Linguistic Mediation in Adult Language Education: Past, Present and Future

Abstract

Five years after linguistic mediation irrupted into adult foreign language teaching at Official School of Languages (EOI), its assimilation and development have been equally fruitful and challenging, whilst mostly compliant and adaptive. This paper surveys the changes implemented in the assessment of mediation in Andalusia and considers the alignment of the current mediation exam paper with the CEFR’s action-oriented approach, which aims to prepare language users for real-world communication. The analysis is supported by a questionnaire administered to 51 EOI teachers, revealing increased awareness and instructional progress. However, results indicate that current assessment methods fall short of effectively applying the action-oriented approach. Therefore, a revised approach more in line with the CEFR’s holistic vision is needed.