Abstract

This book contributes to the growing field of foreign language teaching and testing by shedding light on mediation between languages. Stathopoulou offers an empirically-grounded definition of mediation as a form of translanguaging and offers tools and methods for further research in multilingual testing. The book explores what cross-language mediation entails, what processes and strategies are involved, and the challenges often faced by mediators. As well as stressing the importance of administering tests which favour cross-language mediation practices, the author encourages the implementation of language programmes which promote the mingling-of-languages idea and target the development of language learners’ effective translanguaging practices. Researchers studying translanguaging, multilingualism, multilingual testing and the use of mother tongue in the foreign language classroom will all find this book of interest.

This book provides a well-written, comprehensive review of the concept of mediation, its development and applications today as a form of translanguaging in social, pedagogic and linguistic contexts. The author provides an empirically-based taxonomy of textual mediation strategies and suggests ways of developing descriptors for aspects of translanguaging and mediation. The work represents a significant contribution to an under-developed but crucial field of enquiry.  

Maria Stathopoulou is a Research Fellow at the RCeL (Research Centre for Language Teaching, Testing and Assessment), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, an Adjunct Lecturer at the National Technical University of Athens and a Tutor at the Hellenic Open University. Her research interests include foreign language teaching and testing, translanguaging and multilingual practices and assessment of written performance. She is also an expert member of the ad hoc working group concerning the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), Council of Europe, Strasbourg.

This inspired book is a must-read for professionals in the field of language teaching and testing, which is politically guilty for contributing to the view that the foreign language learning results are best when languages are kept apart from one another in the classroom. In this context, it has shown total disregard for the development and assessment of learners’ cross-language mediation competence: the stirring concern of this well-researched study.

This study tackles a timely and yet underinvestigated area of foreign language education, that of cross-language mediation. By casting new light on the limitations of a narrowly monolingual vision of language education and testing, the book offers a substantial contribution to researchers and practitioners alike. Readers are invited to venture into an ambitious plurilingual perspective, one that stresses the dynamic and reflective nature of the language learning process.