The METLA team (Dr Maria Stathopoulou Magdalini Liontou, Phyllisienne Gauci and Silvia Melo-Pfeifer) presented the topic "Embracing the "multi-" in language assessment through cross-linguistic mediation: the METLA project" at the yearly Symposium of the Finnish Association of Applied Linguistics (AFinLA) (27-29 October 2022) in Helsinki.
AFinLA 2022: abstracts, p. 127:
“Maria Stathopoulou, Magdalini Liontou, Phyllisienne Gauci & Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer: Embracing the “multi-” in language assessment through cross-linguistic mediation: the METLA project.
Despite growing interest and renewed calls to embrace a move towards multilingualism in education, particularly in developing and implementing plurilingual pedagogies, a pervasive monolingual mindset can still be seen in language assessment. In this presentation, we discuss how we can promote a more inclusive approach to language assessment since the environment in which our learners live and thrive is “multi-”, e.g. multilingual, multicultural and multimodal. We suggest that this can be achieved by introducing crosslinguistic mediation in the language classroom. According to the CEFR-CV, “in (cross-linguistic) mediation, the user/learner acts as a social agent who creates bridges and helps to construct or convey meaning (…) from one language to another” (Council of Europe, 2020, p. 90) and by doing so, they promote social inclusion and enhance participation initially in the language classroom and then beyond. Notably, we present the role of cross-linguistic mediation in language assessment and the key considerations for evaluating it. We also provide illustrative examples from the Mediation in Teaching, Learning and Assessment (METLA) project carried out within the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML). Particularly, in the METLA project, we focus on formative assessment tasks in which we promote the use of different languages. The aim is twofold for the learners: to evaluate their performance of cross-linguistic mediation and, through reflection, to develop their mediation skills.
Council of Europe (2020). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment Companion volume with new descriptors. Council of Europe. https://rm.coe.int/commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for-languages-learning-teaching/16809ea0d4.”
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