DEVELOPING TEXT MEDIATION SKILLS: BASED ON THE TEXTBOOK SPEAKOUT. C1-C2

The article addresses the issue of developing text mediation skills in advanced English language learning. The relevance of the study stems from the growing role of mediation in multilingual and multicultural interaction in the era of globalization and the need to integrate relevant tasks into foreign language teaching materials. The publication of the CEFR Companion Volume (2020), which specifies mediation skills and provides their illustrative descriptors, has benefited to the practical implementation of the mediation concept in contemporary teaching materials. Despite theoretical developments, the potential of modern textbooks for developing mediation skills remains insufficiently studied. The aim of the article is to reveal the potential of the modern English language textbook Speakout. C1-C2 in developing text mediation skills. The objectives included characterizing text mediation skills and analysing the range, presentation method, and comprehensiveness of tasks aimed at forming these skills within the textbook. The results of the qualitative content analysis confirmed that the textbook offers a system of tasks aimed at developing all the skills of text mediation in the intralingual context, corresponding to the C1–C2 CEFR level descriptors. It was found that the development of text mediation skills occurs in a purposeful and systematic manner through the integration of appropriate tasks both into the main modules and into the four lessons of the Mediation Bank section. As a result, all modes of communication–mediation, interaction, production, and reception–are taught in an integrated manner. However, some thematic and objective inconsistencies were observed between certain lessons in the Mediation Bank and their corresponding main unit lessons, requiring critical and creative use by teachers and suggesting potential for improvement in material design. The conclusion highlights the significant potential of the analysed textbook for developing text mediation skills crucial for modern communication. Prospects for further research involve developing tasks for fostering text mediation skills in an intercultural context.