Mediation activities and strategies in teaching and learning Polish as a foreign language

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages - CEFR (Council of Europe 2001) has served the language education community in Europe and beyond for over twenty years now. Published by the Language Policy Division of the Council of Europe as a draft in 1998 and in its final, English and French versions in 2001, the document quickly gained the status of a standard European reference for learning, teaching, and assessment in foreign language education. Translated into Polish in 2003, the CEFR was noticed with considerable interest and is currently used as a standard reference in the area of learning, teaching, assessment, and certification of proficiency in Polish as a foreign language. In 2014, a group of experts was commissioned by the Council of Europe to review, complement, and supplement the original 2001 publication, drawing on the experience gathered over the twenty years of its use. In this article, the most striking result of their work - that of redefining mediation as a fourth mode of language use (in addition to reception, production, and interaction) is briefly presented and commented upon, with the intention to indicate the educational potential of mediation activities and strategies in teaching and learning Polish as a foreign language.