Reconceptualizing Language Education With Mediation

Abstract

The central argument in this chapter is that mediation is not simply a fourth mode of communication sitting alongside the other three modes of communication in the CEFR-CV, but should continue to evolve to become a core principle of the framework and a powerful engine for reconceptualizing language education. The central goal of this chapter is to support wide-scale implementation of mediation by putting forward possible paths for helping practitioners overcome some prevalent misunderstandings regarding mediation. To provide language educators with a deeper understanding of the entangled relationship between language and context, the authors borrow the concept of context from linguistic anthropology, as well as concepts such as positioning, roles and relationships. The overlapping, yet widely differing mediation activities described in the CEFR-CV are distilled down to just two groups - single context and double context - each with its own set of student-centered competences. Practitioner-friendly recommendations are provided for classroom use.