Mediation: Relaying a German exchange email to a British partner school
Mediation task: A German exchange coordinator, Frau Petersen, writes to a British partner school. The candidate must relay the email in English to the British coordinator, Mr. Hale, who does not read German. The German email says: 'Liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen, wegen der schriftlichen Abiturprüfungen müssen wir den Austausch vom 12.–22. März auf den 7.–17. Mai verschieben. Können Ihre Gastfamilien zehn Schülerinnen und Schüler für zehn Tage aufnehmen? Ein Schüler hat eine Nussallergie; bitte prüfen Sie, ob das für die Familien machbar ist. Wir brauchen eine kurze Bestätigung bis 15. Dezember. Viele Grüße, Petersen.' The candidate has 20 minutes and may use a dictionary. The British coordinator needs the dates, the number of students, the allergy issue and the deadline, but not the German pleasantries.
1. Draft the mediation in English (60–90 words). Mark which elements you keep precise and which you compress.
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Draft: 'Dear Mr Hale, Because of our written final school-leaving exams, we need to move the exchange from 12–22 March to 7–17 May. Could your host families take ten students for ten days? One student has a nut allergy; please check whether this is feasible for the families. We would be grateful for a short confirmation by 15 December. Kind regards, Petersen.' Reasoning: keep dates, number of students, allergy and deadline exact, because they are logistical facts. Compress the German salutation and closing into standard English ones. Render 'Abiturprüfungen' as 'written final school-leaving exams' rather than 'A-levels', because the German qualification is not identical. Keep the request as a question ('Could...') rather than a statement, since the German 'Können' asks for confirmation, not compliance.
2. The German sentence 'bitte prüfen Sie, ob das für die Familien machbar ist' could be rendered as 'please check whether this is feasible for the families' or 'please make sure the families can cope'. Which is better for the purpose, and why?
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The first version is better. 'Feasible for the families' keeps the request open and asks the British coordinator to assess practicality; it does not presuppose that the allergy is a burden. 'Make sure the families can cope' sounds more directive and implies that coping is difficult. In mediation, politeness and uncertainty are part of the message. The German 'bitte prüfen Sie, ob...' is a request for a check, not an instruction to guarantee. The first version also leaves room for a 'no' without confrontation. The second risks sounding as if the German school expects a problem and is testing the host families.
3. What would be lost if the candidate translated the email verbatim? Name two losses and one risk.
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A verbatim translation would lose the German email's register. 'Liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen' has no exact English equivalent; keeping it literally would sound stiff, while omitting it entirely could seem abrupt. 'Abitur' is a false friend risk: 'A-levels' suggests an equivalence that may mislead. A verbatim version would also transfer German sentence length and make the request sound more formal than British school correspondence usually is. The main risk is that the allergy becomes ambiguous: a literal rendering might sound like a preference rather than a safety issue. Mediation should preserve the safety information precisely while adapting the social formulas.