







































English Language Teaching Educational Journal (ELTEJ) 
Vol. 2, No. 2, 2019, pp. 50-61 
E-ISSN: 2621-6485 
 

 

 

Understanding EFL Teachers’ Beliefs about Lesson Study and 

Their Knowledge Development Viewed from Social Cultural 

Theory of Vygotsky 

 
1Eko Purwanti, 2Endro Dwi Hatmanto 

1,2Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta 
1ekopurwanti@umy.ac.id, 2endrodwihatmanto@umy.ac.id  

 

Abstract 

Lesson study has been implemented in Indonesian classrooms since more than a decade ago, and it is seen 

as a means to improve teacher knowledge. This study aims to investigate secondary English teachers’ 

opinions about lesson study in relation to their knowledge development viewed from the lens of Social 

Cultural Theory of Vygotsky. Using a descriptive qualitative design, the study involved twelve secondary 

English teachers from two different cities as the participants. In collecting the data from the participants, 

group interviews were used. The findings showed that most of the participants developed their teaching 

capacity, particularly in terms of English language knowledge, teaching pedagogy, and teaching 

innovation. This implies that lesson study is worth to be conducted in different contexts of teaching and 

learning process.  

 

Keywords: lesson study, teacher knowledge, sociocultural theory, teacher professional development  

How to Cite: Purwanti, E., & Hatmanto, E. D. (2019). Understanding EFL teachers’ beliefs about lesson 

study and their knowledge development viewed from social cultural theory of Vygotsky. English 

Language Teaching Educational Journal, 2(2), 50-61.                               

INTRODUCTION  

Lesson study is a Japanese professional development by which teachers who are 

involved in a lesson study group collaboratively plan, observe, and reflect their teaching 

practices (Lewis, Perry, & Friedkin, 2009). Of several types of professional development, 

lesson study is regarded as the most suitable activity for teachers because it is conducted in 

the real classroom, using hands-on and minds-on activities (Saito, Imansyah, Kubok, & 

Hendayana, 2007), and school-based activities (Supriatna, 2011). It means that teachers 

remain in their classroom and teach their students as usual while they are doing their 

professional development.  

In implementing lesson study, teachers normally invite their colleagues such as the 

principal, peer teachers, school stakeholders, and outside specialist or expert of the subject 

to an open lesson / research lesson activity. Open lessons, or sometimes called as research 

lessons, are real classroom activities in which a model teacher delivers a lesson and other 

teachers or colleagues observe the teaching and learning process focusing on students’ 

learning (Lewis & Tsuchida, 1998). In these open lessons, teachers not only invite their 

colleagues to observe their teaching and learning process, but also welcome them to give 

input and suggestions related to their students’ learning. The main objective of lesson study 

is to ensure that students learn something from the lesson. The practice of lesson study 

applied by Japanese teachers since a century ago has proved to increase teachers’ 

competences in teaching (Farrell, 2015), and therefore lesson study has been adopted in 

Indonesian teaching and learning process, especially in secondary school contexts, since 

more than a decade ago.  

Lesson study is regarded by many researchers as a means to develop teachers’ 

knowledge (Lewis, Perry, & Hurd, 2004; Lim, White, & Chiew, 2005; Stigler & Hiebert, 

mailto:ekopurwanti@umy.ac.id
mailto:2endrodwihatmanto@umy.ac.id


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1999; Tall, 2008; Yoshida, 1999) because of its cyclical processes. In the Indonesian 

context, the cyclical process of lesson study is simplified into Plan, Do, and See. Due to the 

steps of Plan, Do, and See, teachers are exposed to various learning opportunities (Anggara 

& Chotimah, 2012). These become beneficial factors for improving teachers’ knowledge. In 

fact, teachers’ development has become an important issue in Indonesia as it corroborates 

the Teacher and Lecturer Law No 14/2005. Based on this Law, teachers and lecturers in 

Indonesia are demanded to maintain their competencies such as professional, pedagogical, 

personal, and social competencies.  Therefore, all teachers, including English Foreign 

Language (EFL) teachers must have these competencies and failing to do so will result in 

poor qualities of EFL teaching and learning process.  

The English language subject has been included in the curriculum of Indonesian 

education, starting from secondary schools to the highest levels of education. As one of the 

compulsory subjects, the English language is taught to all secondary school students by 

which the students are expected to master the four basic skills of English language such as 

listening, speaking, reading, and writing. These basic skills of English are very important 

for the students so that they can update the latest news, information, and technology. In 

addition, these skills are necessary for them to help them prepare their national exam as 

well as continue their study into higher level of education. To achieve these goals, EFL 

teaching should be effective, and in order to have effective EFL teaching, teachers should 

be qualified and competent.  However, many researches have reported that the current 

teaching and learning process of EFL in Indonesia is regarded as unsatisfying due to the low 

levels of EFL teacher competences  (Nurkamto, 2000). Furthermore, many EFL teachers in 

Indonesia do not master the English language itself so that it is very challenging for them to 

deliver the lesson and transfer their knowledge in their EFL classrooms (Lie, 2007).  

Therefore, teachers’ knowledge should be improved by implementing continuous 

professional development. 

Among various types of continuous professional development, lesson study is 

regarded as the most effective way to increase teachers’ capacity (Hendayana, 2015; Lewis, 

Perry, & Murata, 2006; Marsigit, 2015). Initially implemented in Mathematics and Science 

subjects, lesson study has now been conducted in almost all subjects, including EFL 

subject. Indeed, the development of teachers’ knowledge happens as a result of their 

interaction with other colleagues during lesson study cycles Plan, Do, and See. How these 

phases enable the teachers to improve their knowledge, especially EFL teachers at 

secondary schools in remote areas of Yogyakarta province, is quite interesting if viewed 

from Social Cultural Theory of Vygotsky. While much research are focusing on lesson 

study implementation and how lesson study build teacher’s knowledge, only few discusses 

about lesson study from the perspectives of social cultural theory. This study was then 

aimed to investigate more about the EFL teachers’ belief about lesson study and their 

knowledge development at secondary schools through the lens of Vygotsky Social Cultural 

Theory. 

 

LITERATURE REVIEW 
Lesson Study 

Lesson study was initially implemented in Indonesia in 1998-2003 by three leading 

universities in collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through 

IMSTEP (Indonesian Mathematics and Science Teacher Education Project).  Being 

successful in Indonesia (Suratno, 2012), it was then followed by various similar projects 

such as IMSTEP follow-up in 2003 – 2005, SISTTEMS (Strengthening In-Service Teacher 

Training in Education of mathematics and Science) in 2006-2008, and PELITA from 2008 



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to 2013. Since then, lesson study has been implemented by many schools in different parts 

of Indonesia.  

The concept of lesson study is simple because if teachers want to improve their 

teaching, the most effective way to do so is in the context of classroom lessons (Stigler & 

Hiebert, 1999). Lesson study becomes an important aspect to improve effective teaching 

practice due to the underlying principles attached to it, such as: 1) Teachers are able to learn 

and improve their teaching by observing other colleagues; 2) Knowledgeable teachers 

should share their knowledge and experience with novice teachers; and 3)Teachers should 

empower students’ interest and emphasize their learning quality (Burghes & Robinson, 

2010). 

As lesson study in Indonesia is conducted based on the three phases Plan, Do, and 

See, during the Plan phase, teachers collaboratively design a lesson plan based on the goals 

chosen by the teachers. The lesson plan is then discussed and revised based on the feedback 

during the discussion. The next step is delivering the lesson plan in a real teaching and 

learning process in which one teacher becomes the model teacher and other teachers 

become the observers. In this step called Do, these teachers critically observe the students’ 

learning and write detail situations about the teaching and learning process in the classroom. 

It is common to record the lesson for research and reflection purposes. When the lesson is 

completed, the teachers engage in a reflection session. This session usually begins with the 

model teacher reflected on what worked well in the lesson and what did not work based on 

the objectives of the lesson plan. Then other members of the group give their critical 

opinion focusing on the lesson and the students, not on the model teacher. They are, in fact 

critiquing themselves in the reflection session, and this is an important part of the lesson 

study because it shifts the focus from a personal evaluation to a self-improvement activity 

(Stigler & Hiebert, 1999). Based on their observations and reflections, the lesson study 

group revises the lesson plan. Once the revised lesson plan is ready, it is taught again to a 

different class with a different model teacher, and thus another cycle of lesson study begins. 

  

Sociocultural Theory and Knowledge Development 

Teachers learn through interaction with their peers, meaning that learning happens as 

a result of a sociocultural process (Bocala, 2015). Sociocultural theories explain that 

individual learning and development are attached to social events and happen as a result of 

people’s interactions with other people, objects, or events in their community (Vygotsky, 

1978). In this context, social-cultural theories appear effective to explain EFL teachers’ 

development caused by their interaction during lesson study activity. 

Vygotsky (1978) believes that knowledge construction includes both a social and 

cognitive process. According to him, community plays a central role in the social process of 

individual knowledge development. Thus, how people develop their knowledge and how 

they get meaning from their knowledge are created in social contexts. The social interaction 

between an individual and his/her community is mediated by psychological symbols such as 

language, number, arts, and technical tools such as books and a calculator. Among these 

symbols, Vygotsky puts more emphasis on language as one of the social interaction 

mediations. Though there are many forms of language such as symbols, gestures, or 

motions, the most common type of language, verbal language, is mostly used among the 

participants in the study because that type of language can make sense of complex and 

abstract thought.  Therefore, Vygotsky believes in the role of language as the most 

important tool for accessing this social knowledge. Thus, teacher learning in the study is 

mediated by language.  

In addition to the previous concept, Vygotsky also believes that learning includes 

cognitive process, meaning that learning will be effective only if an interactive process of 



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interaction such as discussion, negotiation, and sharing occurs. Further, he asserts the 

cognitive process of an individual is influenced by cultural and social factors.  In this case, 

Vygotsky mentions that the first cultural development of people on the social level is called 

inter-psychological, and the second one lies on the individual or personal level called intra-

psychological.  

Regarding the social factor, Vygotsky believes that children have curiosity and 

eagerness to learn something new that leads them to a learning situation. Learning, in this 

case, occurs through social interaction between the children and people who have more 

knowledge or as Vygotsky termed as the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO). The More 

Knowledgeable Other can be parents, teachers, coaches, experts, professionals or friends 

who can provide verbal instructions for the children. The MKO can be anyone who has a 

better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, with respect to a particular 

task, process, or concept (Vygotsky, 1978).  

Besides the MKO, Vygotsky (1978) introduces the concept of the Zone Proximal 

Development (ZPD) to describe a difference between what a child can complete 

independently and what a child can complete with the guidance of another. The gap 

between what is known and what is not known by the child creates a learning situation. To 

help the child achieves the new knowledge, the MKO gives step by step guidance based on 

the knowledge level of the child. In this case, scaffolding occurs. Despite the fact that 

sociocultural theory is frequently used to frame child’s knowledge development researches, 

as mentioned earlier its theory is still relevant to explain adult learners (Bonk & Kim, 1998) 

like the participants in this current study, and few researchers and educators have addressed 

adult learning from sociocultural theory (Bocala, 2015; Bonk & Kim, 1998).  

  Bonk and Kim (1998) argued that sociocultural theory can be used not only to 

explain children and students’ cognitive development but also to frame adult learning. Also, 

as learning resources have expanded, adult learning becomes more self-directed; therefore, 

there are more chances to assist and scaffold adult learning. Concerning the principles of 

sociocultural theory such as the ZPD and the MKO, learning assistance may come from 

friends, relatives, text resources, mass media, technology, or work colleagues. However, 

one of the greatest challenges and opportunities in adult education is utilizing assisted 

learning practices teacher-centred when most adult learners have lived their entire lives with 

more traditional, programs and assembly line schooling (Bonk & Kim, 1998).  

 

Previous Related Studies  

Sociocultural theory of Vygotsky has been applied in various fields of education and 

other disciplines of study. Research on a group of EFL teachers implementing lesson study 

was conducted using Vygotskian sociocultural theory as one of its theoretical frameworks 

to understand the interaction among the EFL teachers, their students and the administrators 

of the school, and the trace of teachers' cognitive development (Tasker, 2014). Using a 

grounded content analyses, the findings showed that 1) school administrator involvement is 

necessary to affect school change; 2) outside experts might need to take a more active, 

longer-term role to help teachers adopt a critical perspective; 3) EFL teacher 

professionalization should include participation in professional development activities; and 

4) lesson study is a viable ‘second stimulus’ and potential to provide teachers with an 

effective conceptual tool to mediate their learning and bring about expansive 

transformation; and 5) sociocultural theory provides a theoretical foundation for 

understanding how teachers learn through participation in lesson study (Tasker, 2014). 

An interesting study on sociocultural theory was also conducted by Lantolf and 

Beckett (2009) who analyzed forty-eight notable publications as an attempt to seek common 

patterns emerging from those research focusing on the theory that all mental activity is 



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symbolically mediated. Within the general mediational framework, the findings showed 

four themes which characterized their publications which can support the literature such as 

1) the theory as a lens for interpreting data (naturally occurring as well as elicited), 2) the 

theory as an educational framework for promoting L2 development (i.e., developmental 

education), 3) a concern with specific concepts with which the theory operates, and 4) a 

concern with explicating a concept or theoretical issue.  

While the research focusing on sociocultural theory in relation to teaching and 

learning process have been done by many researchers, the one focusing on lesson study is 

still in scarcity. Therefore, this study was aimed to bridge the gap. The findings on 

sociocultural researches are expected to inform the current study focusing on adult learners 

such as the English teachers and the English lecturers. As adult have more opportunities to 

learn, their learning environment are developing too. With more exposure to learning 

possibilities, adults have more opportunities to improve their knowledge, and in this case, a 

sociocultural view of adult learning can promote their learning and better utilize their 

experience and wisdom (Bonk & Kim, 1998).  

 

RESEARCH METHOD 

The study employed the qualitative research approach using a qualitative descriptive 

design which enabled the researcher to describe in detail what was happening in a group, in 

a conversation, or in a community (Lambert & Lambert, 2012). In addition, as 

understanding the EFL teachers’ beliefs about lesson study and their knowledge 

development requires human experiences and invites the researcher's interpretation to 

understand their meanings and their impact on the world, this qualitative approach fits into 

this study. In addition to the qualitative approach, a qualitative descriptive is chosen as the 

research design. The qualitative descriptive design used in the study aimed to give “a 

comprehensive summarization, in everyday terms, of specific events experienced by 

individuals or groups of individuals" (Lambert & Lambert, 2012, p.255). In this case, the 

design was applied to describe detail summary  of particular events related to lesson study 

implementation experienced by a group of EFL teachers at secondary school levels. 

Focus group interviews were used to collect the data from the participants. Focus 

group interviews were intended to obtain the participants’ beliefs about lesson study in a 

‘permissive, nonthreatening environment’ (Krueger & Casey, 2014). The focus group 

interviews which consisted of twelve EFL teachers enabled these teachers to ‘hear each 

other’s responses and to make additional comments beyond their original responses as they 

hear what other people have to say’ (Patton, 2002). The data collected from these EFL 

teachers enabled the researchers to figure out the teachers’ development as the result of 

their interaction with other peer teachers in implementing lesson study in secondary schools 

level. 

Twelve participants included in three lesson study groups were involved in the 

study. Two groups were from Braga (pseudonym) province, while the other one was from 

Yamuna (pseudonym) province. The idea to include different groups of participants was to 

find out whether there were differences in lesson study implementation between one 

province and another province. In addition, these groups of lesson study implemented 

different types of lesson study; the junior secondary school teachers conducted Subject 

Teacher Lesson Study and the senior high school teachers implemented School Based 

Lesson Study. Purposive sampling focusing on selecting the participants who were potential 

to give resourceful information was used to obtain the objectives of the study (Patton, 

2002).  

In selecting the participants, some criteria were applied. First, these EFL teachers 

were involved in lesson study for at least three years so that they had enough experiences 



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regarding lesson study. Next, these EFL teachers implemented lesson study in their teaching 

so that they experienced lesson study cycle starting from Plan, Do, and See. Finally, these 

participants were willing to participate voluntarily in the study. Having these criteria, these 

participants were expected to be familiar with lesson study, and therefore they were able to 

share their experiences and give their opinions about how lesson study was implemented 

and how it supported their knowledge development in teaching. In presenting the findings, 

the participants’ pseudonym was used in order to maintain their confidentiality.  

 

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 

The data collected from the focus group interviews revealed that there were three 

themes emerging from the participants. After implementing lesson study for more than three 

years, most of the participants believed they developed their English language knowledge 

and teaching pedagogy as well as teaching innovation as the results of their interactions 

with their peer colleagues when conducting lesson study. These findings are now discussed 

in the following section.   
    

Lesson Study Develops EFL Teachers’ English Language Knowledge  

Since the very beginning, the participants were required to work together in all 

phases of lesson study. As the teachers worked together in planning, observing, and 

debriefing, at the same time, lesson study also promoted sharing activity among these 

teachers so that they were able to exchange their teaching experiences. The data obtained 

from the focus group interviews revealed that collaboration and sharing activity during 

lesson study phases had improved these EFL teachers’ capacity, especially in their English 

knowledge. The following statement from Isabel  proves the fact.   

    

“During planning, we discuss many things, such as finding appropriate media to 

teach a certain topic, followed by (planning) the steps. Thus, when we get back (to 

our school), we still remember about this topic as well as the steps to conduct the 

lesson” (Isabel).  

 

Based on this excerpt, it is shown that Isabel improved her English knowledge due 

to her involvement in the first step of lesson study, Plan, by which she worked together with 

her peer colleagues in designing the lesson. Thus, it can be concluded that Plan phase in 

lesson study is useful in improving her English language knowledge.  

Indeed, a lesson plan took important roles in teachers' teaching as it functions as ‘a 

scenario' for teachers so that they knew what to do in the classroom and what learning 

targets should be achieved. Therefore, lesson plans should be designed carefully and with 

full of thought by the teachers. To achieve learning objectives, the teachers should design 

their own lesson plan as they know the characteristics of both the students and the class. 

However, the situation is slightly different in lesson study process by which lesson plans are 

discussed and written collaboratively by teachers. In some cases, sometimes the model 

teacher makes the lesson plan herself, and after that, she asks for inputs and suggestions 

from the peer teachers. The interaction happening during the discussion creates learning 

activity among the teachers, and they are motivated to perform better teaching by designing 

the best lesson plan. This model of lesson plan designing seems suitable for these teachers 

and they admit that they feel more confident using their lesson plans due to the 

collaboration attached in it. This is what Chloe said: 

 

"Lesson study improves my English knowledge because we plan the lesson 

collaboratively. So, we discuss the lesson plan together. Of course, during the 



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discussion, sometimes we do not know about something. But, we can always ask to 

other peer teachers.”  

 

As mentioned earlier, a lesson plan functions as a ‘teaching scenario' so that it can 

help teachers perform their teaching in front of the class. In lesson study, the lesson plan is 

presented in an open lesson by the model teacher, and when it is over, the teachers gather 

and discuss what has happened in the classroom. One of the discussions is related to the 

lesson plan regarding its effectiveness in achieving learning goals in the class. Based on the 

discussion in the reflection session, the lesson plan is often revised and then applied in 

another class. The revised lesson plan then can be used by other teachers in their class. 

Thus, the authenticity of the lesson plan is not important as it is written by many teachers, 

and it can be used repeatedly by other teachers in the same group of lesson study. Also, the 

lesson plan is not a fixed thing which cannot be revised, so the more teachers use the lesson 

plan, the better the lesson plan because it can be continuously revised based on the real 

situation happens in the classroom.  

Similarly, the improvement in teachers' English knowledge can also be traced from 

another phase of lesson study such as Do (Observation).  Amy stated: “I learned from Bu 

Rini, a lecturer from a public university in Braga city, when she taught ‘English for 

Children’ using English songs. I previously never used songs, but now, I use English songs 

and the students like them much.” It is interesting to find the fact that Amy was inspired by 

one of the expertise during lesson study implementation in which this expertise 

demonstrated teaching practices using English songs as the media to teach in the classroom. 

As she found the effectiveness of the media, she applied this teaching method in her 

classroom. Interestingly, this teaching improvement led to another positive thing when she 

added another statement: “Also, I try to use media when teaching (English) now...” 

  These excerpts show that the nature of lesson study which involves teachers’ 

collaboration and sharing activities in its phase has improved the EFL teachers’ English 

knowledge. Thus, most of these participants believed their teacher’s capacity developed due 

to lesson study. Indeed, the EFL teachers involving in lesson study have been exposed to 

social interactions in which they meet professionals such as various teachers from different 

subjects and other professionals in education such as the principal, the superintendents, the 

students' parents, the knowledgeable resources, and so forth. Collaboratively, these 

professionals interact with each other and design open lessons which focus on students’ 

learning aiming to improve their achievement. To achieve their goals, these professionals 

must have similar visions and missions.  Because the teachers and the other professionals 

have many opportunities to learn from each other while doing collaborative work in lesson 

study, their knowledge develops. This situation fits the sociocultural theory of Vygotsky 

which states that individuals’ knowledge develops as a result social interaction. This finding 

is also in line with the study conducted by Tasker (2014) who stated that the interaction 

done by the teachers in lesson study became a potential trigger for these teachers to 

accelerate their learning, and therefore the social cultural theory is able to foster teacher 

learning  (Tasker, 2014). 

 

Lesson Study Develops EFL Teachers’ Pedagogy 

Besides improving English knowledge, the EFL teachers also gained skills on how 

to deliver teaching materials in front of the class. This improvement was mostly caused by 

their observation to the model teachers during open lessons and by teachers’ discussion 

during reflection sessions. Lesson study gives chances for these EFL teachers to observe 

other teachers delivering a lesson in an open lesson, a real classroom which is observed by 

other teachers. At the beginning of lesson study implementation, the teacher who was 



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teaching in the research lesson was usually a lesson study facilitator, a senior teacher, or 

even an expert or a knowledgeable resource to give good teaching samples to other 

teachers. Thus, it can be said that the model teacher represents someone who is more 

knowledgeable as mentioned by Vygotsky (1978). In this case, the teachers also got many 

of teaching methods from other teachers who taught subjects other than English. After these 

EFL teachers were mainly involved in English teaching practices and their experiences 

were limited to English teaching areas, they finally gained new teaching insights from 

teachers who taught subjects other than English. One of them mentioned: 

 

"Well…lesson study is currently implemented in all subjects, and teachers may 

attend open classes other than their subject. This is good as we (observers) can then 

get new knowledge from another teacher who teaches different subject from us, for 

example, Math teacher, or Economic teacher, and others. Thus, teachers from cross 

subject complete and inspire each other" (Hendry). 

 

In addition to the previous finding, the EFL teachers also learned teaching pedagogy 

from model teachers. These teachers got much benefit such as more learning strategies from 

these model teachers who taught other subjects. Irish said: ” When I observed open lessons 

from English class, I probably have been familiar with the (lesson plan) steps. Thus, I got 

more (experiences) when I observed lesson study from other subjects."   

Through this observation and reflection, the EFL teachers obtained many ideas in 

teaching styles and strategies.  The following excerpt described the situation: 

 

“…, we always got something (useful) ..even we can get something [teaching ideas] 

from a new teacher…only, we have to adapt this idea [of teaching] into our own 

school culture...different school different culture…and different school different 

students too…thus it all depends on us [the teachers] (Samuel). 

 

Another teacher added some more information: 

 

“From model teacher, I could get something good and bad, and if it's bad, then I 

promised myself not to do the same thing in my class. So, we adopt the positive 

things, and we ignore the negative things from another teachers' teaching. 

(Rosemary) 

 

As stated by some participants, their teaching strategies improve since they are 

involved in the interactions of professionals and peer colleagues during lesson study. The 

observation to the model teacher in the research lessons and the debriefing discussions after 

the lessons are believed to be the factors improving their teaching pedagogy. The model 

teacher in the observation session of lesson study often presents new teaching innovations, 

and thus gives ideas to the other teachers who observe the lesson. This also happened to 

preservice teachers (Soviyah, 2018). In this case, the model teacher functions as the More 

Knowledgeable Others (MKO) like what is stated by Vygotsky's social-cultural theory 

because many participants who were initially unfamiliar and unaware about certain teaching 

style became familiar and got new ideas in teaching.  Then, after that, they tried to apply 

what they got from the model teacher in the observation session into their class. It is also 

interesting to know the finding that the More Knowledgeable Others are not necessarily 

from the same subject with the teacher. One of the English teacher participants stated he got 

new techniques in teaching from a model teacher whose subject is not English. This 



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phenomenon appears reasonable as according to Vygotsky (1987) the MKO can be anyone 

who is expertise in their field.  

 

Lesson Study Develops EFL Teachers’ Teaching Innovation 

During the phases of Plan, Do, and See, the teacher participants had many 

opportunities to learn how to improve their teaching practices from peer teachers, model 

teachers, facilitators, knowledgeable resources, school principals, as well as supervisors 

from district education department which finally encouraged their motivation to become 

better teachers by applying new and innovative teaching and learning ideas. The intention to 

perform new and innovative teaching was caused by their motivation such as motivation to 

have more teaching preparation that leads to better teaching performance, motivation to 

conduct research, and motivation to be more innovative in teaching. Based on the interview 

results, most of the participants had strong motivation to perform new and innovative 

teaching practice due to collaborative observation in open lessons. Samuel mentioned: 

 

“…when I became a model teacher, I prepared my best….. However, when we 

didn’t have open lessons, we were back to our previous teaching style because it 

took a lot of time and energy in preparing an open lesson in lesson study.” (Samuel) 

  

Samuel’s statement proves that lesson study led his teaching practice to be more 

innovative due to the existence of many observers in the classroom. First, he became more 

creative and innovative in preparing his teaching when he became the model teacher in the 

open lesson. The open lesson is live teaching in which a model teacher is delivering a lesson 

while observed by peer teachers and sometimes by the school principal and superintendent. 

This enthusiasm barely happens when he teaches in a normal class where no observers 

come. Second, Samuel revealed his reluctance in conducting innovative teaching in his 

daily class due to limited time and resources. He confessed that lesson study took a lot of 

time and energy, while as a teacher, he had other responsibilities such as maintaining 

students' achievement in the national examination and support them to pass the exam.  

However, the first fact emerging from Samuel’s statement gives evidence that he 

wanted to perform better in his teaching and therefore prepared everything prior to teaching 

because of the presence of many observers in his class. Thus, it could be assumed that a 

model teacher would use all his/her efforts to perform the best teaching in the open lesson. 

In many cases, the effort to prepare better teaching by making various media or using 

various teaching techniques, no matter what reasons underline his actions, results in 

knowledge development of the teacher.  

In addition, open lessons, as a part of lesson study activity, are usually attended by 

many observers, and it often leads to learning ideas to the teachers. One of the ideas was the 

use of technology by the model teacher. Based on the focus group discussion with these 

EFL teachers, it is revealed that they seem more advanced than teachers from other 

subjects. They often employed technology and software assistance such as computer, power 

point presentation, and other teaching software. The application of technology usage by 

these EFL teachers have motivated teachers from other subject to learn technology from 

them since they also want to present the best practice of their teaching in the future. The 

followings are teachers’ excerpts on this case: 

 

“…other teachers from different subject, such as Indonesian subject were mostly 

senior teachers and they were not familiar with the use of computer in teaching. 

When they became observers and attended my class, they saw how I used power 



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points in my teaching. Then, they were motivated to use computers in their subject 

too. They wanted to learn from me” (Yendy). 

 

The excerpt above shows that EFL teachers are regarded more advanced in terms of 

their skills in teaching and their technology skills in teaching. This is caused by their 

English language skills which make them easy to learn new technology such as using 

computers, using hot potatoes software, and so forth because usually such information is 

presented in English language.  Indeed, in Indonesian context, people who can speak 

English well is regarded as prestigious, and thus having higher status than other people who 

cannot speak English. The same case also happens to the English teachers. As EFL teachers, 

they are assumed to be more sophisticated than other teachers, and thus the other teachers 

sometimes expect them to share their teaching methodology and their knowledge, especially 

in terms of Information Technology in teaching. 

 Another interesting fact about the findings of the study is that the EFL teachers 

were eager to research due to their lesson study experiences.  In addition, they were willing 

to join workshops, seminars, and similar activities where they became not only the 

participants but also the presenters where they could present their research results. The 

researches the teachers mostly did were based on their daily teaching experience. This 

situation was not common in the past because research activity was usually dominated and 

conducted by lecturers in the university level. Irish stated: 

 

"…uhm…in my school, we had assistance from a lecturer of the Indonesian 

University of Education, and she said that open lessons could be conducted using 

action research. Therefore, many teachers did action research and presented their 

research in seminars, both in local and international seminars". 

 

The idea of becoming presenters or being researchers for secondary school teachers 

was probably not present in these EFL teachers' mind in the past.  Hence, lesson study had 

brought the teachers motivation to become better or even extraordinary professionals 

because a lot of research opportunities it provides which could be conducted in their 

classroom. Indeed, the best research the teachers could do was based on their classroom 

because it was attached to their work place, manageable, affordable, and accessible (Stigler 

& Hiebert, 2009; Yoshida, 1999).  

CONCLUSION 

 The current study investigated EFL teachers opinion about lesson study in relation 

to their knowledge development viewed from the lens of social cultural theory of Vigotsky. 

The findings revealed that the EFL teachers believed they developed their English language 

knowledge and teaching pedagogy as well as teaching innovation as the result of their 

interactions with their peer colleagues during the phases of lesson study. 

 These findings bring implications that lesson study should be implemented in 

broader contexts, not only in secondary level but also in tertiary level. In addition, since 

lesson study should be carried out collaboratively and systematically, its sustainability 

should be maintained so that teachers can have more opportunities to enhance their 

professional development.  

 



     ■                E-ISSN: 2621-6485 60 

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