Mediation is one of four activities identified in the CEFR Companion Volume published in 2020 as being essential for expediting real life communication.

But what is meant by mediation and is it something that we can easily and effectively implement into our day-to-day planning and teaching?

This workshop will show how we can use mediation skills to help our learners approach language as an authentic whole rather than individual parts.

It will demonstrate how speaking, listening, reading and writing rarely occur independently but instead co-exist in meaningful communication.

I will argue that the best place to start is by interrogating the belief that language consists of four skills and two systems operating separately with grammar as the benevolent dictator.

My hope is that participants will leave with a better understanding of how mediation skills can facilitate a more authentic approach to achieving communicative competence with their learners.