Reading Comprehension in Test Preparation Classes: An Analysis of Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge in TESOL

Abstract

This article examines the pedagogical content knowledge which underpins the practices in reading lessons of experienced teachers in test preparation classes. It takes as a starting point the assumption that practice is shaped by teacher cognitions, which are established through professional training and classroom experience. Thus, the study explores the nature of reading comprehension pedagogy and also the ways teachers vary and adapt their approach. The study, carried out in upper intermediate TESOL classrooms in Greece, draws on video-recorded classroom data, field notes, and interviews with four teachers. The analysis focuses on lesson structures, reading and test-taking strategy awareness raising, and teachers’ knowledge about texts. It validates the established reading skills lesson structure—pre-, while-, and postreading—but shows how this can vary in implementation. It suggests that the attention to strategies is not only explicit strategy instruction, but also situated demonstration by the teacher of how strategies can unlock the meaning of the text. The pedagogy overall is conditioned by the test preparation context of the program; the teachers are mindful of this goal and integrate references to the test to anchor the pedagogy in students’ current reality and to demonstrate how specific strategies can aid comprehension.