Mediation activities in the certification of proficiency in Polish as a foreign language. Time for (r)evolution

Abstract

At the beginning of the 21^st century, most institutional language examinations in Europe were aligned to the descriptions of language proficiency contained in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2001/2003). Meanwhile, the CEFR Companion volume, released in 2020, significantly expanded the concept of language use by introducing new scales and descriptors for mediation. The clarified and detailed mediation measures have gained a new dimension, which should be taken into account not only in language education, but also in language testing and certification. The aim of the article is to characterize mediation activities from a new perspective and to attempt to implement mediation on the ground of certification of proficiency in Polish as a foreign language. The specificity of mediation activities, mediation in examination standards for Polish as a foreign language, and the principles of creating mediation tasks which can be used by authors of tests and teaching materials will be discussed.