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Mediation in teaching, learning and assessment

What is
mediation?

Mediation
in the CEFR

Mediation tasks

Teaching
materials

Teacher's
corner

Teaching materials database

The METLA task database contains sample (cross)linguistic mediation tasks in different languages for different contexts.

Available languages

Here you can search for materials involving a specific language. This can be the language involved in the task (a language that the material addresses) and/or the language of the student’s learning material (a language students are expected to work with).

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24 teaching material(s)

Grocery list (Task 1)

xxxxxxx

A Londoner in Greece! (Task 15)

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School World Song Contest (Task 37)

This activity is about incorporating learners’ home languages and an (inter-/pluri) cultural component. The learners watch a video news item about the Eurovision Song Contest and/or read an accompanying online text - both in Language A (the language of schooling). They then condense and summarise three key points in Language B (French) about Eurovision from the two source texts for the school newspaper or the school whiteboard and collaborate to produce a poster in Language B based on the information in the texts - the aim of the poster is to advertise a multilingual school song contest. They then prepare for an oral presentation about music in their home countries in Language B (with help from their families). They also use their mediation skills to record a voice message in their home language (Language C) to explain the information in the poster to their families.

Proper use of face masks (Task 6)

Learners are expected to relay information and explain data about the correct use of face masks with the help of poster diagrams, and also to produce an approximate translation.

Airport instructions (Task 9)

This is a project activity that focuses on cross-cultural communication and the way we communicate parts of this information to different people. First, the learners read a text regarding airport transportation and write informal short messages as part of written text communication with an exchange student. Then, the learners use the same information to write a formal email to the student’s parents.

Students’ housing problems (Task 10)

The task discusses the living situation of university students in Germany and other European countries and invites learners to reflect on their plans after graduation. First, the situation is displayed in an info text and graphics. The learners then mediate the contents to a friend in the form of a voice message and explain it further in a WhatsApp message. Then they compare the situation in Germany to their friends’ and family’s experiences in other countries. In task 4, another text about living with the parents is read and mediated to another friend. Finally, the learners prepare a panel discussion (in groups) about the advantages and disadvantages of living with parents during university. They receive two texts in favour and two texts against living with parents (in English) and watch a video (in German) in order to prepare the discussion.

Maths family connect sessions (Task 11)

Learners are asked to relay information and explain data from a poster about Maths evening classes for learners accompanied by their parents.

A visitor from Mexico (Task 14)

Learners learn how to describe places through the use of adjectives, and at the same time become familiar with different text types. They practise their skills in comprehending texts in Language A and producing meaning in Language B. The lesson plan consists of five parts, each containing several steps. Communicating tourism information to people in another language is a common practise which can be taught in the classroom with steps 1-3 in the first part of the plan. The second part (step 4) involves intercultural aspects and uses a text format that learners are familiar with: a social media message. In the third part (step 5), learners can reflect on their multilingual practice. In the final two parts (steps 6 and 7), they are exposed to multimodal texts (song, video and text) and are asked to transfer information from one language to another on a relevant topic, i.e., learning foreign languages.

Hot topics and digital media (Task 16)

Engaging learners in the crisscrossing of information available in several media in different languages, this task aims at developing their critical thinking and skills of relating and interpreting. Because young people consume information in several languages, this task intends to bring their multiliteracy skills to the foreign language classroom. The tasks, even if classroom-specific, are oriented towards students’ authentic, every day needs as consumers and producers of media.

Healthy diet! (Task 17)

This task focuses on written mediation. The main activities included aim at developing learners’ skills in selecting information from source texts and relaying it into a target text in another language.

Student-teacher e-communication (Task 18)

This is a project-based task that focuses on email communication between learners and teachers. The duration of the task is two lessons. There are eight distinct steps. The aim is to familiarise learners with the style of email communication in general, and raise awareness of intercultural communication in particular.

First-aid poster (Task 22)

This is a project-based task that focuses on first-aid instructions. Learners create informative posters and present them in front of a small group of other learners.

The internet and its dangers (Task 26)

This task focuses on written mediation. It aims at developing learners’ skills in selecting information from different source texts, one of which is written in Language A (English) and another in Language B (Greek), and relaying messages into Language B (foreign language).

Celebrating Mother’s Day in Portugal (Task 29)

Learners are put in a role play situation: Celebrating Mother’s Day in Portugal. They go through some “adventures” to get to buy a present together with their dad, who doesn’t speak a word of Portuguese. The aim of the lesson is to activate learners’ previous knowledge and develop their mediation strategies and the skills needed to deal with informal situations encountered in daily life.

A Mexican in your town (Task 30)

This task aims at familiarizing learners with different text types and practising their skills in comprehending texts in Language A and producing in Language B and vice versa. In the first part, learners mediate a German text about tourism information in Spanish. Then a Spanish text is mediated into German or a heritage language, involving intercultural aspects and using a text format that learners are accustomed to: a WhatsApp message. In the third stage, learners reflect on their own experiences with mediation.

World mythology (Task 31)

The aim of this task (which could be adapted to include Languages A-B-C) is to familiarise learners with different cultures and media texts. Firstly, the they discuss the features of myths. Then, working in pairs, they listen to a YouTube video about a myth in (Language B(/C), and do the activities (e.g., to collect new vocabulary). Next, they listen to another YouTube video or read a text about a myth with the same topic in Language A and take notes in Language B. Based on their notes, they are asked to create a short podcast in Language B. Finally, they write an article for the school newspaper where they compare the two myths and discuss in Language B (/C) how myths could be used as examples of different cultures.

Organising a school trip to Germany (Task 35)

The task is based on a visit of Maltese learners to Leipzig, Germany. First, the German-speaking learners read a brochure about the main sights in Leipzig and briefly relay the information (in English) from the brochure (Activity Worksheet; text 1) in discussion with the Maltese. After that, the Maltese-speaking learners agree on a specific area of interest (in Maltese) and report back to the German-speaking learners in an email (in English). The German-speaking learners then read the part of the brochure (online; text 2) regarding the chosen topic and report information about the topic orally (in English) to the Maltese-speaking learners, in a virtual meeting. Potentially, as a follow-up activity, the Maltese-speaking learners present and discuss (in Maltese) the options they heard about in the previous step.

A visitor from Scotland (Task 39)

Learners learn how to describe places through the use of adjectives and at the same time they become familiar with different text types. They practise their skills in comprehending texts in Language A and producing a text in Language B. Communicating tourism information to people in another language is a common activity which can be developed in the classroom with the first activity. The second part involves intercultural aspects and uses a text format that learners are accustomed to: a social media message. In the third part students can reflect on their multilingual practises. In the final two parts, learners are exposed to multimodal texts (song and text) and are asked to transfer information from one language to another on a relevant topic: learning foreign languages.

The Earth’s spheres (Task 41)

This task focuses on written mediation (filling in a table). The main activities aim at: a) developing learners’ skills in selecting information from a source text (a scientific text), b) organising relevant information in specific groups, c) summarising messages in a target language, and d) developing the mediation strategies of paraphrasing, providing synonyms, and distinguishing major from minor information.

Social media and teenage life (Task 42)

This task focuses on written mediation. The main activities aim at: a) developing learners’ skills in selecting information from a source text (a blog entry), b) summarising messages in a target language, and c) developing the mediation strategies of paraphrasing, providing synonyms, distinguishing major from minor information.

Volunteering (Task 44)

Through this task, learners will have the opportunity to practise their cross-linguistic mediation skills in a variety of ways. However, it is not only different languages that are involved, but also different genres across languages.

Visiting Paris (Task 45)

This task aims to familiarise learners with the process of transferring information from one language to another with the use of videos which focus on specific monuments in Paris.

Transition Year work experience (Task 46)

The aim of the task is to compile a class Padlet (in Irish) comprising a series of video and text summaries of information learners gather online about work experience placements. They firstly watch a video in which other learners share ideas in English on work experience placements, then they use a specific web resource in English to learn about various work experience possibilities for their Transition Year placements. They choose an experience which interests them, and they learn relevant vocabulary in Irish related to careers to help them complete a task in Irish which involves contributing a video recording and short text to a class Padlet.

A newcomer in our class (Task 89)

Learners welcome a newcomer from Poland in their class. They learn how to describe classroom rules to the newcomer by using the imperative form of verbs (affirmative or negative form) and the appropriate nouns and adjectives. They practise their skills in comprehending a short text in Language A and producing meaning in Language B. The task plan consists of six steps, each containing three stages. Communicating classroom rules to a peer in another language is a common practice which can be taught in the classroom with steps 1-4, in the first part of the task plan. The second part (step 5) involves collaboration and creativity, as learners make their own posters for the school’s classrooms. In the final part (step 6) they reflect upon their multilingual experience, producing short texts which will be published on the school’s blog.

Short links to materials

CEFR proficiency levels

ISCED levels

More details on these levels

CEFR Companion Volume scales for mediating a text

Relaying specific information in speech / in writing

Explaining data in speech / in writing

Processing text in speech / in writing

Translating a written text in speech / in writing

Expressing a personal response to creative texts

More details on these scales

CEFR Companion Volume scales for mediation strategies

Linking to previous knowledge

Breaking down complicated information

Adapting language

Amplifying a dense text

Streamlining a text

More details on these scales