Teacher Knowledge in English Language Teacher Education

Understanding Teacher Knowledge (TK) became vital in the area of English Language Teacher Education (ELTE) since studies have unveiled that teachers are professionals that hold and use a type of knowledge proper to them. Although studies abound in the area, there are no studies on studies on the concept of TK per se in Brazil. Thus, this study, based on grounded theory, aims at understanding how Brazilian applied linguists understand TK with a view to conceptualizing it. Data consisted of studies between 1990 and 2000, and the analysis unveiled that TK can be understood as a cognitive construction, as a social-cognitive construction, and as an experiential construction. In the first view, ELTE programs tend to focus on the development of teachers¿ competences; in the second, on teachers¿ awareness of how discourse works in the social construction of meanings; and in the third, on teachers¿ awareness of their personal practical knowledge. The study suggests that the different understandings of TK emerge from the view applied linguists hold on how the relation between the teacher and knowledge is constructed; since it varies, TK tends to be a multi-nature concept.