An Investigation On College English Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Considering the complexity and particularity of college English teachers, this paper employs questionnaires and interviews to investigate college English teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. The questionnaires explore college English teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge from five dimensions: English content knowledge, English pedagogical knowledge, knowledge about students, learning situational knowledge and technological knowledge. The interviews mainly focus on the core concerns of teachers’ understanding of pedagogical content knowledge. Through analyzing the date from questionnaires and interviews, the results are as follows:The distribution of college English teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge is balanced in general, there are no big differences among the five categories; but some imparities still exist. Among the five components, understanding of English pedagogical knowledge is the best, and knowledge about students is relatively low, which is mainly due to the heavy workload that college teachers need to undertake and the individual differences among students.Through interviewing the teachers, it found that the sources of college English teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge are various, mainly focused on: experiences obtained in schooldays; theoretical knowledge acquired in college years; training activities after working; communication and cooperation with colleagues; and teaching experiences and self-reflections in working.Through analyzing the current situation of college English teachers’ understanding of pedagogical content knowledge and the main sources of pedagogical content knowledge, some implications on improving college English teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge are proposed: optimize the curriculum provision in teacher education; strengthen cooperation and communications among teachers; enhance their professional abilities and promote interactive reflections in teaching.