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ABI - Register and target format in mediation

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ABI - Register and target format in mediation

Mini-Beschreibung: In mediation, you do not translate line by line. You select relevant information and reshape it for a specific audience, purpose, format and register. This aiMOOC trains you to adapt language, tone and structure to an email, article or briefing at upper-secondary level in Baden-Württemberg.

Einleitung

Mediation is purposeful communication. Your job is to make information from a German source useful to an English-speaking target audience. That means you must decide what matters, explain culture-specific points when necessary and choose a suitable register.

A strong mediation follows this route:

TASK → AUDIENCE → PURPOSE → TARGET FORMAT → REGISTER → RELEVANT CONTENT

Fehler beim Erstellen des Vorschaubildes:

English first: Try context, word families, visuals, an English explanation and a dictionary before asking for German help. German support is a last step, not the first.

Safety and independence: Use fictional personal data in practice tasks. Recordings are voluntary and should stay private unless you explicitly choose otherwise. Do not upload classmates' work, voices or images without permission. External AI tools are not required. If you use AI, verify facts and sources and write the final mediation yourself; an AI-generated replacement essay does not train the competence.

I-can goals

By the end of this course, you can say:

I can identify audience, purpose and communication situation before writing.
I can select relevant information instead of translating everything.
I can adapt register, tone and structure to email, article or briefing.
I can explain culture-specific concepts briefly and naturally.
I can check my text for relevance, accuracy, coherence and target-format conventions.
I can differentiate between BF and LF expectations without making English artificially difficult.

Vorwissen: 90-second check

Ask yourself in English:

Who will read or hear my text?
What does this person need to know?
Why am I communicating this information?
Which format is required?
How formal should I sound?
Which source details can I leave out?

If one of these questions is unclear, do not start drafting yet.

Core skill: register meets target format

Register is the variety of language you choose for a particular situation. It is shaped by the relationship between writer and reader, the purpose, the setting and the degree of formality.

Register compass

Situation	Useful register	Typical language choices
Friend or familiar peer	informal to neutral	contractions, direct wording, friendly tone
School community or general readership	neutral to semi-formal	clear explanations, accessible vocabulary, controlled directness
Institution, organisation or professional audience	neutral to formal	precise wording, polite distance, fewer contractions, explicit structure

Do not equate formal with complicated. Accurate, clear English is usually stronger than unnecessarily elaborate English.

Target format 1: Email

Fehler beim Erstellen des Vorschaubildes:

A mediation email normally needs a clear communicative frame.

Opening: address the recipient appropriately and state why you are writing.
Body: organise only the relevant source information.
Support: explain unfamiliar German institutions or concepts when needed.
Closing: end in a way that matches the relationship and purpose.

Register clue: An email to a close exchange partner can be friendly and direct. An email to a project coordinator should be more neutral and professional.

Target format 2: Article

An article is written for a readership, not for one named recipient.

Headline: short and relevant.
Lead: introduce the topic and why it matters.
Body: structure information into reader-friendly paragraphs.
Ending: round off the text with a consequence, outlook or key message.

Register clue: A school-magazine article can be engaging and semi-formal, but it still needs accuracy and coherent structure.

Target format 3: Briefing

A briefing is designed for rapid orientation.

Purpose first: state the issue immediately.
Key points: group the essential facts by relevance.
Context: explain only what the target audience needs.
Action or takeaway: make the practical consequence visible.

A briefing may use short headings and concise bullet points if the task permits them. It should sound professional, factual and easy to scan.

Mediation process

Mediation is selective reformulation, not translation.

Read the task before the source.
Mark audience, purpose, format and register.
Read or listen for information relevant to that task.
Group related points instead of following the source sentence by sentence.
Reformulate naturally in English.
Explain culture-specific information only where it helps the audience.
Check the target format before proofreading individual words.

BF and LF in one course

Basisfach BF	Leistungsfach LF
One clear communication situation	More complex or competing communication demands
Manageable source material	Broader, denser or more abstract material
More visible planning support	Greater independence in selecting and connecting material
Focus on secure relevance and appropriate reformulation	Additional depth in nuance, implication and intercultural explanation
Mainly guided AFB I/II practice with transfer	Stronger emphasis on AFB II/III and independent transfer

The shared language goal is B2, in parts C1 as an orientation. LF does not mean artificially difficult vocabulary; it means greater breadth, depth, complexity and independence.

Listening and Viewing

Datei:Micro Shure SM58.jpg

Watch for how formality changes vocabulary, sentence structure, directness and email style:

BF focus: Note four changes that make an informal message more formal.

LF extension: Explain which changes affect not only formality but also stance, distance and communicative effect.

After viewing, reformulate this message for a project coordinator:

Could you send me the stuff by Friday? Thanks!

Do not search for the longest possible words. Aim for a clear, polite and natural professional register.

Reading: short mediation source

The following practice source is fictional and created for this course. It is not a Pflichttext.

Source situation: A German partner school is planning a local volunteering week.

„Vom 12. bis 16. April findet an der fiktiven Johann-Kern-Schule eine Projektwoche zum Ehrenamt statt. Schülerinnen und Schüler können unter anderem bei einer Stadtteilbibliothek, einem Umweltverein oder einer Begegnungsstätte mitarbeiten. Der Förderverein übernimmt für registrierte Teilnehmende die Fahrtkosten im Stadtgebiet. Interessierte müssen bis zum 20. März ein Formular bei der Schule abgeben. Für Minderjährige ist zusätzlich die Unterschrift einer erziehungsberechtigten Person nötig. Die Teilnahme ist freiwillig; die Schule empfiehlt jedoch, vorab an einer kurzen Einführung teilzunehmen.“

Three target situations from one source

Email: Write to an English-speaking exchange student who wants to join the project.

Article: Inform readers of an English-language school magazine about the volunteering week.

Briefing: Prepare a short briefing for a visiting teacher who needs the organisational essentials.

Key insight: The source stays the same, but selection, structure and register change with the target situation.

Context vocabulary and word formation

Fehler beim Erstellen des Vorschaubildes:

Use a help ladder before switching to German:

Context: What meaning fits the sentence?
Word family: participate → participation → participant.
Visualisation: Can you connect the word to an image or situation?
English explanation: Can you define it in simple English?
Dictionary: Check meaning, collocation and register.
German help: Use only if the earlier steps are not enough.

Word	English explanation	Word family or useful phrase
relevant	directly useful for the task or audience	relevance, irrelevant, highly relevant
concise	clear and brief without losing essential meaning	concisely, concise briefing
appropriate	suitable for a situation or audience	appropriately, appropriateness
to convey	to communicate meaning or information	convey a message, convey information
to clarify	to make something easier to understand	clarification, clarify a term
recipient	the person who receives a message	intended recipient

Culture-specific terms

Do not automatically translate German institutions word for word.

Förderverein could be explained as a school support association run by members of the school community if the exact legal form is not important.

Erziehungsberechtigte Person may become parent or legal guardian when that is what the target audience needs.

The aim is communicative understanding, not lexical mirroring.

Analysis: spot the mismatch

Register problems are often easier to see when audience and purpose are explicit.

Sentence	Main problem	Revision goal
Hey, here is some important info for your institution.	opening is too casual	professional distance
The Förderverein pays the Fahrtkosten.	unexplained German terms	intercultural clarity
Every single source detail is reproduced.	no selection	task relevance
The article begins with Dear Ms Green.	wrong target format	article conventions

Analysis move: Name the mismatch, link it to audience or format, then revise.

Speaking

Give a 45-second oral briefing based on the fictional source.

BF: Use this frame: purpose → three key facts → one action point.

LF: Decide independently which details matter to a visiting teacher and justify one omission afterwards.

Recording is optional. If you record yourself, keep the file private unless you consciously decide to share it.

Writing workshop

Fehler beim Erstellen des Vorschaubildes:

Choose one task.

BF email task: Mediate the relevant information to an English-speaking exchange student. Use a friendly-neutral register and a clear email structure.

BF article task: Write a short school-magazine article for international students. Select only information that helps them understand the opportunity and how to take part.

LF briefing task: Create a concise briefing for a visiting teacher. Restructure the information by operational relevance rather than source order and explain one culture-specific element.

Do not produce three versions by merely changing the greeting. Target format affects the whole text.

Feedback and self-check

Use four feedback codes:

R = Relevance: Is every point useful for this audience and purpose?
F = Format: Does the text follow email, article or briefing conventions?
G = Register: Are tone, directness and formality appropriate?
C = Culture: Are unfamiliar culture-specific concepts explained where needed?

First check communication. Then check grammar and vocabulary.

Error analysis

Frequent error	Why it weakens mediation	Better strategy
translating sentence by sentence	source structure controls the target text	regroup by target purpose
copying German syntax	English sounds unnatural	reformulate from meaning
including everything	relevant information loses focus	select by audience need
using one register throughout all tasks	target situation is ignored	calibrate distance and directness
inventing missing details	accuracy is lost	mark uncertainty or omit unsupported claims

AI, sources and academic integrity

Use AI, dictionaries and online sources as checking tools, not as substitutes for your own analysis and writing.

Verify factual claims with reliable sources.
Check whether suggested phrases actually fit the target format.
Compare dictionary meanings with context and collocations.
Never invent quotations, statistics or source details.
Keep personal data fictional in practice tasks.
Do not upload other people's work, images or recordings without consent.

Transfer

Change one variable at a time and observe what happens.

Audience shift: exchange student → headteacher.

Purpose shift: inform → recommend.

Format shift: email → article → briefing.

Register shift: friendly-neutral → professional-neutral.

A successful mediation changes enough to fit the new situation while preserving the source meaning.

Abi-Check Baden-Württemberg

Stand: 3 October 2026, focus on Abitur 2027. The current Baden-Württemberg framework distinguishes BF and LF by complexity, breadth, depth and degree of independent task processing. The Bildungsplan sets B2, partly C1, as the end-of-course orientation for English.

For LF, the 2027 Facherlass states that one assessment or part of an assessment in the qualification phase tests mediation in isolated form, normally with English text production and about 60 minutes. The published 2027 written LF Abitur itself centres on listening comprehension and writing; mediation therefore remains an important course competence without being identical to the final written examination format.

For BF, the 2027 Facherlass requires that the range of tasks across the four course semesters includes mediation alongside listening, reading, analysis and different writing tasks.

Always check the version valid for your own examination year.

Official sources:

Folgekurs

Continue with ABI - Mediation under time pressure and quality check to practise planning, timing, revision and exam-style self-assessment.

Interaktive Aufgaben

Quiz: Teste Dein Wissen

What should you identify before drafting a mediation? (Audience purpose target format and register) (!Every possible synonym) (!The longest sentence in the source) (!A literal translation of the first paragraph)

What is the main principle of mediation? (Select and reformulate relevant information) (!Translate every sentence word for word) (!Add background knowledge that is not in the source) (!Keep the source structure unchanged)

Which register usually fits a briefing for a professional audience? (Neutral to formal) (!Highly casual) (!Slang heavy) (!Intentionally vague)

Which feature belongs most clearly to an article? (A headline for a readership) (!A personal email greeting) (!A private chat abbreviation) (!A recipient address line)

What should happen to culture-specific information? (Explain it when the target audience needs it) (!Always omit it) (!Always keep the German word without explanation) (!Replace it with invented facts)

Why can source order be changed in mediation? (Target purpose should control the structure) (!English has no paragraph structure) (!All German texts are badly organised) (!The source meaning may be altered freely)

What is a useful first step when a word is unfamiliar? (Use context to infer meaning) (!Translate the whole text immediately) (!Ask for a complete German solution) (!Ignore the sentence)

What does LF mainly add compared with BF in this course? (More breadth depth complexity and independence) (!Artificially rare vocabulary) (!A different target language) (!No need for audience awareness)

Which feedback question checks register? (Does the tone fit the audience and situation) (!Did I copy every source sentence) (!Did I use the longest possible word) (!Did I keep all German syntax)

What is good practice when using AI for mediation training? (Check claims and write the final text yourself) (!Submit an AI replacement essay unchanged) (!Upload private recordings automatically) (!Assume all generated sources are reliable)

Memory

Audience	intended reader or listener
Register	level and style of language for a situation
Briefing	concise information for rapid orientation
Relevance	usefulness for the task and recipient
Mediation	selective cross-language reformulation
Article	text written for a wider readership

Drag and Drop

Ordne die richtigen Begriffe zu.	Thema
Friendly neutral	Email to an exchange student
Professional neutral	Briefing for a visiting teacher
Headline and lead	School magazine article
Opening and closing	Email structure
Key points and takeaway	Briefing structure
Relevant source details	Mediation content

Kreuzworträtsel

Register	What term describes language choice according to situation and formality?
Audience	Who receives or reads the target text?
Article	Which format normally uses a headline and addresses a readership?
Briefing	Which concise format is designed for rapid orientation?
Relevance	What quality means that information is useful for the task?
Politeness	What helps adapt directness to social and cultural expectations?

LearningApps

Lückentext

Offene Aufgaben

Leicht

Register switch: Rewrite three informal sentences for a professional recipient and explain one change in English.
Audience card: Create three fictional audience profiles and assign an appropriate register to each.
Format spotting: Find or invent one email, article and briefing opening and label the conventions you can see.
Word family map: Build a mini word-family diagram for inform, participate, relevant and clarify.

Standard

Email mediation: Use the fictional volunteering source to write a short email for an exchange student and complete the R-F-G-C self-check.
Article transformation: Turn the same source into a short school-magazine article without copying your email structure.
Briefing task: Prepare a one-page briefing for a visiting teacher using only information that supports quick orientation.
Private speaking rehearsal: Give a 45-second oral briefing. Recording is voluntary and should remain private unless you choose otherwise.

Schwer

Audience shift: Write two different versions of the same mediation for a student and an institutional partner, then compare register and selection.
Culture note: Identify two German terms that may require explanation for an international audience and justify your solutions.
Error clinic: Create a deliberately weak mediation containing five different mistakes and annotate how each one should be corrected.
LF transfer: Combine two short fictional German source fragments into one coherent English briefing and justify what you omitted or merged.

Lernkontrolle

Format decision: A youth organisation, a school principal and an exchange partner need information from the same German source. Explain how your selection, tone and structure would differ for each.
Selective mediation: Given a short source with ten facts, identify which four are essential for a specified audience and justify two omissions.
Register analysis: Compare two English versions of the same message and explain which linguistic choices create greater distance, neutrality or friendliness.
Cultural explanation: Develop an English explanation for a German institution without pretending that an exact British or American equivalent exists.
Format transfer: Convert an article-style mediation into a briefing while preserving the factual core and explain the structural changes.
Source and AI check: Evaluate an AI-suggested formulation or source claim for accuracy, register and task relevance before deciding whether to use it.