UNIT

Macmillan
English Hub
A2• Interlinguistic Mediation – Writing 4

Task
Your friend Sarah wants to study a new language online. She has asked for help to decide which
language to study. She loves culture and also travels a lot for her job. You think Spanish is the
best option for her. You think you can help her learn Spanish. You found this article online.

Send Sarah an email.

• Greet her.

• Mention why Spanish is a good option for her.

• Offer your help with Spanish.

Write 60–90 words.

Cinco razones para aprender español

Mucha gente se plantea estudiar un idioma
extranjero pero a veces no tienen muy
claro cuál podría ser el mejor. Si usted
tiene dudas y no sabe por cuál decidirse,
aquí tiene varias razones para elegir
español.

1 Más de 500 millones de personas lo hablan en todo el

mundo y es la lengua oficial en 21 países. Después del chino
es la segunda lengua con más hablantes nativos, seguido
del inglés y del hindi. Esto permite a los hablantes de
español comunicarse a nivel mundial.

2 La cultura española es extremadamente rica. Hablar el idioma nos da acceso a algunas de las mejores
obras literarias mundiales, pudiendo leer libros de autores españoles y sudamericanos como Camilo José
Cela o Gabriel García Márquez. También nos permite escuchar música de todo tipo. ¿Quién no ha oído
hablar de Shakira o de Enrique Iglesias?

3 El español se habla en toda América Central y América del Sur con la excepción de Brasil, y también allí
nos podemos hacer entender, porque el español y el portugués tienen muchas palabras similares. Incluso
en los Estados Unidos el español es un idioma muy extendido, así que podemos viajar por casi todo un
continente, conociendo sus gentes y sus costumbres sin necesidad de ir con grupos organizados o tener que
hacer turismo de masas. Esto nos da la posibilidad de visitar sitios y realizar actividades que, de otra forma,
no estarían a nuestro alcance.

4 Es una de las lenguas oficiales de la Unión Europea y muy valiosa para los negocios. Hablar español
permite trabajar en el extranjero o tener acceso a promociones en el trabajo.

5 Hablar un idioma extranjero como el español nos ayuda a comunicarnos con mucha más gente y a
entender otras formas de vida y otras culturas, y nos enriquece como personas ya que amplía nuestros
conocimientos y corrige ideas preconcebidas que pudiésemos tener.

Linguistic Mediation 4 © Springer Nature Limited 2019 1

 UNIT
Macmillan
English Hub
A2• Interlinguistic Mediation – Writing 4

Teacher’s guide
This activity can be used with lesson Reflection
4.3 Learn something new after the You can include a follow-up stage that
Speaking section. encourages self-assessment or peer assessment.
Provide the students with a simple questionnaire.
Lead-in For example:
Did they offer to help?
Write some examples of different languages on Did they choose information relevant to Sarah’s
the board. Put students into pairs and ask them interests?
which language they think is the most important.
As you monitor, ask students why the language
they chose is important to learn, assisting with Assessment
language if necessary. In feedback, put any Strategies
reasons they gave for learning the language on Students will have to make use of different
the board. Elicit or add some more reasons, e.g. strategies to perform the mediation task
work, travel, challenge, etc. effectively. In this case, learners will have to:
• select, omit or adapt information.
Lesson notes • summarise information.
1 Ask students to read the task. Make sure • paraphrase information.
students understand the context, i.e. who
Sarah is, what she needs help with and The teacher may assess their production by
what kind of email they need to write. using the rubric provided, bearing in mind
the strategies and descriptors for the level.
2 Give students two minutes to read the
article. They should underline any keywords The teacher may assess their production by using
that might help them with the task. Remind the rubric provided, bearing in mind the strategies
students that they should think about and descriptors for the level.
Sarah’s interests (travel/work) when For this task:
reading.
• the register should be informal.
3 Put students into pairs or small groups.
• the production should reflect the functions
Ask them to discuss which information to
of giving information with appropriate
pass on to Sarah and which information
grammar and vocabulary for the level
isn’t relevant. This stage focuses on
collaboration and co-construction of Assessing the task
meaning. 1 Students should produce a coherent text
4 In their groups, ask students how they will with a greeting and offer the help required.
structure the email. Monitor and make sure 2 Students need to select the relevant
they have an appropriate plan for the email. information in the text and avoid using the
If necessary, ask them to look back at the rest.
model on Student’s Book page 161.
3 Information must be summarised and
5 Give students some time to think of
transformed to be relayed in the email.
appropriate expressions they could use in
their email. In feedback, sort these and add 4 They should limit their production to the
them to the board, making sure students number of words required, as well as adapt
have useful language for beginning and the register for this informal situation.
closing informal emails, giving opinions and Mediation descriptors
reasons, offering help, etc. (Royal Decree 1041/2017)
6 Ask students to write their email in class or There are no descriptors for A2 in the Royal
for homework. Decree. However, the CEFR descriptor under
mediating a text, specifically processing text in
speech and in writing, is relevant.

Linguistic Mediation 4 © Springer Nature Limited 2019 2

 UNIT
Macmillan
English Hub
A2• Interlinguistic Mediation – Writing 4

Written Interlinguistic Mediation Rubric

PASS
SCORING FAIL PASS TOTAL
WITH MERIT

Range and • Insufficient use of • Sufficient use of the • Wide range of

accuracy vocabulary and vocabulary and the vocabulary and
grammar of the grammar of the grammar of the level
level. level. used.
• Lack of grammatical • Appropriate • Good grammatical
and lexical control. grammatical and and lexical control.
Errors impair lexical control. Very few errors
communication. Errors do not impair occur.
communication.
Organisation • Unclear and • Clear and coherent • Clear and coherent
and cohesion incoherent text with text with appropriate with good use of
insufficient use of though limited use of linking mechanisms.
linking mechanisms. linking mechanisms. • The text is logically
• The text is not • Some attempt to divided into
divided into structure the text paragraphs of an
paragraphs. into paragraphs has appropriate length.
been made.
Mediation of the • Does not take into • Selection of the key • Selection of the key
text account the context information taking information taking
and the needs of the into account the into account the
Micro interlocutor in context and the context and the
strategies: selecting needs of the needs of the
• Selection information. interlocutor. Some interlocutor. No
• Summary Relevant points are relevant points might relevant points are
• Paraphrase omitted, and the be omitted, although omitted.
• Streamlining task is not fulfilled. the fulfillment of the • Clearly
• Extension • Unable to task is not hindered. communicates the
• Interpretation communicate the • Communication, with information using all
• Other information using some difficulty, of the micro strategies
the micro strategies the information by required.
required. using the micro
strategies required.
Cultural • Relevant cultural • Any relevant cultural • All relevant cultural
mediation connotations of the connotations in the connotations in the
source text are not source text are source text are
communicated, communicated, clearly
impeding although communicated.
understanding. incompletely or with
some omissions.
Register and • The register, length • The register, length • A very good
task fulfilment and content are not and content are fulfilment of the task
appropriate for the appropriate for the in relation to
interlocutor and/or interlocutor and the register, length and
the situation. situation. content.
• Unable to mediate • Mediation is carried • Mediation is carried
or significant out with little out with no difficulty.
difficulties doing so. difficulty.

Linguistic Mediation 4 © Springer Nature Limited 2019 3