Abstract

Teacher competency in language teaching is a very relevant concern for EFL4education. In order to be an efficient teacher of English, one must exhibit appropriate knowledge and expertise to teach students in a classroom. This study attempts to describe the relationship between the practice of the profession and the development of language teaching strategies in novice teachers and undergraduate students. To this end, data was collected using two instruments: Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) and a survey designed for the purpose. The findings indicate that most of the undergraduate students and novice teachers of English have an adequate level of teaching knowledge. However , novice teachers performed better than students in the TKT module taken by participants. It seems that real practice has given teachers more tools and strategies to manage better the teaching and learning processes occurring in the classroom. The findings of the study aim to provide feedback for improvement to an English Language Teaching Program from a private Chilean University, as well as to provide evidence for practitioners and researchers interested in the topic.