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The Role of Opportunities to Learn in Teacher Preparation for EFL Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Author(s) -
König Johannes,
Tachtsoglou Sarantis,
Lammerding Sandra,
Strauß Sarah,
Nold Günter,
Rohde Andreas
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the modern language journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.486
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1540-4781
pISSN - 0026-7902
DOI - 10.1111/modl.12383
Subject(s) - internship , mathematics education , german , psychology , english as a foreign language , teacher education , teacher preparation , foreign language , professional development , test (biology) , pedagogy , medical education , linguistics , medicine , philosophy , paleontology , biology
The study examines the connection between domain‐specific learning opportunities in English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher preparation and preservice EFL teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Using a sample of 444 preservice EFL teachers for secondary schools, it contrasts groups at the end of the 2 phases required in German teacher preparation programs: a theoretical phase at university and a supervised professional internship at a school (practical phase). Specifically, it examines differences in learning opportunities (self‐reports) and PCK (paper‐and‐pencil test results). Findings from regression analysis show that learning opportunity measures substantially predict PCK test scores. The article discusses the effectiveness of EFL teacher preparation programs for preservice teachers’ performance on PCK and concludes with possible interpretations and research suggestions.