Lesson study as a catalyst for enhancing EFL teachers’ instructional efficacy and professional development

This study investigated potential applications of Lesson Study (LS) as a collaborative form of reflective practice and as a model of effective Professional Learning (PL) in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching in Indonesian tertiary contexts. Three research issues were addressed: the EFL secondary school teachers’ and LS specialists’ beliefs about LS as a form of PL, the EFL tertiary lecturers’ beliefs about PL, and the potential applications of LS as a model of PL in tertiary contexts. LS is presented as a model of PL that offers EFL teachers in Indonesia a way to shift current transmissive teacher-centered approaches to EFL teaching to more student- centered learning. It is argued that in Indonesian tertiary educational settings, secondary school teachers PL should similarly become the centre of their own learning. Drawing on theories of reflective practices in teaching and learning and the principles of LS, the study sought to demonstrate the applicability of LS as a model of EFL lecturers’ PL in tertiary contexts. Informed by interpretivist approach and naturalistic inquiry, the study involved twelve EFL teachers from secondary schools, three LS specialists, and seven EFL lecturers from the Gama Language Training Centre (GLTC) in Indonesia. Using qualitative methods, focus group interviews and in-depth interviews were utilized to gather the data. Focus group interviews were conducted with the EFL secondary school teachers and the EFL lecturers in the GLTC, while individual in-depth interviews were carried out with the LS specialists. These three lenses on the phenomenon under enquiry provided rich data for exploration. The data were triangulated for trustworthiness and credibility. The data were analysed thematically using increasingly rigorous levels of coding. The findings are illustrated by verbatim quotations to give voice to the participants. The findings indicate that many of the participants in the secondary school contexts considered LS an efficacious approach to teacher reflective practice and PL. The collaborative work and reflective practice embedded in the phases of LS provided many learning opportunities for enhancing EFL content knowledge and creating effective pedagogies that contributed positively to their sense of self as professional educators. Another finding reveals that after having focus group interviews, the EFL lecturers in the GLTC shifted their beliefs from a paradigm of professional development to one of PL. LS with its phases of PLAN, DO, SEE offers a potential framework of PL to achieving this. When comparing and contrasting the school teachers’ beliefs about LS as a collaborative and reflective practice form of PL with those beliefs held about PL at the tertiary level, it was found that both groups of participants believed their PL activity was an opportunity for them to become better practitioners. The findings too revealed that the characteristics of LS as the form of the EFL secondary school teachers PL have embedded in the EFL lecturers’ PL in the GLTC. This provides opportunities for LS to be adopted as a collaborative model of reflective practice so that the transmissive mode of EFL teaching in Indonesia can be shifted to one more focused on student learning. LS proved to be effective model of PL and it is currently undertaken by secondary school teachers; therefore, it will be particularly useful for EFL teaching in Indonesian tertiary contexts. The implication of this study of LS as collaborative and reflective PL in Indonesian tertiary institutions is that PL is essential in improving teacher professionalism and supporting a shift from a transmissive teaching practice to one that is learner centred.

<p style="text-align:justify">This paper reports the findings of an investigation into English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ self-efficacy and their classroom management in the context of the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The paper also aims to find out what makes teachers different in terms of skills in classroom management. The study was designed as a descriptive mixed-methods one, using a questionnaire, focus group interviews, and classroom observations to collect data. Forty-six EFL teachers from three high schools responded to the questionnaire. Twelve got involved in the semi-structured interviews, and six as classroom observed teachers. Two group interviews were conducted with the participation of three vice-principals and three heads of English teams. The results indicated a significant interaction between EFL teachers’ self-efficacy and their classroom management skills. Teachers who own a higher level of self-efficacy showed to manage their classes in a more confident and purposive manner than those with a lower level of self-efficacy. Three main reasons differentiating teachers’ skills in classroom management, including pre-service teacher education, previous attending continuing professional development events, and teacher’s learning autonomy were detected. Case-based teaching, organizational learning, and lesson study are recommended in pre-service teacher education and in-service teacher professional development activities to enhance teachers’ self-efficacy and their classroom management.</p>

Purpose This study investigates how English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers from higher education develop and refine their curriculum design with Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI) collaboration during the Lesson Study (LS). Design/methodology/approach Through a qualitative case study approach, we followed six English teachers in their collaborative work with a Gen-AI teaching assistant (Kimi) over a 6-month semester. Data were collected through the recordings of LS cycles, teacher interviews and reflections and documentation of teacher-AI interactions etc. Findings The findings revealed three key aspects of Gen-AI integration in designing EFL curriculum: First, teachers progressively discovered Kimi’s capabilities in lesson planning, material development, and activity design, showing value in generating differentiated learning resources. Second, the teachers developed sophisticated collaboration patterns with the Gen-AI, demonstrating iterative refinement approaches and strategic integration of Gen-AI suggestions throughout the LS cycles. Third, teachers' critical reflections showed evolution in their evaluation and application of Gen-AI contributions, maintaining professional agency while leveraging Gen-AI capabilities effectively. Research limitations/implications This study has several limitations that inform future research directions. Our investigation focused specifically on EFL higher education using a single Gen-AI tool (Kimi), which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other educational contexts and AI platforms. Practical implications These findings suggest that Gen-AI integration through LS can enhance teachers' professional practice while promoting critical engagement with Gen-AI tools. The study provides insights into how Gen-AI can be meaningfully integrated into teacher professional development through collaborative LS approaches. Originality/value The study demonstrates how the LS framework supports balanced AI integration while maintaining teacher agency. In addition, it reveals the process of AI capability discovery and strategic implementation in EFL teaching.

This article explores the nature of reflective practice in a professional development process based on lesson study. The authors examine how a lesson study model initiates reflection as a meta‐action scaffolding reflective practice among teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) at a university in Turkey. Fieldnotes, interviews, and audio diaries were used to collect both introspective and retrospective data. These data sources enabled the researchers to focus on reflective action both as a process and as a product. Using thematic content analysis, the research demonstrates how reflective practice permeates lesson study as teachers reflect on their practice both individually and collaboratively. Moreover, the research also shows how teacher agency can be promoted in reflective practice throughout lesson study. The findings reveal how reflection as meta‐action in lesson study can support transformative teacher agency among EFL teachers.

The present study investigates the relationship between Iraqi EFL teachers’ professional development and their classroom management techniques. A general term that means developing yourself professionally and also improving your classroom management abilities by learning new strategies and techniques, making motivation for students, and having all students practice by asking questions. Language is very important, like grammar, writing, or vocabulary. Then Classroom management refers to a wide variety of skills and techniques. The study will require the participation of 275 EFL teachers. Participants must be of both sexes and different ages. They are chosen using convenience random sampling according to Krejcie and Morgan's (1970) formula, with a confidence level of 95%.in different language schools. The Classroom Management Techniques questionnaire (Diaz, Gonzalez, Ramirez, & Munoz-Parra, 2018) and Teachers’ Professional Development (Evers, Kreijns, & Van der Heijden, 2016) are used in order to collect the required data. The study's findings found that EFL (English as a Foreign Language) secondary school instructors in Iraq have a unique perspective on classroom behavior. The teachers agree that the subscale "content" obtains the 2nd highest score based on the questionnaire's eighth domain as a researcher and teacher at Abi Talib Intermediate School for Boys in Wasit Governorate, I observed that every teacher values the opportunity and necessity to constantly improve his professional development. Professional competence levels correspond to different stages of professional and educational development. The higher the level of the teacher's professional activity, the higher the scientific level of the students, which leads to the advancement of the educational process and the prosperity of the country.

This study investigated six pre-service ELT teachers' engagement of collaborative Lesson Study, Japanese professional development model, and intended to explore its impact on their classroom management skills. The qualitative research design was used as the methodological foundation of the study since the Lesson Study experience of the participants was thoroughly observed in its natural context through research lesson applications. The large volume of data collected using a variety of data collection tools was analyzed using Atlas. Ti qualitative software. The study revealed that Lesson Study intervention impacted the participants' classroom management skills in various dimensions at varying degrees, especially in increasing awareness about the observation of student learning, giving instructions, and lesson planning aspects. The study further presented that Lesson Study provides a reformist professional development opportunity for pre-service teachers to practice various classroom management strategies in various actual classroom settings.

English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers often have few possibilities to develop professionally (Johnston, 1997). Increasing collaborative inquiry-based professional development opportunities for teaching faculty at private language programs has the potential to lead to greater teacher commitment and longer tenure in the field (Tasker, 2006). However, a successful EFL teacher professional development program requires not only a commitment from the teachers and institutional support, but also needs to be perceived by the teachers as relevant to their local teaching context (Yamagata-Lynch & Haudenschild, 2006). Participating in lesson study (Fernandez, Cannon, & Chokshi, 2003; Lewis & Tsuchida, 1997), a teacherdirected collaborative professional development activity, focuses the teachers’ attention on gaps in their students’ learning by creating a mediational space that encourages sustained dialogic interaction about student learning issues that are central to teachers’ everyday teaching practice. The goal of the exploration of student learning within the context of lesson study has the potential to promote greater teacher professional development by focusing teachers’ collective attention on shared student learning issues, and pursue jointly constructed solutions. In doing so, teachers move beyond being not only consumers of top-down expert knowledge, but also producers of school-based, self-directed knowledge by adopting a “researcher lens” and generating questions about student learning posited by the teachers themselves (Fernandez, Cannon, & Chokshi, 2002). Teacher educators experienced in lesson study are instrumental in facilitating teachers new to the process to gradually take on the role of researcher without imposing the educator’s own ideas and solutions on the group. Lesson study can “carve out a role for experts and still remain a teacher-controlled activity” (Chokshi & Fernandez, 2004, p. 525)Using a developmental work research (DWR) methodology (Engestrom, 2007) and cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) as the theoretical framework, the expansive learning (Engestrom, 1999b; 2001) of three EFL teachers engaged in lesson study was investigated during a semester at a private language school in the Czech Republic. This chapter traces the teachers’ participation in lesson study and their efforts to resolve a contradiction between the English language learning their students were prepared to do outside of class (very little), and the progress theteachers observed the students were making (almost none). Over the first five lesson study meetings, the teachers collaboratively explored ways to encourage their students to take responsibility for their learning, ultimately by creating an artifact that could potentially improve their students’ critical reading skills. The results indicate that lesson study was instrumental in helping the teachers to reach a possible solution to the contradiction between teacher and student activity systems.

Traditional professional development efforts aimed at changing teacher behavior through seminars sometimes fall short of meeting contextual needs of schools and teachers. Contemporary professional development points to a change in this ‘training’ perspective, and acknowledges professional development as a complex undertaking grounded in active teacher participation. Lesson Study can respond to the demands of this paradigm shift, yet its adoption in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts is limited. This multiple-case study aimed at exploring the Lesson Study process experienced by EFL teachers in a Turkish higher education context. Potential benefits of the model and what might prevent its effective implementation were investigated. Participants were 20 EFL teachers. Data from reflective reports, interviews and a questionnaire were analyzed through cross-case analysis. Results showed Lesson Study provided a collaborative learning environment, and improved teachers’ knowledge-in-practice. However, teachers’ misconceptualizing Lesson Study and lacking support mechanisms were detected among potential pitfalls. To accommodate teachers’ professional development needs, schools should adopt practices recognizing their potential as researchers, reflective practitioners, and change agents. It would be helpful to encourage teachers to experiment with Lesson Study, using it as a catalyst for change and benefiting from its advantages to teacher learning.

Purpose This paper reports on an exploratory practice of an informal lesson study conducted by a small group of Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher educators and teachers in a suburban senior secondary school to help the teachers implement pedagogical changes promoted by the current curriculum reforms. Design/methodology/approach Multiple sources of data were employed to capture the richness of the participants’ experiences, including observations, field notes of discussions during the lesson study period and in-depth individual interviews after the completion of the lesson study. Findings It was found that the teacher participants were appreciative of the teacher educators’ concern about their professional development and their altruistic pedagogical support through the lesson study. However, they did not genuinely embrace the inquiry-based lesson study activity for its informal model with limited administrative support and its irreconcilable conflict with the deep-rooted mainstream exam-oriented educational ideologies and practices. Research limitations/implications The study has implications for the parties concerned about how to make EFL lesson study sustainable in rural schools and connect the two activity systems in teacher education programmes and schools. Originality/value The study focuses on collaborative lesson studies with rural school teachers, which has received limited attention in practice and research in China where reducing the urban-rural divide remains a huge challenge.

The success of lesson study as an approach for teacher professional development in improving students’ learning has inspired the works on microteaching lesson study which is designed for student teachers in microteaching course. Some studies show that microteaching lesson study brought about positive result to student teachers’ pedagogical ability and content knowledge. However, that microteaching lesson study influences student teachers in their teaching internship, that is the course taken after microteaching where student teachers teach real students in real schools, has not been revealed yet. This study aims at exploring the influence of microteaching lesson study on the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) student teachers in teaching internship and to what extent the influence was to promote the EFL student teachers’ life-long learning to teach. It is a qualitative study with semi-structured group interview as the instrument of the research. The subject of the study was ten EFL student teachers who voluntarily participated in the study from twenty two student teachers. They had enrolled in a microteaching class that applied microteaching lesson study in the sixth semester and then took the teaching internship in the seventh semester. The finding of the study indicates that microteaching lesson study has considerably influences most of the EFL student teachers in gaining life-long learning to teach as they already implemented the steps of microteaching lesson study in their teaching internship initiatively. Finally, this study recommends teacher educators to adapt lesson study in microteaching course that can make the EFL student teachers to keep learning to teach.

Despite the abundance of research on the potential of lesson study for promoting teachers' professional growth through practice and collaboration, little is known on how language teachers perceive this strategy for their computer assisted language learning (CALL) professional development. In an attempt to contribute to this research base, this article shares the findings of a case study on five English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' perception of the impact of lesson study on their professional growth. Participants' responses to interview questions along with their reflection journals were analyzed adopting constant comparison method. The findings indicated that participants appreciated the teaching practice and peer observation for promoting their knowledge of technology, technological pedagogical knowledge, knowledge of technological glitches, and their confidence in teaching with technology. It was also observed that teachers preferred peer critique to positive feedback for improving the quality of their lesson plans. The results could provide CALL teacher educators and program designers insights into benefits and challenges of engaging EFL teachers in lesson study during CALL teacher education.

<p>This study investigated the impact of workshops on classroom management and feedback strategies in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The main issue addressed was the challenge of inconsistent classroom management and ineffective feedback methods, which affected student engagement and academic achievement. This study aimed to understand how professional development could enhance teachers’ instructional practices. Using a narrative inquiry methodology, data were collected through questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The questionnaire employed a Likert scale to measure teachers' perceptions, while interviews provided deeper insights into their experiences. Data were analyzed using narrative analysis to identify key patterns and themes. Triangulation was conducted by cross-checking participants' responses to ensure the validity of findings. The results indicated that the workshop positively transformed teachers’ feedback methods, making them more targeted, meaningful, and student-centered. In terms of classroom management, the most effective strategies included setting clear expectations, fostering positive relationships, engaging students through interactive activities, and maintaining consistent discipline. This study provided new insights into how workshops addressed common challenges in EFL teaching and highlighted the importance of continuous professional development. The findings offered recommendations for improving workshop design and curriculum development to support the ongoing growth of English teachers in Indonesia.</p>

This paper investigates students’ perception on the linguistic training received at the Degree in Primary Education (specialization in English) at a Spanish university. The paper is intended to analyse the perception of preservice teachers regarding the language training in L2 received in the academic programmes adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The research objective is twofold: first, the paper is set to analyse students’ insights on their language training and fill a gap in the scientific literature, since no empirical research has been devoted to study the view of preservice teachers on their language training in the new degrees. Second, the study aims at opening new insights into the type of language training and the methodological approaches in language subjects in the Degree of Primary Education. The research relies on a sample of 4 participants who were interviewed in the academic year 2015 / 2016. The paper uses a qualitative approach aiming to collect information that leads to a better understanding of perceptions of prospective teachers of English as a Foreign Language in Spain. The research tool was a structured interview adapted from previous instruments and tested in a pilot stage. The main finding of the research is that the participants of the study underline the relevance of achieving a good communicative competence in the foreign language, as this promotes their self-esteem and confidence in the classroom and stimulates the interaction with their students by using the L2. In addition, preservice teachers also stress the importance of learning suitable vocabulary for teaching in Primary Education. The current investigation underlines the paramount role of the communicative competence in the L2 to build teachers’ professional development. Keywords: pre-service teachers, linguistic and methodological training, approaches of FLL, language competence, language training, perceptions of prospective teachers of English as a Foreign Language.

This article aims to explore the benefits, challenges, and impact of Lesson Study (LS) implementation in enhancing foreign language teaching practices. Emphasizing the impact of learning lessons, it aims to promote collaboration and continuous improvement in the field of foreign language teaching, thereby improving the learning experience of students. Learning lessons as a tool for improving teaching methods is of great importance. The Lesson Study method has demonstrated its effectiveness in enhancing teachers’ instructional skills in various contexts. The practical significance of this research lies on the fact that data analysis and research results may give clear understanding of pros and cons of implementing LS for EFL teachers, which will aid in enhancing teaching practices and fostering collaboration. The novelty of this study lies in its specific focus on Lesson Study within the context of EFL teaching in Kazakhstan. This research has applied quantitative research methods such as surveys and questionnaires. Fifty-two English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers from eight schools from Astana participated in this research. The participants possessed diverse teaching experiences, backgrounds and skills, as well as a familiarity with the Lesson Study approach. This survey provides diverse perspectives from teachers actively involved in using Lesson Study.

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the development of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge through lesson study (LS) in Injibara, Ethiopia. Design/methodology/approach The study employed a participatory case study design within a qualitative research approach. Three grade 11 EFL teachers were selected comprehensively as an LS group. Data were collected using interviews, observations, reflective journals, and field notes. The data were analysed qualitatively through thematic analysis. Findings The findings revealed that LS significantly enhanced EFL teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Through the LS process, EFL teachers deepened their understanding of subject matter and curriculum materials. Moreover, LS enabled EFL teachers to apply appropriate teaching methods, design focused lesson plans, and manage classrooms effectively. Overall, the study concludes that LS is a valuable model for enhancing EFL teachers’ PCK. Thus, it is recommended that EFL teachers integrate lesson study into their school-based professional development (PD) programs. Practical implications This study provides a growing body of knowledge that demonstrates how engaging in LS enhances EFL teachers’ PCK in speaking skills. It also offers potentially useful insights for both research and practical implications. Hence, the study encourages a thorough investigation into the development of EFL teachers’ PCK through LS in preparatory schools at the national level. Originality/value This study contributes to the limited body of research in the Ethiopian context that LS enhances EFL teachers’ PCK in preparatory schools.