Building Bridges: Educators’ Perspectives of Mediation in Language Education

Abstract

Mediation has emerged as a crucial component of language education in response to the growing demand for multilingual, intercultural collaboration, particularly following its inclusion in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This study investigates how primary school foreign language educators conceptualize mediation and perceive its role in the context of early language education. Data (N = 60) were collected from primary school foreign language educators through an online questionnaire in four countries and analysed using deductive qualitative content analysis. Results indicate that although some educators demonstrate a thorough grasp of mediation, most have only partial or unclear understandings of the concept. Additionally, while mediation is already being incorporated into many classrooms, its role is not fully recognized and carried out. This incomplete understanding suggests the need to broaden educators’ awareness of mediation’s scope and significance in diverse educational contexts. Moreover, the findings underscore the importance of targeted professional development and explicit pedagogical strategies to guide teachers in systematically applying mediation. By revealing that mediation is already present in classroom practices, though not explicitly recognized as such, this study emphasizes the need for a more systematic application of mediation to enhance students’ communicative competence and learning outcomes. The results further point to the growing imperative for teachers to refine their mediation knowledge to better support students in increasingly diverse and multilingual classrooms.