In the global healthcare environment, medical exchanges between China and various countries and regions are increasing, and the demand for medical English professionals is also increasing (Li, 2022). The quality of cultivating medical English professionals cannot be separated from the construction and development of medical English teaching staff. Previous research has found that one of the ways to promote the professional growth of medical English teachers is to improve their pedagogical content knowledge. It is the fusion of subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, the core of teacher professional knowledge foundation, and the basic prerequisite for promoting teachers' professional growth. Pedagogical content knowledge is a link between theoretical knowledge and classroom practical knowledge. Studying the pedagogical content knowledge of medical English teachers is beneficial in identifying the problems that exist in the professional development process of medical English teachers. Through investigation, this study aimed to understand the pedagogical content knowledge of medical English teachers from the four dimensions: i) knowledge of content and language integration, ii) knowledge of teaching contexts and objectives, iii) knowledge of teachers and students, iv) knowledge of teaching strategies, in order to find out the potential problems, analyze the causes and make out the corresponding strategies. The results showed that the development of pedagogical content knowledge of medical English teachers in medical universities in China is not satisfactory and there still exist many problems in many aspects such as the deviation of knowledge of content and language integration, unfamiliarity of knowledge of teachers and students, lack of knowledge of teaching contexts and objectives, and insufficiency of knowledge of teaching strategies. Based on the development vision of medical English teachers' pedagogical content knowledge, this study analyzed the underlying causes and proposed some strategies. This study intended to provide further exploratory value for the study of pedagogical content knowledge of medical English teachers, which will contribute to promoting the professional development of medical English teachers. Theoretically, it will enrich the relevant theories of pedagogical content knowledge from a micro level. Practically, it will help medical English teachers to flexibly master and apply pedagogical content knowledge and quickly adapt to the role of teachers to achieve efficient classrooms, thus truly achieve their professional development.
Andrews, S. J. (2003). Teacher language awareness and professional knowledge base of the L2 teacher. Language Awareness, 12(2), 81-95.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09658410308667068
Cheng, F. P. (2018). Teacher protection: The cornerstone of rural educational revive. Education Research, 39(7), 84-86.
Deng, H. (2022). The effectiveness of ESAP and EGAP in ESP teaching. International Journal of New Developments in Education, 4(8), 34-38. https://francis-
press.com/uploads/papers/R68FzTpNlhK RrE6IjQDJ9ggSx4XW U2kF0EdYFnLR.pdf
Evans, M., Elen, J., & Depaepe, E. (2016). Pedagogical content knowledge in the context of foreign and second language teaching: A review of the research literature. Porter Linguarum, (26), 187–200. https://doi.org/10.30827/Digibug.53944
Han, G. (2011). Construction of pedagogical content knowledge for English teachers. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
Han, J. Y., Zhao, Y. L., Liu, M. H., & Zhang, J. (2021). The development of college English teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK): From General English to English for Academic Purposes. Asia Pacific Education Review, 22(4), 1-13.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12564-02 1-09689-7
Hu, X. D., Li, Q., & Zhang, X. D. (2017). The application of task-based teaching mode in medical English teaching. Hebei Medical Journal, 23(4), 689-691.
Hui, Y. (2020). Twenty years of research on English textbooks at home and abroad. Teaching Research, 43(4), 38-49.
https://wenku.baidu.com/view/8ee9f9c875a20029bd64783e0912a21614797fd2. h tml?_wkts_=1697639525058
Li, H. M., Wang, W. B., & Wang, J. (2018). Reflection on the reform of college English teaching in medical colleges. Journal of Hubei Correspondence University, (8), 34-35.
Li, G. Y. (2022). Ways and strategies of teacher education knowledge growth. Teacher Education Forum, 34(12), 33-37. https://doi.org/10.19877/j.cnki.kcjcjf.2017.05.015
Li, L. H., Valcke, M., Badan, L., & Anderl, C. (2022). Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) teachers' pedagogical content knowledge in teaching Chinese pronunciation. Language Teaching Research, (3). https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688221117605.
Liu, C. X., & Luo, Y. S. (2019). The curriculum system of college medical English: current situation and construction. Journal of Higher Education, 4(5), 55-58.
https://doi.org/10.19980/j.cn23-1593/g 4.2019.05.017
Liu, Q. S., & Li, Q. H. (2022). The third national symposium on medical language and translation. Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning, 7(2), 97.
Liu, S. (2013). Pedagogical content knowledge: A case study of ESL teacher educator. English Language Teaching, 6(7), 128-138. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1077098
Mu, G. M., Liang, W., & Lu, L. T. (2018). Building pedagogical content knowledge within professional learning communities: An approach to counteracting regional education inequality. Teaching and Teacher Education, 73, 24-34.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.03.006
Pan, X. M. (2015). The theory and development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Educational Exploration, (1), 20-28.
Ren, H. Y., Liang, Y. L., & Kong, L. J. (2020). A study on the elements of teaching ability of university teachers. Education and Teaching Forum, (5), 19-20.
Shulman, L. S. (1986). Understanding knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, (2), 4-14. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X015002004
Tang, Q. P. (2019). A case study on the comparative analysis of pedagogical content knowledge between novice and expert senior high school English teachers. Guangxi: Guangxi University for Nationalities.
Tsui, A. B. M., & Nicholson, S. A. (1999). Hypermedia database and English as second language teacher knowledge enrichment. Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, 8(2), 215-237. https://doi.org/10.1080/14759399900200062
Worden, D. (2018). Mediation and development of a novice L2 writing teacher's pedagogical content knowledge of genre. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 34, 12-27. https://doi.org/10.10 16/j.jeap.2018.02.005
Wu, P. (2021). Research on professional knowledge development of college business English teachers. Shanghai: Shanghai Jiaotong University Press.
Wu, P., & Yu, S. (2017). Developing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) through module team collaboration: a case study of business English teachers in China. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 26(1-2), 97-105. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-017-0330-9
Wang, C. L. (2015). An empirical study on the effectiveness of "negotiation" in medical English classroom teaching. Chinese Journal of Medical Education, (6), 14-16.
Wang, C. Y. (2020). Exploration of the operating model of teacher community from the perspective of medical English teaching. Medical Education Research and Practice, 28(1), 143-166. https://doi. org/10.1 3555/j.cnki.c.m.e.2020.01.036
Wen, Q. F. (2021). Comparison and enlightenment of three professional learning models for foreign language teachers in Chinese universities. Foreign Language Teaching Theory and Practice, (1), 1-8.
Wu, P., Yu, S., & Zhang, L. (2018). The function and integration of components of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in classroom teaching: A case study of business English teachers. Educational Studies, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2018.1509770
Ye, L. (2019). Research and practice on the hybrid teaching model of medical English based on mobile learning. Guangdong Vocational and Technical Education and Research, 2(6), 44-48. https://do i.org/10.19494/j.cnki.issn1674-859x.2019.06.016
Zhang, N. (2020). A case study on the generation and development of pedagogical knowledge for non-English foreign language teachers. Foreign Language World, (2), 51-58.
Zhang, X. X. (2019). Comparative study on PCK of chemistry pre-service teachers and expert teachers. Jinan: Shandong Normal University.
Zheng, Z. H., Wei, S. M., & Zhao, X. Y. (2013). Transformation in the development of pedagogical content knowledge: an exploration of foreign studies. Heilongjiang Higher Education Research, 31(6), 68-71.
