SUMMARY OF THEORY UNIT 9

SECONDARY

RD 1631/ 06

•  Nowadays, the approach recommended by educational authorities for ELT is a

communicative, eclectic, and task-based one in which communication and interaction using

all skills, both receptive and productive, are to be fostered in all stages of the learning

process.

•  The final goal of language is not language itself but language as an instrument for

communication, “…so that SS can use the language to understand, to speak, to read and to

write.” In this unit we will analyse what pertains to mediation skills and activities

in the national and regional legislation

We will focus on:

- the processes of oral and written mediation

-  their differences, stages and strategies

-  their educational implication

D 231/ 07

Directive Aug 10 / 07

1.  Introduc,on  

2.  Ac,vi,es  of  linguis,c  communica,on:  media,on  

Communication is the activity or process of giving information to other people or other living things using signals such as:

speech body movements or radio signals.

In a narrower sense, it can be defined as a mutual exchange between two or more individuals. Obviously, language is just one of the many tools used in the process of communication, since verbal communication is only one side of the issue. Actually, a conversation includes a great variety of non-verbal communication.

2.1.  Linguis+c  communica+on  

“…communication is understood as: Canale stated in 1983:

the exchange & negotiation of information between 2 individuals through the use of

oral and written modes & production and comprehension processes

verbal and non-verbal symbols

Communication is a process of information exchange.

In communication we must use a shared code.

Psychological and sociological aspects are involved in it.

This code implies a shared knowledge of reality and of the symbols used to represent it- This is studied by Semiotic and Semiology mainly.

Both the message production and comprehension involve processes which require cognitive skills to code and decode the message.

This is the field of Cognitive Psychology.

According to Jakobson (1960), in a model of linguistic communication, there are two layers of

description: one describing the various elements of language use, and one which shows what

humans do with the language when they use it.

The elements in Jakobson’s model are:

CONTEXT (Referent) ADDRESSEE

ADDRESSER CHANNEL

MESSAGE CODE

•  The emitter or addresser and recipient or addressee need to share a code, made up of a series of signs.

•  These signs are made of something material associated to a meaning. •  The relationship between the meaning and the material sign is conventional •  The emitter encodes a message when s/he chooses an element of the code and emits

it; and the recipient decodes the message, when s/he understands it and responds accordingly.

•  The context is the situation where the communicative act is produced, and it is known by both the emitter and the recipient.

•  Finally, the channel is the medium through which the message is transmitted. •  Another concept which is present in the process of communication is that of noise,

which is any disturbance that may appear in the channel of communication. •  Its presence is the reason for the quantity of redundancy we find in messages.

2.1.1.  Communica+ve  modes  

The Interpersonal Mode

•  Two-way communication between individuals using receptive skills (listening and reading, sometimes enhanced by viewing) and productive skills (speaking and writing, sometimes enhanced by showing).

•  The interpersonal mode is characterized by active negotiation of meaning among individuals, either listeners and speakers, or readers and writers.

•  Participants observe one another to see how well their meanings and intentions are being communicated and make adjustments and clarifications accordingly.

•  As a result, there is a higher probability of ultimately achieving the goal of successful communication in this mode than in the other two modes.

•  The interpersonal mode is most obvious in conversation, but both the interpersonal and negotiated dimensions can be realized through reading and writing, such as the exchange of personal letters or of electronic mail (e-mail) messages.

The Interpretative Mode •  One-way communication using receptive skills of listening and reading, & sometimes

viewing. •  The interpretive mode is focused on the cultural interpretation of meanings that occur in

written & spoken form without active negotiation of meaning with the writer or speaker. •  Such instances of "one-way" reading or listening include the cultural interpretation of texts,

movies, radio and television broadcasts, and speeches. •  Interpretation differs in that it implies the ability to "read (or listen) between the lines." •  Since the interpretive mode does not allow for active negotiation between the reader &

writer or the listener & the speaker, it requires knowledge of culture from the outset. •  It must be noted, however, that cultural literacy and the ability to read or listen between the

lines are developed over time and through exposure to the language and culture.

The Presentational Mode

•  1-way communication using productive skills of speaking and writing, sometimes showing.

•  The presentational mode refers to the creation of formal messages to be interpreted by

listeners or readers without opportunities for the active negotiation of meaning.

•  The presentational mode describes how the creator of a written or spoken utterance orders

the presentation of text to achieve the maximum comprehension by an audience.

•  Examples include the writing of reports and articles or the presentation of speeches.

•  These examples of "one-way" writing and speaking require a substantial knowledge of

language and culture from the outset, since the goal is to make sure that the listening or

reading audience will readily understand the messages conveyed.

CEFRL (2001): mediation = one of the four types of activities in the foreign language classroom, the remaining three being reception, production and interaction.

•  Mediation makes communication possible between people who are unable, to communicate with each other directly.

•  Translation or interpretation, a paraphrase, summary or record, provides a third party with a (re)formulation”

•  In most cases, the user is producing their own text to express their own meanings.

•  In others, they are acting as a channel of communication between two or more persons, mediation, may be interactive or not.

•  Most situations involve a mixture of activity types. For example, students read a text, answer comprehension questions and then summarize it.

2.2.  Media+on  

2.3.1. Translation and interpretation

Kaye (2009) considers a negative impact on learners and then on teachers:

1. Translation teaches learners about language, but not how to use it

2. It does not help learners develop their communication skills

3. It encourages learners to use L1, when the aim of modern teaching is to remove it from the classroom except in cases of relevant code-switching

4. Translation activities are tricky to set up and entail a great deal of preparation

5. Translation requires a motivated class

6. The teacher needs a sophisticated knowledge of the L1 and the L2 culture.

2.3.  Ac+vi+es  for  media+on  

However, translations can have a positive impact, too:

1. Translation can practice all language skills.

2. They require accuracy, clarity and flexibility.

3. Translation is by its nature a highly communicative activity.

The challenge is:

–  to make sure that the content being communicated is relevant

–  and that we exploit all possibilities for communication during the activity:

Translation in groups can encourage learners:

–  to discuss the meaning and use of language

–  as they work through the process of understanding

–  and then looking for equivalents in another language.

Kaye proposes activities which include translation.

Some have communicative potential and other focus on language forms:

1.  Groups work on translating sections of a text, and then regroup parts into a text

2.  Learners bring in examples of L1 language or L2 for discussion and translation.

3.  Learners bring in short texts/news items/jokes, explain why they like them, use

them for translation, and compare their versions (or an ´official´ version).

4.  Learners translate and then other learners back translate.

5.  Learners look at ´poor´ translations and discuss the causes of errors.

6.  Learners find different kinds of texts for comparison and translation: e.g. e-mails,

graffiti, technical texts, post-its.

Translation is also present in grammar and vocabulary activities.

Such activities can allow the teacher to focus students´ attention on points of possible interference from L1, false friends and lexical fields.

2.3.2. Summarizing

•  Summarizing involves putting the main idea or ideas of a text into your own words,

including only the main point or points.

•  Yatsko (2011): text summarizing has been widely used in foreign language teaching

(FLT) since it involves such skills as memorizing and using in speech or writing a

number of lexical units, transforming syntactic structures and defining connections

between sentences.

•  Summary writing activities are included in:

1. Graded reader work, as students are asked to summarize a chapter.

2. Any reading comprehension task, where the summary reflects the

comprehension of the text.

3. Other writing tasks in which students reflect ideas of somebody else´s texts,

oral or written, like lyrics, speeches, explanations and recipes.

2.3.3. Paraphrasing and quoting •  As part of a summary of an article, a chapter, or a book, a writer might include paraphrases

of various key points blended with quotations of striking or suggestive phrases.

Quotations must be identical to the original, attributed to the original author.

Paraphrasing, involves putting a passage from source material into your own words.

•  Activities to paraphrase provide a chance to manipulate different aspects of language at the same time: skills, grammar, vocabulary, or L1 and L2 comparisons.

•  Summarizing, paraphrasing and quoting are important academic skills for the study of different text, not only in the foreign language. A reading comprehension activity which concludes by a summary paraphrasing or quoting is legitimate in secondary education.

•  The steps to follow:

ü  Students read the entire text, noting the key points and main ideas.

ü  They summarize in their own words what the single main idea of the text is.

ü  They paraphrase important supporting points that come up in the text.

ü  They consider any words that should be quoted directly.

•  Strategies which students are supposed to follow to make translation or

summarizing beneficial for their competence in communication in the foreign

language.

•  This theoretical framework is given by the principles of action-oriented approach.

One important approach especially influential in the field of translation and

intercultural communication is intercultural language education or teaching (ILT).

•  Learners acquire language by accomplishing tasks. The intercultural curriculum

focuses less on tasks that exchange information and more on tasks that explore how

we construct a sense of cultural identity.

3.  Strategies  for  oral  and  wri<en  media,on  

Pedagogy for ILT is based on the following five principles:

•  Active construction

•  Making connections

•  Social interaction

•  Reflection

•  Responsibility

•  Mediation strategies reflect ways of coping with the demands of using finite

resources to process information and establish equivalent meaning.

•  The process involves:

1. Pre-planning to organize and maximize resources: developing background

knowledge, locating supports, preparing a glossary…

2. How to tackle the task: considering the interlocutors´ needs, formulating what

has just been said, generally juggling with two units simultaneously (previewing).

Sts note ways of expressing things to extend their glossary (noting possibilities,

equivalences), and to construct islands of reliability. They also need to use

techniques to avoid breakdown – whilst maintaining previewing (bridging gaps).

3. Evaluation takes place at a communicative level: (checking congruence) and at a

linguistic level (checking consistency of usage) and, with written translation, leads

to repair through consultation of reference works and people knowledgeable in the

field concerned (thesaurus and experts)

•  Learning to learn is a skill indicated by the CEFRL :

it includes handling dictionaries, creating glossaries and making informed choices

of lexical items to use in the process of mediation or other activities.

There exist different types of dictionaries.

•  The nature of word lists: general and restricted dictionaries.

•  The kind of information: translation, pronouncing, etymological.

•  The language in which the information is given: monolingual vs. bilingual

dictionaries.

•  The prospective user: advanced learners of English; children, students,

•  The medium which is used: paper, DVD.

•  The main skills that students need to develop when using dictionaries are:

1. Finding words quickly; it involves knowing the type of the dictionary, its

characteristics, or knowing how to handle the software which includes the list of

words

2. Finding the right meaning of an English word

3. Finding the right spelling

4. Finding the right English translation of a word in your language

5. Knowing when to use the dictionary

4.  Conclusion  

•  FL study involves direct work will all linguistic skills, as established by the National and

Regional Decrees, as well as by the CEFRL and the EPL.

•  Besides, cultural awareness and linguistic mediation have emerged over the last few

decades as a significant part of the language teaching and learning process. That is, L2 users

need to understand L2 communication as a holistic process and thus be aware of their own

needs and those of others when proper understanding is not fully guaranteed by the first

stages of the communication process.

•  Besides, the contribution to Key Competences, namely, Digital and information

processing comp, and Social and Civic comp. will naturally enrich the possibilities to

practise mediation skills in a real context, with speakers of the L2 from different

countries, thanks to the endless possibilities of ICT nowadays.