Mediation Tasks in Teaching Czech as a Second Language: A Classroom-Based Study

Nikola Popperová; Silvie Převrátilová

doi:10.2478/sm-2026-0005

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Mediation Tasks in Teaching Czech as a Second Language: A Classroom-Based Study

Sustainable Multilingualism

Volume 28 (2026): Issue 1 (June 2026)

By: Nikola Popperová and Silvie Převrátilová

Open Access

|May 2026

Abstract

This classroom-based study explores how CEFR-aligned mediation tasks can be incorporated into an A2 Czech-as-a-second-language university course for Erasmus+ students. Drawing on plurilingual and action-oriented perspectives (Council of Europe, 2020; Piccardo & North, 2019), it examines task feasibility and learner engagement across three activities: text mediation, mediation of concepts, and crosslinguistic mediation. Data from a reflective teacher-researcher diary and post-task questionnaires (n = 9) suggest that all three tasks were manageable at A2 and were experienced as meaningful. Learners reported increased willingness to participate, greater confidence in interaction, and heightened awareness of how to draw on their plurilingual repertoires to support communication. The analysis also identified pedagogical affordances and constraints related to task design, classroom interaction, and learner support at the A2 level. The study shows that mediation tasks can legitimize learners’ full linguistic repertoires in classroom interaction even at lower proficiency levels and offers practice-oriented insights for mediation-focused teaching in early-stage L2 instruction.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sm-2026-0005 | Journal eISSN: 2335-2027 | Journal ISSN: 2335-2019

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Language: English

Page range: 132 - 156

Published on: May 31, 2026

Published by: Vytautas Magnus University, Institute of Foreign Languages

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 2 issues per year

Keywords:

action-oriented approach,

cultural awareness,

Czech as a second language,

mediation,

multilingualism,

plurilingualism

Related subjects:

Linguistics and semiotics,

Applied linguistics,

Language assessment and testing,

Language policy and planning,

Theoretical frameworks and disciplines,

Bilingualism and multilingualism,

Second language acquisition

© 2026 Nikola Popperová, Silvie Převrátilová, published by Vytautas Magnus University, Institute of Foreign Languages
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License.

Volume 28 (2026): Issue 1 (June 2026)