In the field of language education, mediation has been described as a language activity in its own right by the CEFR (2001): “In both the receptive and productive modes, the written and/or oral activities of mediation make communication possible between persons who are unable, for whatever reason, to communicate with each other directly. Translation or interpretation, a paraphrase, summary or record, provides for a third party a (re)formulation of a source text to which this third party does not have direct access.” (p.&nbps;14)
For the Guide for the development and implementation of curricula for plurilingual and intercultural education (2016) “In modern language teaching, presented as an emblematic example, mediation may be defined as an interface between comprehension and production. The strong emphasis on both the plurilingual and the cultural dimension in foreign language mediation activities means that mediation is an important part of any curriculum for plurilingual and intercultural education.” (pp. 11-12)
Further information
The Companion Volume to the CEFR (2020) stresses that cross-linguistic mediation “involve[s] social and cultural competence as well as plurilingual competence” (p. 91). Given the variety of situations in which mediation is mobilised and the complexity of the ways in which it is carried out, the descriptor scales are presented here in three groups, which implies a broader definition:
“'Mediating a text' involves passing on to another person the content of a text to which they do not have access, often because of linguistic, cultural, semantic or technical barriers. […]
'Mediating concepts' refers to the process of facilitating access to knowledge and concepts for others, particularly if they may be unable to access this directly on their own. […]
'Mediating communication' aims to facilitate understanding and shape successful communication between users/learners who may have individual, sociocultural, sociolinguistic or intellectual differences in standpoint.” (p. 91)
Beacco J.-C. et al. (2016), Guide for the development and implementation of curricula for plurilingual and intercultural education, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, available at www.coe.int/en/web/language-policy/guide-for-the-development-and-implementation-of-curricula-for-plurilingual-and-intercultural-education.
Coste D. & Cavalli M. (2015), Education, mobility, otherness – The mediation functions of schools, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, available at https://rm.coe.int/education-mobility-otherness-the-mediation-functions-of-schools/16807367ee, accessed March 2017.
Council of Europe (2001), Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, assessment, Strasbourg, available at https://rm.coe.int/1680459f97.
Council of Europe (2020), Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, assessment – Companion volume with new descriptors, Strasbourg, available at https://rm.coe.int/common-european-framework-of-reference-for-languages-learning-teaching/16809ea0d4.