The concept of mediation in language teaching and learning, which has been functioning for more than 20 years in glottodidactic discourse, was only clarified in 2018 with the publication of the Companion volume to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, which has not yet been translated into Polish. This article is devoted to the ‘mediating communication’, which is part of the mediation activities defined in the companion volume to the CEFR. The first part of the article is devoted to theoretical considerations on the mediation and mediating communication in foreign language teaching, while the second part presents examples of specific exercises aimed at improving the competences in the mediating communication, which were identified as a result of the analysis of eighteen textbooks for French language teaching for secondary schools.
Regardless of the teaching method, literature has always been an element of language learning. The action-oriented approach – proposed more than 20 years ago – does not exclude references to literature in the language classroom. The Companion Volume to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, published in 2021, further expands the possibilities for using literary texts in foreign language teaching methodology. This paper will analyse eighteen approved French textbooks from the point of view of the literature-based exercises they contain. The aim is to determine to what extent and with what regularity literature fragments appear in these textbooks and establish the types and objectives of literature-based exercises.
The Council of Europe has been promoting pluralistic approaches for more than 20 years, considering them as an effective tool for the development of plurilingual competence, indispensable in the multilingual Europe. The aim of the article is to determine the place of pluralistic approaches in the latest French textbooks (published after 2018) for high schools. The analysis shows that elements characteristic of pluralistic approaches are present in the analysed textbooks in varying degrees, both at the textual and paratextual level. Textbook authors use pluralistic approaches in a variety of ways, for example by referencing the knowledge of Polish, English as well as the non-verbal language.
Reading is an important element of independent work on the language, but offering students additional reading to improve their linguistic and cultural competences is an extremely difficult task, due to the evolving tastes of young people and the variability of the media they use. Given the popularity of manga and digital comics in France, Romance philology students were asked to read a series selected from the webtoons.com/fr platform in French. A survey was then carried out to find out their views on how this tool could be used in French language learning. The results of the survey clearly indicate that the webtoons.com/fr platform can be used as an effective tool for learning French. According to the respondents, reading the selected series allowed them, above all, to develop lexical resources and was also an enjoyable pastime that increased motivation to learn the language. Students also paid attention to the combination of word and image, appreciating both the aesthetic and practical side of reading digital comics. Finally, the practicality of using the platform, its ease of use and accessibility was emphasised.
The article presents the results of a quantitative and qualitative analysis of textbooks for learning French for secondary schools in terms of the use of fragments of literary texts and the didactic goals assigned to them. The conducted study of 43 titles approved for educational use over the last twenty years in Poland reveals that in the majority of textbooks adapted to the 1999 core curriculum, fragments of literary texts appear and are used, in accordance with the communicative approach, mainly to develop key language competencies. Over time, a clear downward trend is noticeable, which means that in the current textbooks, adapted to the 2018 core curriculum, literary texts are practically non-existent, despite the possibilities offered by the action-oriented approach in this matter.