This study aims to give an account of five teachers’ views and understandings of second language (L2) learners’ previous knowledge, as well as, their linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This is carried out by the means of qualitative interviews, where the sampling consists of five primary school teachers at various schools. The findings are presented and analyzed using a thematic analysis. Furthermore, the study indicates that teachers in general have a positive attitude to learning more about their L2 learners’ prior knowledge and backgrounds, both for the pupils, as well as, their own sake. However, they know very little about it, and there are shortcomings in the knowledge of what the appropriate approach might look like in order to find out about this. Lastly, the study also shows that teachers strive to become better at identifying the L2 learners’ backgrounds and previous knowledge.