Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of pre-service teachers (PSTs) who used lesson study on a five-week school-based teaching placement. The paper analyses 12 undergraduate PSTs’ perceptions of the way lesson study affected classroom-based teaching of English as a foreign language to pre-school and primary school. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative study is carried out from the responses to a semi-structured interview to the PSTs, and written responses to the open-ended question: What are your perceptions of lesson study? Findings: This paper provides empirical insights about the way lesson study reinforced the PSTs’ classroom management and lesson planning skills. The case-pupils’ responses to the PSTs’ questions post-treatment indicated that games and active techniques in the classroom led to high retention of the taught content. Nevertheless, PSTs’ evaluations of pupils’ learning outcomes require further development. These evaluations often resulted in vague perceptions of overall lesson performance. Research limitations/implications: This study provides hints of how case-pupils better learned and how PSTs did the observations and performed. However, the results cannot be generalized. Originality/value: The researchers sustain that the teaching degrees should encourage critical thinking in PSTs’ self-evaluations to reduce the focus on standards and expectations. It is believed that if the pressure of designing perfect lessons is removed from the equation, and instead, sensible and realistic lessons are planned, PSTs will be more inclined to learn and respond resourcefully, creatively, and resolutely to classroom situations.

In a postgraduate course for teachers of English as a foreign language in secondary school, teacher trainees were introduced to simulations through the use of flipped learning and simulation design. The objective of the present fieldwork was to determine whether designing simulation scenarios based on literature which delves into human rights was effective in introducing teacher trainees to the use of simulations in secondary education. To achieve this, the flipped model was followed, and theoretical considerations of simulations were analyzed on the part of the teacher trainees outside of class whereas practice was done in class. This article presents the findings of the qualitative analysis of postgraduate students’ perceptions with results that show that designing simulation scenarios based on reading texts on human rights can be a powerful tool for their future students. By designing simulation scenarios, the teacher trainees could see simulations potential to use the foreign language purposefully at the time affective learning and empathy were sought through the literary pieces on human rights.

This chapter delves into the design of simulations based on literature that can be taught in secondary school. The main objective of the present fieldwork is to determine whether designing simulations is effective in introducing teacher trainees to the use of simulations in secondary education and build mindful global awareness over the issue of human rights. To achieve this, the flipped learning model is followed in which literary pieces and videos are read and analyzed on the part of the teacher trainees outside of class whereas practice, discussion, and simulation design are done in class. The findings of the qualitative analysis of postgraduate students’ perceptions are presented. Results show that the postgraduate students participating in the design of simulations based on reading texts on human rights find simulations as powerful tools to promote human rights and social consciousness.

Today, learning is perceived as a challenge that must be faced simultaneously on numerous fronts. Indeed, learning is no longer confined to the classroom. Students have the opportunity to learn inside and outside the classroom walls. Technology plays its part, as does the abundance of information available on social networks and in the mass media. Educators must stay abreast of change as information and potentially useful technological resources leave traditional education behind. Optimising class time through new methods, techniques and resources is paramount in today’s education systems. This paper presents the results of a quantitative study of students’ written production in English. The English writing skills of engineering students were developed using situational (or class) simulations and a large-scale web-based simulation in real time. Quantitative analysis of students’ written production was used to test for differences between experimental and control groups. The goal of this study was to show that simulation-based instruction contributes significantly to students’ progress in written production in English. The results showed that students who received simulation-based instruction (experimental group) significantly improved their English writing skills, primarily in terms of organisation and linking of ideas more than students who attended a regular English course (control group).

The project presented here reports a learning experience based on virtual exchange and simulation. It aims to know the potential of virtual exchange amongst pre and in-service teachers, and of web-based simulation to broaden the knowledge of future English as a Second Language or Foreign Language teachers (ESL/EFL) on educational issues such as active methodologies, including flipped classroom, shared teaching through Lesson Study, classroom management and the potential of storytelling. For this reason, pre-service teachers in Valencia carry out a simulation through virtual exchanges with future teachers, in-service teachers and university teachers from seven countries: Austria, Norway, Tunisia, the United States, Argentina, England and Romania. Mixed teams are created and a calendar for synchronous meetings is designed through Microsoft Teams. After the exchanges, the pre-service teachers from Valencia hold a reflection session ‘debriefing’ and answer individually a Likert questionnaire about their experience. Furthermore, in-service teachers and university teachers participate in another reflection session to comment on aspects of the proposal. This session, with the contributions from the professionals, gives shape to the following study.