This study examined the nature of English methods courses in Iowa institutions which train secondary English teachers. Instructors from about 70 percent of the institutions in the state provided a copy of their course calendar. Data were drawn from these calendars about methods course content, the proportion of time allotted to each course, and course structure. It was concluded that there is little uniformity in any of the three areas examined; the content areas derived in the study were not only fewer than those reported in previous studies but also, in some instances, different from them; the teaching of literature consumed the greatest amount of time in a methods course; little time was devoted to teaching oral language or reading; the methods courses were variable in total class time; and the 14 courses described by the tabled data suggested a frame of reference which was content-centered and were called lecture-discussion courses. (Author/TS)