Between Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Confidence

While many teachers do not feel confident teaching pronunciation because of limited preparation in different areas, research has demonstrated positive effects of training in pronunciation pedagogy, as teachers who receive such training develop cognitions (i.e., knowledge, beliefs, thoughts, actions) that align with current tenets of pronunciation pedagogy. Drawing on this assertion, this paper reports the results of a qualitative case study with five pre-service teaching-English-to-speakers-of-other-languages (TESOL) teachers enrolled in a pedagogical pronunciation course as part of their teacher training program. The study's main purpose was to understand the role of training in developing content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for pronunciation teaching, and how such knowledge provided confidence in pre-service teachers to address the pronunciation needs of their future students. Using four different data collection methods (reflective journals, semi-structured individual interviews, stimulated-recall individual interviews, and a focus group interview), the analysis revealed contradictions in the pre-service teachers’ confidence in their CK of pronunciation teaching. While the participants perceived CK as an essential foundational subject matter asset necessary to develop PCK based on theoretically supported teaching techniques, they also presented a lack of confidence in their knowledge of specific segments (e.g., vowels), intonation, and specific types of connected speech like linking. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for teacher training in pronunciation that could boost pre-service teachers’ confidence in their knowledge of pronunciation teaching. Keywords: Pronunciation Pedagogy, Teacher Preparation, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Content Knowledge

Content (measure theory) · Linguistics · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Pronunciation · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching