CEFR Mediation Strategies and Activities 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A bilingual employee verbally explains a foreign client's complaint to an English-speaking manager on the spot. Which CEFR activity is this?
- Consecutive interpreting (Correct answer)
- Translating a written contract
- Processing and synthesising text
- Facilitating a collaborative task
Correct answer: Consecutive interpreting
Consecutive interpreting is real-time spoken mediation between two parties in different languages, as the employee performs here.
Question 2: Which strategy would a C1-level mediator use when two colleagues have opposing viewpoints during a team discussion?
- Avoid the conflict by redirecting conversation to neutral topics
- Identify underlying interests and propose a framework for resolution (Correct answer)
- Repeat each person's statement louder to ensure mutual understanding
- Ask each person to write their views down before speaking
Correct answer: Identify underlying interests and propose a framework for resolution
At C1, mediators can probe for underlying needs and structure a productive resolution framework for conflicting parties.
Question 3: The CEFR descriptor 'can relay in writing the main points made in a spoken discussion' falls under which category?
- Facilitating collaborative interaction
- Mediating a concept
- Relaying specific information (Correct answer)
- Interpreting spoken input
Correct answer: Relaying specific information
Relaying specific information includes transferring key points from spoken discourse into written form for others to use.
Question 4: When a mediator 'checks their understanding' during a discussion, which CEFR repair strategy are they using?
- Signalling non-understanding
- Asking for clarification
- Paraphrasing for confirmation (Correct answer)
- Scaffolding the interlocutor
Correct answer: Paraphrasing for confirmation
Paraphrasing for confirmation involves restating what was heard to verify accurate understanding before proceeding.
Question 5: In CEFR, 'mediating a concept' differs from 'mediating a text' because it focuses on:
- Simplifying vocabulary in a document
- Making an idea comprehensible rather than transferring a specific text (Correct answer)
- Switching between languages within the same sentence
- Documenting decisions made during a meeting
Correct answer: Making an idea comprehensible rather than transferring a specific text
Mediating a concept means helping others grasp an idea or notion, which may not be tied to any single source text.
Question 6: Which of the following is an example of 'online mediation' in CEFR terms?
- Translating an email into a second language before sending it
- Moderating a live video discussion between international participants (Correct answer)
- Reading subtitles to understand a foreign film
- Summarising a podcast episode in writing
Correct answer: Moderating a live video discussion between international participants
Online mediation in CEFR refers to real-time facilitation of interaction in digital environments, such as moderating video conferences.
Question 7: A teacher helps students extract key information from a dense academic article and reorganise it into a mind map. Which CEFR mediation category applies?
- Processing text to construct knowledge (Correct answer)
- Relaying specific spoken information
- Facilitating collaborative interaction in groups
- Interpreting between two languages
Correct answer: Processing text to construct knowledge
Processing text to construct knowledge covers activities where learners work with written input to build structured understanding.
CEFR Mediation Strategies and Activities 3
A bilingual employee verbally explains a foreign client's complaint to an English-speaking manager on the spot.
Which CEFR activity is this?