second language (ESL) classes, English language learners (ELLs) at the university level are not yet adequately prepared to perform the most difficult function of literacy skills acquisition--content literacy, the ability to use language to access and master specialized material in content areas across the curriculum. Researchers continue to seek effective ways to help ELLs across the levels of pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade to learn to speak, read, and comprehend English as quickly as possible. Many programs throughout the U.S. focus on prevention and intervention and target both parents and their children. Unfortunately, people do not know as much about meeting the literacy needs of ELLs at the university and other postsecondary levels of education. The dearth of research to address the needs of ELLs at the university level in the U.S. context may be related to a combination of factors that make the ELLs' needs at the postsecondary level a difficult topic to encompass. In this article, the author suggests that more research, followed by appropriate program development at postsecondary institutions, is needed to both explore and implement effective strategies to insure that ELLs can successfully master English and access the subject matter of mainstream college and university courses.