In the field of English Language Teaching (ELT), teachers pedagogical knowledge and perceptions play a crucial role in the success of language teaching as they influence what and how they teach (Calabria, 1960; Cope & Ward, 2002). Nevertheless, little research about this topic has been done in Mexico (Ramírez, et al., 2023). For this reason, this study aims to explore pre-service teachers' knowledge and perceptions of the methods and approaches they use to teach English and the factors that impact their choices. To accomplish such exploration, a qualitative case study was employed in a public university in Mexico, incorporating classroom observations forms and semi- structured interviews administered to three pre-service teachers. Interpretive analysis revealed three major findings. First, the majority of pre-service teachers are knowledgeable about the methods that they use. Second, participants expressed both positive and negative perceptions regarding the engagement and effectiveness of the methods. Lastly, pre-service teachers methodological choices were found to be influenced by a range of factors, including the topic of the lesson, student characteristics, availability of resources and the teachers own confidence and pedagogical knowledge. Implications include the integration of reflective practice and peer- feedback activities in teacher education programs to minimize mismatches between pre-service teachers knowledge and practice.