This chapter aims at pinpointing EFL teachers' knowledge base and its components. First, knowledge and its nature in general and teacher knowledge in particular are discussed. The theoretical frameworks of teacher knowledge base in general and the knowledge base of EFL teachers in particular are defined and elaborated meticulously. This includes the seminal work of Shulman and its three main categories of teacher knowledge—content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge—and the work of language educationists to define the tripartite model of EFL teacher knowledge base. In the following, the need to re-conceptualize EFL teachers' knowledge base, the importance of investigating EFL teachers' knowledge base in CALL-based teaching/learning environments, and the way teachers should be empowered in technology era are addressed.
TopBackground
Teaching is considered by the majority of people as a profession so easy that anyone could do it. This is pointed out by Boyer (1990) when he emphasized the need to redefine teaching since it is often viewed as a routine function, tacked on, something almost anyone can do (p. 23).
The demand to redefine the value of teaching is more evident in recent years since imperative about increasing the education quality is strongly related to higher student outcomes. Needless to say, this mean there is an immediate need to redefine the teaching standards. As a matter of fact, research has shown that the quality of teaching workforce is a determining factor in students’ achievement levels regardless of students’ prior background knowledge and family factors (Guerriero, 2014). Being familiar with the definition of ‘quality’ is considered important since it is a technical terminology used in concepts such as ‘quality teachers’ and ‘quality teaching’. Being used interchangeably, these terms do not actually refer to the same idea (Liddicoat, 2006). According to Liddicoat (2006) these two terms can be defined as:
Quality teachers’ refers to issues relevant to teachers’ knowledge and practices in language teaching and discussion of quality teachers often assumes that quality teaching is solely dependent on the levels of attainment of individual teachers. ‘Quality teaching’, however, sees that effective teaching relies on many factors of which the knowledge base of the teacher is only one. (p.1)
Research has revealed several predictors for teacher quality including teachers’ certifications, degree, qualification type, class size, years of experience, and knowledge base among which teachers’ knowledge base is a less studied factor (Guerriero, 2014). The fact that teacher knowledge base is a contributing factor which can affect the teaching and learning process is widely accepted (Gitomer & Zisk, 2015; Grossman & McDonald, 2008; Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2007; Woolfolk, Hoy, Davis, & Pape, 2006; Munby, Russell, & Martin, 2001). Reviewing the literature in the field of teacher expertise reveals the implication of teachers’ professional knowledge base in carrying out job-related tasks successfully (e.g., Berliner, 2001, 2004; Bromme, 1992). Despite the importance of creating a framework for teachers’ knowledge base, there is little consensus among researchers about what exactly an affective teacher has to know (Faez, 2011). Some efforts have been made to conceptualize teachers’ knowledge (e.g., Breen, 1991; Johnston & Goettsch, 2000), their attitudes and beliefs (e.g., Almarza, 1996; Crandall, 2000; Peacock, 2001; Mattheoudakis, 2007), and cognition (Borg, 2003; 2006) as they have been hypothesized to influence the teaching process (e.g., Basturkmen, Loewen, & Ellis, 2004; Freeman & Johnson, 2005; Tsui, 2003).