C1+ · Vilnius Lithuania
World Café
Mediation & Moderation
VE Ready
Vilnius University · C1 Activity 5 · CLIL · TBL · SDG 13 · SDG 17
🗣 Language
Mediation strategies · Reporting language · Source referencing · Argumentation · Moderating discussions · Circumlocution
🌎 Content
Environmental responsibility · Individual vs. corporate action · Fast fashion · Technology & ecology · Community practices
🤝 Skills
Listening · Speaking · Reading · Writing · Mediation · Hypothesis testing · Cornell note-taking · AI prompt refinement
📋 Lesson 1: Question Pool — Vote for 4–5 Questions (20 min)
Method: Inquiry-based learningC1+: Theme: Environmental Responsibility
Click to select the questions your group will discuss. Choose exactly 4–5 — one per group. You can also add your own. The selected questions become the 5 "café tables" in Lesson 2.
📋 DISCUSSION QUESTION POOL — Select 4 or 5
Click questions to select/deselect · Maximum 5 selected · Add your own at the bottom
0 / 5
Questions selected · Select exactly 4–5 for the World Café
💬 Discussion — Why These Questions?
📋
"What makes a good World Café question?"
C1+: "A good World Café question is one that invites genuine divergence of views — that is, one for which there is no obviously correct answer. It should be open-ended, locally relevant, and sufficiently complex to sustain 10–15 minutes of substantive discussion across multiple groups. Closed questions or those with known answers tend to generate agreement rather than the productive cognitive friction that drives genuine learning."
🤖
"How can AI help you prepare arguments? What are its limitations?"
C1+: "AI can efficiently generate a wide range of arguments, counterarguments, and examples on environmental topics. However, it is essential to critically evaluate AI-generated content: verify claims against credible sources, note the training data cutoff, and identify potential biases in the framing of arguments. The most effective use of AI in preparation is as a brainstorming partner to be critically engaged with — not as an authoritative source."
👥 Group Setup — Assign Roles (Lesson 1 / Homework)
Method: Cooperative learning · Role assignmentC1+: Moderator · Discussant · Reporter · Feedback-giver
Assign each group (A–E) to a discussion question. Each group gets a Moderator who stays with the question throughout all rounds. All other members are Discussants who rotate. Enter names and roles below.
🎮 Role Briefs — C1+ Mediation Roles
🗣 Moderator (stays with question throughout)
Open the discussion, invite every participant to speak, introduce sub-questions and examples to keep the discussion moving, check understanding, deal tactfully with disagreements, and deliver a clear closing summary. Prepare an opening blurb, 3–4 sub-questions, and closing remarks in advance.
👥 Discussant (rotates every round)
Bring prepared arguments grounded in at least two credible sources. Apply mediation strategies: link to previous knowledge, break down complex information, adapt language for your audience. Ask clarification questions and challenge contributions constructively. Avoid over-dependence on notes.
📄 Reporter / Feedback-giver (optional)
Take notes during your group's discussion using the Cornell method. After all rounds, support the Moderator in compiling the 3-minute report. If done online, coordinate the audio/video recording of the report. Give structured feedback on the moderator's facilitation: what worked, what could improve.
🤖 AI Prompt Builder — Prepare Arguments for Your Question
C1+ skill: Write and refine AI prompts · Evaluate AI-generated arguments critically
🤖 AI ARGUMENT PROMPT BUILDER
Build a precise AI prompt to generate arguments for your discussion question · Then verify against credible sources!
① Your discussion question focus
② Type of arguments needed
③ Specificity / context
Select options above to construct your AI prompt...
🗣 Moderator's Phrase Toolkit (Lesson 1 Homework)
Method: Scaffolding · Language bankC1+: Mediation · Facilitation · Reporting language
Moderators select and prepare phrases from each category. Click any phrase to highlight it. Use these to start, steer, and close your discussion. Discussants use them too to invite others, ask clarification, and challenge politely.
🗣 MODERATOR & DISCUSSANT PHRASE BANK
Click a category · Click any phrase to highlight it for your preparation · Use these in the World Café
📝 C1+ Reporting Language — Post-Discussion Report
Opening the Report
The main consensus that emerged from our discussion was...
Participants consistently highlighted the point that...
One of the most recurring themes across all groups was...
Participants consistently highlighted the point that...
One of the most recurring themes across all groups was...
Referencing Sources
According to [source], it has been documented that...
Research published by [organisation] suggests that...
As cited by [speaker], the evidence indicates...
Research published by [organisation] suggests that...
As cited by [speaker], the evidence indicates...
Reporting Divergent Views
While the majority felt that..., some participants argued...
A contrasting position was advanced by those who...
There was significant disagreement on the question of whether...
A contrasting position was advanced by those who...
There was significant disagreement on the question of whether...
Closing the Report
In conclusion, the most substantiated position to emerge was...
The key unresolved tension concerns the question of...
This question invites further inquiry into...
The key unresolved tension concerns the question of...
This question invites further inquiry into...
⏳ World Café Rounds & Rotation Tracker (Lesson 2)
Method: World Café (The World Café Community Foundation)C1+: Moderators stay · Discussants rotate
Rule: Moderators STAY at their question table throughout ALL rounds. All other group members (discussants) rotate clockwise to the next table at each round. Click a round to highlight it in the tracker.
☗ ROTATION TRACKER — Click a Round to Highlight
Moderators (M) stay · Discussants rotate clockwise · Each cell = which group discusses which question in that round
⏳ ROUND TIMER
Set duration · Start when all groups are ready · Signal rotation when time is up
10:00
👨🏫 Teacher
Circulate during rounds, take notes on: argumentation quality (detail, recent examples, clear structure, no over-dependence on notes), clarification questions (timely and relevant), and moderators' facilitation (involved every discussant, gave examples, checked understanding, invited different perspectives, dealt with disagreements tactfully). These are the assessment criteria for this activity.
Circulate during rounds, take notes on: argumentation quality (detail, recent examples, clear structure, no over-dependence on notes), clarification questions (timely and relevant), and moderators' facilitation (involved every discussant, gave examples, checked understanding, invited different perspectives, dealt with disagreements tactfully). These are the assessment criteria for this activity.
📚 Cornell Notes — Discussion Reflection (Homework)
Method: Cornell method (Pauk, 1962)C1+: Academic note-taking · Synthesis · Self-reflection
After the World Café, prepare Cornell Notes for each discussion question. The Cornell method has three areas: Notes (main discussion content), Cue Column (keywords, questions, sources), and Summary (your synthesis). Use this for self-reflection and essay preparation.
📚 DIGITAL CORNELL NOTES
Complete one Cornell Notes sheet per question discussed · This becomes the basis for your homework self-reflection
Question / Topic:
Cue Column — Keywords, Questions & Sources
Notes — Main Discussion Points
Summary — In 3–5 Sentences, Synthesise the Discussion
📝 Self-Reflection Template — Homework
Write your self-reflection using the KWL+ structure:
K — What I Already KNEW
What prior knowledge did you bring to this discussion? Which arguments felt familiar?
W — What I LEARNT
What new arguments, evidence, or perspectives emerged that you had not considered?
L — What I Would Like to LEARN MORE
Which questions remain unresolved? Which sources would you consult next?
+ My Language Reflection
Which phrases did you use effectively? Which mediation strategies felt natural? What would you practise more?
💡 Post-Activity Reflection (5 min)
Method: Collaborative reflectionC1+: Metacognition · Self-assessment · Peer feedback
Share in discussion groups or as a whole class. Focus on: most interesting question · most challenging question · most effective moderator strategy · strongest argument heard · what surprised you.
☕
"Which was the most thought-provoking discussion question?"
C1+: "In my view, the question about technology and environmental crisis was the most thought-provoking, not because it was the most contentious, but because it exposed a fundamental tension between different conceptions of progress. Participants who defined progress in terms of efficiency tended to see technology as the primary solution; those who defined it in terms of sufficiency challenged whether technological optimism was itself part of the problem."
🗣
"Which moderator strategy was most effective, and why?"
C1+: "The most effective moderation I observed involved what I would characterise as strategic reframing — the moderator's ability to take a participant's contribution and connect it to a different sub-question, thereby preventing the discussion from becoming circular. This required the moderator to hold the full structure of the question in mind while simultaneously tracking the conversation — a demanding form of attentive listening."
🌎
"Has your view on any question changed? What changed it?"
C1+: "My prior assumption was that individual behaviour change was relatively insignificant compared to systemic corporate or governmental action. The discussion presented a more nuanced picture: several participants cited research suggesting that individual consumption decisions, when aggregated and made socially visible, can shift corporate strategies more rapidly than regulatory pressure alone. I found this argument insufficiently evidenced to be fully persuasive, but sufficiently interesting to pursue further."
📚
"What would you do differently in your next World Café?"
C1+: "I would prepare more source references in advance — specific studies, data points, and named experts — rather than relying on general knowledge. I would also be more disciplined in applying circumlocution when encountering vocabulary gaps, rather than pausing the flow of my argument to search for a precise term. Finally, I would practise the reporting summary more systematically, as the 3-minute constraint required a degree of synthesis compression that I found more demanding than the discussion itself."
🔗 Follow-Up Activity Options
📝 Write an argumentative essay developing the position you found most compelling in the World Café.
📋 Draft an action proposal for your school or local community based on the World Café conclusions.
📱 Write a social media post (or thread) summarising the World Café findings for a public audience — using appropriate digital register.
🌐 Virtual Exchange: Share your Cornell Notes and reflection with a partner class in another EcoLingua country. Compare: how do environmental responsibility debates differ across national contexts?
👥 Invite a local NGO activist, municipal official, or environmental journalist to a follow-up session where they respond to the World Café findings.