Within the complex "coral gardens" (Breen, 2001) of human learning and teacher education, participatory and mediational tools such as social relations, concepts and cultural artifacts or problem-posing activities, deserve more time and effort as they are scarcely investigated. This exploratory study with both cognitive-interactionist and sociocultural perspectives aims at shedding light on the ELT trainees' views about the use of such tools through project work during their pre-service teacher training courses at a Turkish university under a mixed-methods research design. A thick description of the trainees' interpretations of their engagement with project work displayed that participants supported the use of such tools as a teaching strategy that values themes and contents of their interest and choice regarding learning and teaching language skills and research. They showed willingness to undergo an authentic and meaningful learning/teaching experience by expressing themselves through sustained participation in such project-based activities though they noted that there is still a need for the reconsideration of the whole curriculum in line with a more transformative approach.