Mediation and Mediation Activities in Communication in Foreign Languages

About the Conference

SWPS University’s Faculty of Humanities in Warsaw and the Board of the Polish Association of Modern Languages invite you to join the upcoming the scientific and educational conference, "Mediation and Mediation Activities in Communication in Foreign Languages." The conference will take place on September 15-17, 2025, at the campus.

The primary focus of this year’s conference is mediation, a topic that has gained increasing attention in various educational contexts in recent years. Given its growing significance in European language policy, mediation has become a subject of interest for both theoretical researchers and foreign language education specialists.

The first research on mediation in language teaching was conducted between 2000 and 2003 and primarily focused on cultural mediation. The findings from this research were incorporated into the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR, 2003). The latest version of this document, the CEFR Companion Volume (2018), takes a broader approach to mediation, providing detailed descriptors for various areas aligned with language proficiency levels.

Mediation competencies are essential for communication across all areas of life—private and public, educational, and professional. In educational settings, these skills facilitate group collaboration, encourage critical thinking, and foster student autonomy. They are essential for negotiating meanings, resolving conflicts, and establishing common ground in multicultural and intercultural environments.

There is no doubt that mediation has become a crucial goal and process in language education. The new core curriculum for general education in Poland (2024) emphasizes the importance of engaging in mediation activities and developing skills in this area. Mediation-oriented exercises are included in school textbooks, and mediation skills are assessed during language exams, among other evaluations.

This year's conference aims to explore mediation from multiple perspectives, including its cultural, social, pedagogical, psychological, and legal aspects.

Plenary Speakers

Professor Emerita

Bessie Dendrinos

Bessie Dendrinos is Professor Emerita at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Director of the Research Centre for Language Teaching and Assessment (RCeL), and Head of the Scientific Committee of the Centre of Excellence for Multilingualism and Language Policy (CEM) at NKUA. Since 2003, she has served as President of the Examination Board for the Greek national foreign language examination suite (KPG). She is also President of the European Civil Society Platform for Multilingualism (ECSPM) and founder of CURUM. Her research interests include foreign language education, curriculum and materials development, plurilingual pedagogies, intra- and cross-linguistic mediation, and language testing and assessment. Her book, The Hegemony of English (Routledge, 2004), co-authored with D. Macedo and P. Gounari, won the 2004 American Educational Studies Association Critics’ Choice Award and has been translated into several languages. Her recent publications include Mediation as Negotiation of Meanings, Plurilingualism and Language Education (Routledge, 2024) and “Collaborative Peer Learning Mediation Across the Curriculum,” forthcoming in Numero Speciale di Lingua e Nuova Didattica: L’insegnante di lingue: formazione, azione, cognizione. Read the full bio

dr hab. prof. UW

Radosław Kucharczyk

Radosław Kucharczyk is Associate Professor at the Institute of Romance Studies and a faculty member in the Department of Didactics and Methodology of French Language at the University of Warsaw, where he graduated from the Institute of French Studies. He teaches courses in glottodidactics and practical French language courses. His research is focused on implementing European language policy within the Polish educational system. His interests include multilingualism, multilingual competence, and mediation. He has authored numerous articles on foreign language teaching didactics, the French language core curriculum for upper secondary schools, and didactic materials for learning French. Professor Kucharczyk cooperates with the Polish Central Examination Board (CKE). He is the Chair of the Coordinating Council for Foreign Language Teaching and Language Proficiency Certification at the University of Warsaw. From 2017 to 2025, he headed the Department of Didactics of French Language at the Institute of French Studies at the University of Warsaw. He is also an expert reviewer of French language textbooks for the Ministry of National Education and teaches French at one of Warsaw’s secondary schools, which offers bilingual classes.

prof.

Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk

Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk is a professor in the Department of Language and Communication at the University of Applied Sciences in Konin. Previously, she worked at the Institute of English Studies at the University of Łódź. Her research focuses on cognitive semantics and pragmatics, corpus linguistics and its applications in contrastive linguistics, applied linguistics, and translation studies. She has authored numerous publications, participated in many international research projects, and regularly delivers invited talks, seminars, and lecture series in Poland and abroad. Visit prof. Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk's Google Scholar profile

Conference Fees

Accepted participants are required to pay the following registration fee:

The fee includes conference materials, meals, organizational costs, and publishing expenses.

The deadline for payment and submitting authorization to issue a VAT invoice without a signature is July 20, 2025.

Payments should be made through the registration form below (available in Polish).

Conference Program

The detailed conference program will be available soon.

Plenary Round Table

On September 17, 2025, a plenary round table on the role of mediation in contemporary language education will take place.

Moderator: Jarosław Krajka, Ph.D. / Associate Professor, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University

Panelists:

• Iwona Janowska, Ph.D. / Associate Professor, Jagiellonian University
• Mariola Jaworska, Ph.D. / Associate Professor, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn
• Professor Urszula Paprocka-Piotrowska, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
• Professor Mirosław Pawlak, Adam Mickiewicz University

Additional Events

On the second day of the conference, we will organize a guided tour of Warsaw (additional fee applies). More details coming soon.

Practical Information

Conference Venue

Faculty of Humanities in Warsaw, SWPS University, Chodakowska 19/31

Transportation and Parking

We encourage attendees to use public transportation.

From the city center / Warszawa Centralna railway station: Take tram no. 22 and get off at the Gocławska stop.

From the Praga district: Take tram no. 3, 6, or 26 and get off at the Gocławska stop.

SWPS University is located in a paid parking zone. A small paid parking lot is available on campus. Additional parking spaces can be found on Terespolska and Grochowska streets near the university.

Accomodation

We recommend accommodation at the following hotels: Tulip, Hit, Hetman, and Ibis Ostrobramska.

Organizers

Komitet naukowy

• Professor Hanna Komorowska-Janowska
  SWPS University
• Anna Jaroszewska, Ph.D. / A
  Chair of PTN, University of Warsaw
• Professor Bessie Dendrinos
  National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, ECSPM
• Mariola Jaworska, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
  University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn
• Ewa Andrzejewska, Ph.D.
  University of Gdańsk
• Melanie Ellis, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
  Silesian University of Technology
• Monika Janicka, Ph.D.
  Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin
• Jarosław Krajka, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
  Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin
• Radosław Kucharczyk, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
  University of Warsaw
• Agata Lewandowska, Ph.D.
  Adam Mickiewicz University
• Magdalena Makowska, Ph.D.
  Adam Mickiewicz University
• Katarzyna Posiadała, Ph.D.
  University of Warsaw
• Joanna Rokita-Jaśkow, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
  University of the National Education Commission, Krakow
• Anna Seretny, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
  Jagiellonian University in Kraków
• Magdalena Sowa, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
  Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin
• Dorota Werbińska, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
  Pomeranian University in Słupsk

Organizing Committee

• Magdalena Domeradzka, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
• Agnieszka Gadomska, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
• Małgorzata Kłos, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
• Aleksandra Kostecka-Szewc, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
• Sylvia Maciaszczyk, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
• Emma Oki, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
• Beata Sikorzak

Contact

If you have any questions, please contact us by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.