Mediation activities aimed at c1 level – practical implications

Abstract

Mediation, mediation activities, as well as mediation strategies, have become an important issue in both scientific reflection and foreign language teaching practice. The vast majority of researchers agree that the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2001) does not give these elements of language proficiency their proper place. Their precise description — contained in the CEFR Companion Volume published by the Council of Europe in 2020 — encouraged more and more linguists and practitioners of foreign language teaching to take into account the development of mediation competence in their scientific and didactic activ­ities. The aim of this article is to discuss selected theories related to mediation in Polish language classes with foreigners, and then incorporate them into practical activities. The author describes her own mediation tasks that she carried out with students at C1 level, using the case study method. Later, she analyzes the results of a micro-survey conducted among the participants. Their reception of mediation activities leads to conclusions that may be useful when creating subsequent mediation tasks. The conclusions from the study concern both the construction of mediation tasks (it is worth introducing elements that affect emotions and competitive ones), as well as the preparation of people participating in their implementation; it is worth familiarizing them with the idea behind such activity and carrying out tasks introducing the development of mediation competence.