Experts' View on In-service Mexican English Teachers’ Knowledge Base Framework*

Mexican public and private schools employ many English teachers. So, creating a knowledge base framework for English language teachers seems feasible for stimulating discussion of existing studies and the growth of the industry in Mexico. A quantitative study was conducted to explore, describe, and better understand the different fields of knowledge which integrate the framework. Data were gathered through an online questionnaire with 15 closed-ended items in the form of a Likert scale. The online questionnaire asked about ELT practitioner training methods and personal details, instructional practices, effective educator training trends and essential professional skills. Fourteen Mexican and five non-Mexican experts, academics, researchers, book authors, and professors were consulted for their knowledge, expertise, skills, experience, or research studies. Their opinions concerning the most and the least important fields of knowledge and the most outstanding skills were measured through frequency and average, utilizing Pearson´s correlation coefficient and Friedman and Wilcoxon tests. The findings indicate that the five most significant categories of knowledge that contribute to the teacher learning knowledge base of in-service language instructors are: 1. academic research, 2. teacher training, 3. didactics, 4. educational technology, and 5. educational intervention projects. This paper could be a key resource on Mexico in-service English language teacher knowledge and skills. The framework could also guide language teacher education program development.