Structural Analysis of Pedagogic Mediation in a Foreign Language Classroom

Bibliographic Data

ID22047005
AuthorsNora Kats (0000-0002-3247-3529, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, corresponding author), Аnna Rubtsova (0000-0002-0573-0980, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University), Daria Bylieva (0000-0002-7956-4647, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University)
Year2024
Volume14
Issue4
Pages405
Publication date2024-04-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducation Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2227-7102 • E-ISSN: 2227-7102
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/educsci14040405
OpenAlexW4394749019
LanguageEN
References cited25

Cultural diffusion and a paradigm shift from a “skill-based” approach to an “action-oriented” approach in language pedagogy transform the functions of an educator in a foreign language classroom. A language instructor accepts an intermediatory role in learners’ interactions with the environment, using language as a primary mediation tool. Thus, by being involved in varied social contexts and activities, a language educator mediates learning, communication, and sociocultural environments. This study relies on a structural analysis to investigate the mediating role of a language educator. It suggests that pedagogic mediation should be viewed as a specific form of language educators’ activity and described through three dimensions: mediating learning, mediating communication, and mediating sociocultural space. In the teaching and learning context, these dimensions manifest themselves as skills to adapt to the instructional and linguistic complexity of texts, manage interaction, facilitate communication in sensitive situations, etc. Drawing upon a phenomenological research design and qualitative methods, the study develops illustrative descriptors that can be used in a foreign language classroom to assess the patterns of social, instructional, and communicative behavior of educators. The developed descriptors allowed for exploring the self-perceptions of pre-service language teachers towards their abilities for pedagogic mediation in a foreign language classroom. The results of the study identified the learning gaps among novice language teachers that can be further addressed as learning objectives while designing a curriculum for professional training in language education

Curriculum · Foreign language · Language acquisition · Language education · Mathematics education · Mediation · Pedagogy · Sociocultural evolution · Sociocultural perspective · Sociology · Communication in Education and Healthcare · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching