Skills

• Working on a mediation task usually means that you are asked to outline important ideas of a German article or interview in English.
• A frame story outlines which ideas you are supposed to present, who you write for (addressee), and what kind of text you have to write.
• In the first step of a mediation task, it's important to examine the task and highlight important key words.
• Required information in a mediation task includes the number of aspects you are supposed to focus on and the required text type.
• If you mediate for a student or friend, you can use informal language.
• If you write an official text, such as for a newspaper, stick to formal style.
• In the fourth step, focus on the aspects mentioned in the task and provide relevant information.
• Structure the important information logically and make paragraphs.
• Explain cultural differences by explaining words that cannot be translated into English because the thing/person/concept does not exist in English-speaking countries.
• Decide whether to use a formal or informal style in the text.
• Express difficult words and typical German constructions like long compound nouns in easy English.
• Sie brachte es zu großer Berühmtheit.

  She became extremely famous.
• aufgrund des hohen Verkehrsaufkommens

  because of busy traffic
• Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz 


  a law securing equality for disabled people
• In the introduction of your article, you should refer to the task and specify topic and relevance.
• The main part of an article consists of paragraphs (subheadings).
• The tone of an article is serious and mostly objective.
• The formal style of this article includes no short forms, passive sentences, and no colloquial expressions.
• The conclusion of this article is a summary of the main points and an outlook on the future.
• The conclusion of this article may include a proposal for action or a solution to the problem.