Peer Mediation as a Teaching Strategy for Diverse Proficiency Efl Class

Abstract

The article highlights the shift from a teacher-centered to a learnercentered approach in foreign language teaching, which presupposes learner autonomy and led to a shared responsibility between teachers and learners. The study focuses on the diverse proficiency EFL class, where more proficient students can assist the teacher if remaining unbiased and tolerant.The provided analysis of recent research and publications contributes to understanding the importance of facilitating student autonomy and teaching them to appreciate and understand other participants in the educational process. The existing strategies to promote learner-centered teaching, creating a positive atmosphere of cooperation, and possible ways of language lesson arrangement are considered in this paper. As for the latter, the main focus in this study is made on group work, with particular grouping strategies taken into account, as far as it is crucial to plan and consider the specific classroom environment and the composition of the students when assigning group work to achieve desired outcomes.This paper suggests peer mediation as a potentially beneficial teaching strategy for overcoming specific challenges associated with instructing EFL to heterogeneous groups, namely consisting of learners with different language proficiency levels. The article defines the notion of peer mediation, as a common practice in US educational institutions, initially aimed at resolving conflicts and reducing student alienation. The study shares the existing opinion, that due to building cooperative relationships within the class community, peer mediation is also capable of enhancing the classroom climate, which refers to the emotional