23rd SEPTEMBER 2025

 Dear all,

this is what we did yesterday in class:

- you watched a video of my kitchen and later had to answer some questions

- You watched this presentation to understand what MEDIATION is about:

https://prezi.com/view/sEey3sSGLfsahFmmy7lt/

- These are the STEPS for a good mediation:

Mediation is a technique used to express relevant aspects of a text in another language. 

Do not translate literally!! You have to process the text. The task is given in a specific situation, e.g. you help a tourist to understand information in Spanish, you write an article for an American school’s year book using a Spanish source, etc. 

Step 1: Read the task carefully to find out what information your addressee needs. 

Step 2: Read the text given to get its meaning and intention. 

Step 3: Highlight or underline keywords. Don’t panic if the text is long and /or complex – Concentrate on the points relevant for the focus of the mediation / to the addressee and leave out the rest. 

Step 4: Take notes in English to process the relevant passages from the Spanish text. Use your own words. Sometimes it is useful to simplify or paraphrase important words or phrases. 

Step 5: Structure your notes according to the task – if necessary, rearrange the structure of the original text. 

Step 6: If there are passages in the text which need explanation to be clarified, add further information. Don’t forget to explain concepts that are typical of one culture but not of the other, e.g. “Abitur” (final exam taken at German schools for higher education). Step 7: Adapt your language (style, register) to the task and addressee. In an article for a school year book, you use relatively formal language; in an email to a friend, you write more informally.

- I gave you a text in Spanish to mediate in the class

- Then, we checked our homework on page 254. Summarizing a text

- We did exercises 5b, c and d on page 11 in your books. Listening exercise

HOMEWORK:

- For next week: exercise f on page 254. Write a post for an online English magazine about the Mediterranean diet. Write 120-150 words. Use the useful phrases to introduce the topic, describe the important ideas, talk about research, support examples, and give a conclusion

- For tomorrow: complete the sentences with either present simple or continuous. Worksheet attached to the email