The document explains linguistic mediation, which involves clarifying concepts or texts for someone who may not fully understand them, either across or within languages. It details the tasks involved in mediation, particularly within the Comunidad de Madrid, emphasizing the importance of understanding the context and relevant information before creating a structured response. The process includes reading instructions, selecting key information, drafting, explaining content clearly, and reviewing the final text for coherence and correctness.

1. EOI Carabanchel
Ramiro Cebreiros

2. What is linguistic mediation?
 Helping somebody by explaining something they don’t
fully understand or don’t understand at all. It can be a
written or oral text, from one language to another
language (e.g. from L1 to L2) or within the same
language (e.g. in English).

3. Mediation tasks in EOIs
 They could be crosslinguistic (Spanish/English) or
intralinguistic (English/English).
 In Comunidad de Madrid (Pruebas de Certificación)
the tasks are always crosslinguistic, so more attention
will be paid to them.
 Specific situations where we need to help somebody by
explaining an oral or written text (or inphographics)
that will be useful to them.

4. STEPS
 Read task instructions
 Read text
 Select relevant information
 Do the mediation task (written or oral)
 Review the task (in written mediation)

5. STEP 1: READ TASK INSTRUCTIONS
Pay attention to the context of the situation:
 Who is involved?
 What is needed?
 What task do you need to do: e.g. email, application
form, letter, note, report?
 What register do you have to use: informal, formal?

6. STEP 2: READ TEXT
 Read the text carefully once, taking into account task
instructions.
 Read again those specific parts you don’t understand
very well.

7. STEP 3: SELECT RELEVANT
INFORMATION
 Taking the context and situation into account,
underline, highlight or take notes of the most useful
information.
 Select key words/expressions that you will need to
explain.
 Leave out parts that are irrelevant for the situation,
this is NOT a TRANSLATION TASK:
Example: If you need to help somebody who is 30 years
old to open a bank account and in the text there is a
section about minors, DON’T talk about it, IT’S
IRRELEVANT for your purpose.

8. STEP 4: DOING THE TASK
 Do a draft (a few short lines or even words to help you organise)
 Use language and structure according to text type and register
(formal letters, informal email, etc.).
 Start with a short introduction about the situation:
Example: for an informal email helping a friend, start by greeting
them, saying why you are writing, how you are going to help.
 Explain the text: attention to
-difficult words or expressions, try to explain them in your
own words if you don’t know the exact English equivalent.
-cultural content, untranslatable words: explain words or
expressions that are impossible to translate or difficult to
understand even with translation: e.g. food (salmorejo), forms or
documents, education system (e.g. EBAU).
 Finish the text: being polite, saying goodbye etc., according to
the type of text.

9. STEP 5: REVIEW THE TEXT
 Read through the text you have written.
 Do you understand everything?
 Do you need to structure it differently, maybe separate
some paragraphs or sentences?
 Check basic grammar and vocabulary, think of your
weaknesses and common mistakes you make.