ABSTRACT
This chapter describes an investigation of the cognitions of twenty language teachers while teaching. After the teachers had given a lesson in reading comprehension to 16-to 18-year-old students, stimulated recall interviews were conducted to assess the content of teachers’ interactive cognitions. It is argued that the stimulated recall interview calls upon a teacher’s working memory while teaching. The content of teachers’ interactive cognitions is described according to ten main categories, which are based on categories emerging from research on teachers’ practical knowledge, in particular, teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Patterns in teachers’ interactive cognitions are identified, and similarities and differences are explained in terms of differences in teachers’ approaches to students, and their approaches to the content of a lesson. On the basis of these results, it is concluded that studying teachers’ interactive cognitions is of great additional importance in the examination of the cognitive aspects of teaching. We conclude with a critical discussion of the stimulated recall interview.
