aiMOOC

ABI - I can mediate at Abitur level

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Einleitung

Mini-Beschreibung: This aiMOOC trains you to diagnose and improve selection, cultural explanation, addressee orientation, cohesion and idiomatic English in demanding bilingual mediation tasks. It is designed for Basisfach (BF) and Leistungsfach (LF) English in the Kursstufe in Baden-Württemberg. English comes first; German support is a last step, not a full translation.

Key idea: Mediation is not sentence-by-sentence translation. You select what matters for a particular purpose, bridge cultural knowledge gaps and produce natural English for a specific addressee.

Media task: While watching, note two examples where language and background knowledge affect meaning. Then ask: What would an English-speaking addressee need to understand if you mediated the example from a German source?

Target group: fortgeführte Fremdsprache Englisch, Kursstufe Baden-Württemberg, BF/LF. The learning orientation is B2, in parts C1; higher level means greater precision, independence and complexity, not artificially difficult language.

Current exam reference, checked 02 October 2026: For the 2027 Abitur cohort, the official Facherlass is based on the Bildungsplan and sets the focus topic On the Move: Migration and Cross-Cultural Encounters. In the LF, mediation is assessed during the qualification phase in an isolated task, usually with English text production and about 60 minutes; it is not a separate part of the 2027 LF written Abitur examination itself. In the BF, mediation is one of the task types that must be covered across the four course semesters. Always check the Facherlass for your own examination year.

Official sources:

I-can-Ziele

By the end of this aiMOOC, you can say:

I can ...	BF focus	LF extension
select	I can distinguish task-relevant from irrelevant information.	I can prioritise information across denser or multiple materials and justify my selection.
explain culture	I can briefly explain an unfamiliar institution, term or convention.	I can add precise social, political or historical context when it is necessary for understanding.
write for an addressee	I can adapt register, background information and text type.	I can make independent decisions about tone, framing and material links.
create cohesion	I can organise information clearly and use suitable linking devices.	I can create a coherent line of thought across several source elements.
use idiomatic English	I can paraphrase naturally at B2 level and avoid literal German structures.	I can use precise, flexible B2/C1-oriented phrasing without overcomplicating the text.

Vorwissen: Quick diagnostic

Use the five lenses below before you start. Give yourself green, amber or red for each lens and choose one priority for the lesson.

Lens	Diagnostic question
Selection	Did I include only information that answers the task?
Cultural explanation	Did I explain what the addressee probably does not know?
Addressee orientation	Is the register, tone and amount of background information suitable?
Cohesion	Can a reader follow the text without seeing the German source?
Idiomatic English	Does the English sound natural rather than translated?

Think-pair-share: Which part of mediation is visible in the model above, and which exam skill is not automatically guaranteed by the model? Formulate your answer in English.

What mediation is – and is not

Mediation is purposeful meaning-making. In the Baden-Württemberg curriculum, you are expected to transfer relevant content in a way that is appropriate to situation and addressee, recognise culturally sensitive intentions and explain culture-specific terms when needed.

Mediation is not: a full translation, a summary without an addressee, a collection of copied source phrases or a personal essay that ignores the source.

Visualisation task: Re-label the communication model for a mediation task: German source → mediator → English addressee → purpose/feedback. Add one possible source of misunderstanding at each arrow.

A six-step mediation routine

Read the task first: identify role, addressee, purpose, target text type and focus.
Read or view the source: mark ideas, not sentences.
Select: keep only what helps the addressee complete the communicative purpose.
Bridge culture: explain unfamiliar terms or conventions briefly and neutrally.
Compose in English: reorganise if necessary; do not follow German sentence order.
Check: test selection, cultural explanation, addressee orientation, cohesion and idiomatic English.

Help ladder: English before German

Use support in this order. Move down only if the previous step is not enough.

Context: infer meaning from topic, examples and contrast.
Word formation: use prefixes, suffixes and word families such as relevant → relevance, coherent → cohesion.
Visualisation: sketch relationships, cause-effect chains or a mini mind map.
English explanation: define the idea with simpler English words.
Dictionary: check meaning, register, collocations and example sentences.
German rescue help: use a short German explanation only after the previous strategies have failed.

Dictionary habit: Do not ask only “What does this word mean?” Also check “Which verb or preposition normally goes with it?” and “Is it formal enough for this addressee?”

Listening and Viewing

This TED talk is a supplementary learning medium, not a compulsory Abitur text. Do not reproduce a transcript. Work with a short section selected by your teacher or by yourself.

Listening focus: identify one claim, one example and one assumption the speaker expects the audience to understand.
Mediation focus: imagine a German school newsletter wants to report the idea for readers who have not seen the talk. Decide what you would keep, omit and explain.
Critical focus: distinguish the speaker's perspective from independently verifiable factual claims.

Privacy: Recording your spoken mediation is optional. Keep recordings private unless you explicitly choose to share them. Do not upload personal recordings or identifiable data without consent.

Reading: fictional practice source

Task in English: You write for the English-language website of a partner school. Explain how the fictional town of Lindenfeld wants to make youth participation easier. Focus on measures that could interest students abroad. Explain culture-specific terms only where needed. Do not translate the whole source.

Fictitious German source – created for practice, not real news:

In Lindenfeld soll ein neues Beteiligungsmodell Jugendlichen mehr Einfluss auf kommunale Entscheidungen geben. Der Jugendgemeinderat erhält dafür ein eigenes kleines Projektbudget. Zusätzlich können Jugendliche, die sich mindestens zwanzig Stunden im Jahr ehrenamtlich engagieren, kostenlose Tickets für ausgewählte Kulturveranstaltungen beantragen. Die Stadtverwaltung hofft, dass dadurch auch junge Menschen mit wenig Geld leichter teilnehmen können. Kritikerinnen und Kritiker fragen jedoch, ob die Nachweispflicht für das Ehrenamt unnötige Bürokratie schafft. Der Jugendgemeinderat will nach sechs Monaten auswerten, welche Gruppen das Angebot tatsächlich nutzen. Für die Übung gelten alle Namen, Zahlen und Angaben als frei erfunden.

Selection check: A British school reader probably needs the purpose of the scheme, the main measures and the debate about access. The exact fictional administration procedure matters only if the task asks for it.

Cultural bridge task: Explain Jugendgemeinderat and Ehrenamt in one short English phrase each. Avoid pretending that there is always an exact UK or US equivalent.

Kontextwortschatz und Wortbildung

Function	Useful English	Word family / note
Select	relevant to the task; central point; supporting detail; to omit	relevant → relevance; selective → selection
Explain culture	roughly equivalent to; a local body that; in this context; unlike	explain → explanation; contextualise → context
Address the reader	for readers unfamiliar with; in practical terms; what matters here is	appropriate → appropriately → appropriateness
Build cohesion	therefore; however; by contrast; in addition; this measure; the proposal	coherent → coherence; cohesive → cohesion
Sound natural	to take part in; to raise concerns; to make access easier; to be eligible for	idiom → idiomatic → idiomatically
Paraphrase	in other words; this means that; a scheme designed to	paraphrase → paraphrasing

Mini challenge: Replace a literal phrase such as “make an engagement” with an idiomatic collocation such as “get involved” or “take part”, depending on context.

Analysis: diagnose a weak mediation

Fictional student draft:

The youth community council gets an own budget and young people can get free culture tickets when they make honorary work. This is very interesting because in Germany the Ehrenamt is important. Also there are twenty hours and after six months they make an evaluation. The critics say there is too much bureaucracy.

Diagnose the draft using the five lenses.

Lens	What to notice	Revision move
Selection	The draft lists details without showing why they matter to the addressee.	Group information around access, participation and criticism.
Cultural explanation	“Ehrenamt” is repeated rather than explained.	Paraphrase it as unpaid voluntary community work if that meaning fits the source.
Addressee orientation	The reader is not told why the local institution matters.	Add a short functional explanation instead of a literal label.
Cohesion	“Also” strings facts together without a clear logic.	Use contrast, cause-effect and reference words.
Idiomatic English	“an own budget”, “make honorary work” and “make an evaluation” are German-influenced.	Use “its own budget”, “do voluntary work” and “evaluate/review the scheme”.

Feedback move: Do not rewrite everything at once. Choose the weakest lens, revise two sentences, then re-check the whole paragraph.

Speaking

60-second oral mediation: A German exchange coordinator has explained the fictional Lindenfeld scheme. Your English-speaking partner asks, “What exactly is this programme and why are people debating it?” Give a concise spoken answer without translating sentence by sentence.

BF support: Use three notes: purpose → measure → debate.

LF extension: Add one sentence explaining why an apparently positive participation scheme may still create unequal access.

Writing

BF task: Write a short email section for a partner school. Mediate the main idea of the fictional source, explain one culture-specific concept and finish with a sentence showing why the scheme might interest students abroad. Use the five-lens checklist.

LF task: Write an article paragraph for an international youth forum. Combine the fictional source with the fictional data below, decide which data are relevant and explain one possible limitation of the scheme.

Fictitious practice data – not real statistics:

Survey item in fictional Lindenfeld	Share of respondents
Would like more say in local youth projects	68 %
Know what the Jugendgemeinderat does	41 %
Would use free cultural tickets	57 %
Say application forms are a barrier	36 %

LF focus: Do not report every number. Select only the figures that serve your argument and connect them to the source.

Mediation: the five-lens quality check

Criterion	Secure performance looks like ...	Self-question
Selection	All included information serves the task.	Why does this point belong here?
Cultural explanation	Necessary context is brief, accurate and non-stereotypical.	What might my reader not know?
Addressee orientation	Register, tone and detail fit the target reader.	Would I phrase this the same way for a friend, newspaper or school authority?
Cohesion	Ideas are logically ordered and clearly connected.	Can the reader follow without the source?
Idiomatic English	Phrasing is natural, precise and not calqued from German.	Would an English collocation or paraphrase sound more natural?

BF and LF differentiation

Dimension	Basisfach	Leistungsfach
Material	More manageable scope, clear focus and usually stronger structure support.	Greater breadth, density and text complexity; several materials can be linked independently.
Selection	Identify central information and omit obvious detail.	Prioritise competing information and justify implicit relevance.
Cultural explanation	Explain key terms and conventions needed for understanding.	Add social, political or historical context where it changes interpretation.
Writing	Clear B2-oriented mediation with scaffolds and a checklist.	More independent B2/C1-oriented organisation, precision and nuance.
AFB	Secure transfer with emphasis on clear processing and application.	More frequent AFB II/III demands through analysis, material linkage and justified decisions.

Important: LF does not mean artificially rare vocabulary. Precision, independence, complexity of thought and controlled language matter more than “difficult words”.

Feedback and error analysis

Use a three-step feedback cycle:

Name the issue: “The cultural explanation is missing.”
Show the effect: “An international reader may not know what this institution does.”
Set one revision action: “Add a six-to-ten-word functional explanation.”

Error categories to track: overtranslation, underselection, missing cultural bridge, wrong register, weak cohesion, literal collocation, source distortion, unsupported addition.

Peer feedback rule: Comment on the text, not the person. Give one strength, one high-priority revision and one question.

Source checking and responsible AI use

Your mediation must remain your own analysis and writing. No external AI tool is needed for this course.

Check every factual claim against the original source or another reliable source.
Distinguish source information from your own explanation.
If your teacher explicitly allows AI feedback, do not upload personal or confidential material. Record tool, date and purpose, and verify every suggestion independently.
Do not use AI to generate a replacement essay that you submit as your own work.
Do not invent citations, quotations or statistics. The data in this aiMOOC are clearly marked as fictitious practice data.

Transfer

Apply the same five lenses to topics such as migration, identity, education, local politics, science communication or social change. For the 2027 cohort, mediation practice can connect thematically to On the Move: Migration and Cross-Cultural Encounters, but this aiMOOC does not reproduce compulsory literary texts or unauthorised film sequences.

Transfer question: When does a cultural explanation help understanding, and when does it become an unnecessary stereotype? Give one example of each.

Abi-Check 2027

Stand: 02 October 2026.

Leistungsfach: The official 2027 Facherlass requires a mediation assessment in the qualification phase; it is conducted in isolated form, produces a text in the foreign language and usually takes about 60 minutes.
Leistungsfach written Abitur 2027: The written examination consists of listening and writing sections; mediation is therefore an Abitur-level course competence but not a separate written-exam section in 2027.
Basisfach: Across the four course semesters, assessment must cover listening, reading, analysis, mediation and two different writing task types.
BF/LF progression: The curriculum distinguishes the two levels by complexity and abstraction of texts and topics as well as breadth, depth and differentiation of task processing.
Language target: At the end of the Kursstufe, learners work toward B2 and in parts C1.
Your year matters: Before using this course for a later cohort, check the current Facherlass and official operator list for that examination year.

Folgekurs

Continue with ABI - I can analyse and write at Abitur level or revisit Sprachmittlung, intercultural communication, text and media competence and language awareness.

Interaktive Aufgaben

Quiz: Teste Dein Wissen

What is the main purpose of mediation? (To convey task-relevant meaning for a specific addressee) (!To translate every sentence as closely as possible) (!To replace the source with your personal opinion) (!To copy key phrases from the source)

What should you analyse before reading the source in detail? (The task, addressee, purpose and target text type) (!Only the longest paragraph) (!Only difficult vocabulary) (!Only the title of the source)

What is a cultural bridge in mediation? (A brief explanation that helps the addressee understand a culture-specific concept) (!A literal translation of every culture-specific word) (!A personal anecdote unrelated to the task) (!A list of stereotypes about a country)

Which action best demonstrates good selection? (Keeping information that directly serves the communicative task) (!Including every number from the source) (!Following the source paragraph by paragraph) (!Adding facts that are not in the source)

What does addressee orientation mainly require? (Adapting register, background information and detail to the target reader) (!Using the same tone for every reader) (!Avoiding any explanation of context) (!Writing as many words as possible)

What improves cohesion most directly? (Logical organisation and clear reference between ideas) (!Longer individual sentences) (!More rare vocabulary) (!Repeating the German source order)

What is idiomatic English? (Natural phrasing and collocations that fit English usage) (!A word-for-word rendering of German) (!English with as many idioms as possible) (!English that avoids all paraphrasing)

How should a dictionary be used in the help ladder? (To check meaning, register and collocations after using context and other strategies) (!As the first step for every unknown word) (!To translate the entire German source) (!To replace task analysis)

What should you do with a factual claim suggested by an AI tool? (Verify it independently against reliable sources) (!Assume it is correct because the language sounds fluent) (!Use it without checking if it fits the argument) (!Turn it into a quotation without a source)

How does LF typically extend BF mediation? (Through greater breadth, depth, complexity and independent material linkage) (!By requiring deliberately obscure vocabulary) (!By removing the need for addressee orientation) (!By turning mediation into literal translation)

Memory

Selection	Task-relevant information
Cultural bridge	Brief contextual explanation
Addressee orientation	Suitable register and background
Cohesion	Logical links between ideas
Idiomatic English	Natural target-language phrasing
Paraphrase	Expressing meaning in different words
Source check	Verification of factual claims

Drag and Drop

Ordne die richtigen Begriffe zu.	Thema
Selection	Keep only information that serves the task
Cultural explanation	Clarify an unfamiliar institution or convention
Register	Match language to the addressee
Cohesion	Connect ideas logically
Idiomaticity	Prefer natural English phrasing

Kreuzworträtsel

Relevance	What quality decides whether information belongs in the target text?
Context	What may an addressee need to understand a culture-specific term?
Register	What language level and tone must fit the addressee?
Cohesion	What makes separate ideas form a connected text?
Paraphrase	What strategy expresses meaning without copying source wording?
Idiom	What concept is linked to natural conventional phrasing?

LearningApps

Lückentext

Offene Aufgaben

Leicht

Selection Map: Take a short German information text and highlight only the points needed for one clearly defined English addressee.
Paraphrase Sprint: Rewrite five German-influenced English phrases in more natural English without changing their meaning.
Register Switch: Express the same mediated information once for a friend and once for a school website. Compare tone and detail.
Cultural Bridge Card: Choose one culture-specific German term and explain it in one concise English sentence without using stereotypes.

Standard

Listening Mediation: Use a short legally accessible English or German audio source and mediate its central message orally for a defined addressee. Recording is optional and private.
Five-Lens Peer Review: Exchange anonymised practice texts in class and give feedback on selection, cultural explanation, addressee orientation, cohesion and idiomatic English.
Source Check Challenge: Compare a claim from a practice text with two reliable sources and document whether the wording needs correction or qualification.
Fictional Data Mediation: Use the fictitious Lindenfeld data to write a short target text that selects only the figures relevant to a specific purpose.

Schwer

Multimodal Mediation: Combine a short German text, a chart and an image into one coherent English target text without reporting every detail.
Two-Source Mediation: Link two short sources with different perspectives, make their relationship clear and avoid blending them into one unsupported claim.
Constraint Redraft: Revise a mediation for a new addressee, a shorter word limit and a different text type while preserving the relevant meaning.
Assessment Designer: Create one BF and one LF mediation task on the same topic, explain the scaffolding difference and justify which AFB II/III demands the LF task adds.

Lernkontrolle

Selection under pressure: You receive a source containing six potentially relevant facts and a very narrow target task. Justify which three facts you would keep and why.
Cultural explanation or omission: Decide for four culture-specific terms whether to explain, paraphrase, retain or omit them for a given addressee. Justify each decision.
Addressee transfer: Transform the same source information into an email to an exchange partner and a short formal information text. Explain your register choices.
Cohesion repair: Reorder a fragmented mediation paragraph and add only the linking expressions needed to make the logic clear.
Idiomaticity diagnosis: Identify German-influenced collocations in a short English draft and explain why your replacements are more natural.
BF-LF transfer: Start with a scaffolded BF mediation and redesign it for LF by increasing source complexity, independence and material linkage without making the language artificially obscure.

Lernnachweis

For a convincing learning record, you should be able to demonstrate:

that you analyse role, addressee, purpose and target text type before writing;
that you select information according to task relevance rather than source order;
that you explain culture-specific concepts briefly and accurately when necessary;
that your target text is coherent and understandable without the original source;
that your English uses suitable register, collocations and paraphrase;
that you can diagnose and revise weaknesses using the five lenses;
that you distinguish source information from your own explanation and verify factual claims;
that you can explain how BF and LF differ in complexity, independence, breadth and depth;
that your work is your own and any permitted AI assistance is documented and checked.

OERs zum Thema

Further open learning route: Explore the Wikimedia Commons file pages of the images used in this aiMOOC for author and licence information. The media are embedded for educational use; do not copy third-party video content outside the permitted platform functions.

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